Basque Hens are a dual-purpose breed. Hens lay about 180-220 large or extra large brown eggs per year, and roosters can weigh up to 9 pounds. Some hens will brood, but most do not. They have yellow beaks and shanks, an unusual upright stance, red earlobes, and a medium-sized single comb. The most common variety in North America is the Marraduna, a barred reddish-brown in the males with a more golden coloration in the females. Because the breed is so new to North America, it is not yet recognized by the APA. However, it can be shown as “Mediterranean Class, Any Other Variety.” The North American breed standard is under development and can be found here.
The most distinctive thing about the Euskal Oiloa seems to be their temperament. Owners frequently exclaim how friendly and intelligent these chickens are; some even come when called by individual names! Basque Hens are also curious and make for excellent foragers. If you are in North America, please visit the Euskal Oiloa Chicken Forum. A Spanish organization, EOALAK is an excellent resource for Basque Hen information.
Development of the Basque Hen
In the northeastern corner of Spain, there lies a region occupied by the euskal herritarrak, the Basques, or the natives of Basque country. An ethnic group which occupies the northern area of Spain and southwestern area of France, the Basque people live in the lower, western foothills of the Pyrenees and may have been there for up to thirty thousand years. Fascinatingly, the Basque language is not Latin-based; it is not even Indo-European in origin. The origin of the Basque language, and indeed of the Basque people, continues to be the subject of debate. Today, the Basque region of Spain remains somewhat apart. An area of this region is an autonomous community with some level of self-governance.Under Franco’s dictatorship of 1939–1975, the cultures and languages of minority groups within Spain were repressed, but the Basque people fought to maintain their cultural identity. It was in the same year as the fall of the Franco dictatorship, 1975, that Dr. Fernando Orozco of the Animal Department Genetic of the National Institute of Investigaciones Agrarias (INIA) began collecting eggs from small villages in Gipuzkoa near the center of the northern border of the Basque region of Spain as an effort to preserve the historical fowl and protect the genetic resources of Spain against the incursion of foreign hybrids which were gaining popularity.
The birds were mixed, without clear distinctions between the color variations; however, reddish-brown and a barred version of the same were the most numerous. There was enough homogeneity found among the country chickens of the Basque for them to be termed a race or breed: the Euskal Oiloa – literally, the Basque hen. (Euskal oiloak are Basque hens; euskal herritarrak are the Basque people as termed in their language, Basque or Euskara.) Eggs were collected from the Gipuzkoa province in 1975 and 1976. Over the next three years, the colors and types were bred up from the general population, segregated, and named. The common reddish-brown color became the lepogorri or gorria. The barred version of this coloring was named marraduna. At this time, they also teased out a black or beltza as well as a Colombian or zilarra type. The Spanish breed standard was drafted by Dr. José Antonio Mendizábal. The project continued, and in time, weaknesses became evident due to lack of genetic variety. In 1983, there was another collection of eggs from Basque farms including the lepogorri, marraduna, and zilarra varieties from Alava and Bizkaiam, two provinces on the western border of Gipuzkoa. The project was taken up by an employee of the Department of Agriculture of the Basque Government at the Agrarian School of Fraisoro in Gipuzkoa. This began the “Program of Selection and Improvement of the Race Euskal Oiloa.” For the first three years of this new program, they worked to make the four existing varieties of euskal oiloa more uniform and created the lepasoila, or naked-necked, variety. In the fourth year, they focused on specific aspects of production for males and females, quoted below at the bottom of this page. In 2001, the Basque government formally regulated the Basque hen in order to preserve and improve the breed. Today, the euskal oiloa or Basque hen remains a productive, dual-purpose bird characterized by yellow shanks and beak, red earlobes, and a medium-sized single comb in the five varieties above. Hens lay up to 220 large brown eggs per year, and roosters can weigh up to 9 pounds. Now becoming popular in Canada and the United States, not yet an APA recognized breed, the Basque hen is noted for its friendly chicken-personality and ranging abilities.Resources: Euskal Oiloa Chicken Forum, Euskal Oiloa Basque Thread on Backyard Chickens Forum, Basque Hens on Feathersite, Euskal Oiloa on SlowFoods, Breed Page on Backyard Chickens, Basque Hens of North America, Skyline Poultry (Contact to order EO hatching eggs), Amblecroft’s Basques; translated description of each type, Basque Hens at Sunbird Farms, Scratch Cradle posts: Hatching This Week: Basque Hens, posts tagged “Euskal Oiloa”
Pictures of each type on EOALAK (Basque breed organization with information as well) and Feathersite, fantastic pictures of a Marraduna flock on Euskal Roots; Pictures on La Granja Online threads: Lepasoila, Marraduna, more Marraduna, still more Marraduna, Zilarra, more Zilarra, Beltza hen, Beltzas
Threads on the “lost” blonde color, Llodiana: On La Granja Online and on the Euskal Oiloa Forum
Short videos on YouTube: Flock of EOs showing different colors, Video with some EO Basques including Lepasoila , Marraduna rooster, Gorria roosters, Beltza chicks, Marraduna chicks, more Marraduna chicks, Marraduna pullet
Selection Criteria from the “Program of Selection and Improvement of the Race Euskal Oiloa.”
