Euskal Oiloa Chicken

     The Euskal Oiloa, also known as the Basque Hen, is a Chicken breed, that got developed in the Basque Country region area in north-eastern Spain and south-western France. It’s the traditional rural chicken of the area, and it’s a rustic dual-purpose breed of Atlantic-type. Atlantic-type chicken breeds such as the Euskal Oiloa and the Pita Pinta Asturiana differ from Spanish chicken breeds of Mediterranean-type like the Castellana Negra‎ and the Minorca in having yellow legs and feet, red earlobes, and laying brown eggs.

     The Euskal Oiloa chicken breed comes from a relatively recent selection process on typical Basque farmyard chickens. They have been put under restricted plans for developing a utility breed with different varieties. All of this breed’s varieties are single-combed birds of medium sizes.

     Euskal Oiloa hens lay plenty of eggs (around 200 – 220 brown eggs per year of weight 60 g per each), but they rarely go broody. Five color varieties are currently recognized for this breed; Beltza (black), Gorria (red), Lepasoila (reddish-brown naked-neck), Marraduna (golden-cuckoo) and Zilarra (black-tailed white). A bantam version is also available for the Euskal Oiloa chicken breed.