Therefore the Euskal Oiloa were defined morphologically by the genes: r and p (single comb), w (yellow skin), Id (inhibitor of melanin deposition in the leg), po (four toes), Na or na (feathered or naked neck), E or e (black or wheaten), Co or co (columbian restriction of black, or no columbian), S or s (silver or gold), Bl or bl (black or splash), C or c (coloured or autosomal recessive white), and B or b (barred or unbarred).–The criteria of selection applied to the [the females of] masculine lines were the alive weight and the angle of breast at 90 days of age, and the number and average weight of eggs in weeks 32 and 33 of life. […] The males were selected by weight at 37, 50 and 90 days, parentage, and minimum levels of consanguinity[i.e. inbreeding] in the crossovers. The selection coefficients are of the 2, 1% in the case of the roosters and 10, 5% in the hens.–With respect to the females of feminine lines, the selection index was applied on the number, average weight, coloration of shell and Haugh units of eggs laid during weeks 33 and 33, and selecting those above a minimum alive weight. The males of the feminine lines were selected based upon parentage, low levels of consanguinity, and alive weights at different ages. The applied coefficients of selection were 2.0% in roosters and 2.51% in hens.–As far as reproductive and productive characters, a perfect differentiation between masculine and feminine lines was reached as well as a more than remarkable increase from the founding generations. [An] ample genetic base was established as to not to be limited by an excess of consanguinity.–From Euskal Oiloa on WordPress, http://euskaloiloa.wordpress.com/retrospectiva/
Bibliography
All images are freely licensed from Wikimedia Commons or property of Scratch Cradle
Eoalak. Estándar Euskal Oiloa. Retrieved from http://www.eoalak.com/es/content/est%C3%A1ndar-euskal-oiloa
Euskal Oiloa on WordPress. (2008). Retrospectiva. Euskal Oiloa. Retrieved from http://euskaloiloa.wordpress.com/retrospectiva/
Gomez, Mariano. Euskal Oiloa Beltza, Gorria, Marraduna, y Zillara. The Native Races of the Basque Country Ethnological Catalog. Retrieved from http://www.nekanet.net/razas/espa%C3%B1ol.htm
Lygeum. (2006). Euskal Oiloa. Barracuda. Retrieved from http://www.lygeum.es/?p=216
Skeffling. (2011). What are Euskal Oiloas or Basque Hens and Why Would Anyone Want These Chickens? Squidoo. Retrieved from http://www.squidoo.com/euskal-oiloas-or-basque-hens-my-favourite-chicken-breed
What an excellent summary of this great basque hen breed! It is a pretty neat history. Very informative and thorough. Thanks for sharing it.
Thank you for taking a look! It is such a neat breed. I can’t wait to get started with them myself!
Very informative, they are breed deserving attention. Hopefully we will be able to get the numbers up in North America over the next few years. Well written, thank you!
Thanks! I hope the article is useful and peaks some new interest!
Well done!
Brilliant article, very articulate and succinct at the same time. Bravo!
Thank you! It was fun to put together. 🙂
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Great article and terrific pictures. If you don’t mind I’d like to link to you page so others can enjoy your article.
Thank you, and of course! I will link to yours as well!
I have 9, 16 week old Basques that I hatched from eggs that I purchased from SkyLine. I am thrilled with them! Alert, extremely friendly & social, extremely smart. 5 of the 9 respond to their individual names. I can call for Clyde, even when he doesn’t see me and he comes running. I truly hope that others will try this chicken!
Excellent job on explaining the history of this remarkable bird.
That’s amazing! That is extremely smart. I wouldn’t have expected it. Thanks for sharing. I have some of his eggs in my incubator right now, and I can’t wait for hatch!
You are going to fall in love with your new babies!
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I’ve never even heard of this breed before reading your post. I’d love to hear how you heard about them and why you decided on the Basques.
I first saw them in a thread on the Backyard Chickens Forum. I thought they were beautiful and likely to be good homestead birds. Then I read more about them on the Greenfire Farms website and later found the Euskal Oiloa Chicken Forum. I joined and read as much as I could for months before I was even ready to order eggs! You can see all of my posts related to this breed here in reverse order. I’ve also linked to all of these places above. I tell you, they are more friendly so far than even my Speckled Sussexes, which were the friendliest by far up until now. I’m loving them.
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How envious I am of anyone who is lucky enough to have these hens, I would love to have some but I live in Derbyshire England and I don’t know if anyone in this country breeds them or indeed if there are any actually in the country at all! If anyone can help I would be pleased to hear from them. Thanks Carole
I would try asking over on the EO forum. Some of the ladies there may know someone in England or be in England. That web address is: http://forums.euskaloiloas.com/index.php. Hope to see you over there!
Thank you! I am still waiting patiently to see if anyone in the UK have any EO’s for sale I do hope they can become established over here. Thanks Carole
Hi there Carole Wood, my wife and I have been looking at the egg colors on Scratch Cradle trying to id’ our new egg color from last mays pullets we hatched. Well on seeing the funny sounding hen ‘Euskal Oiloa – Basque hen’ I had to check it out and answer my curiosity. Well the funny thing is I have a Rooster in my garden that looks exactly like the photo on Scratch Cradle, the cream tan, yellow legs beak, of pretty calm nature. Thing is he is hatched from our Barnevelder x Cream Legbar, and his sisters are orangey brown like the Basque hen pics on S.Cradle. It occurs to me the Barnevelder (Holland) and Cream Legbar (white cheeks meditteranean) may well be part of the mix of Basque hens, a fairly close locale for trade, the likeness is remarkable. Anyway before i digress any further, the aforementioned Rooster needs a new home, and Derbyshire isn’t that far from SouthYorkshire, do you want the Rooster ? I might be reluctantly, persuaded to part with a hen (my precious’es! need fresh layers 😀 ) to find a home for Rooster. Enjoyed Scratch Cradle – nicely presented :D. Send a message if you want. I can take photo if you like. All the best Leigh
I see some walking on the snow. Can they tolerate very cold temperatures?
All of the stock in the US came from Canada. People say they do very well there. From what I’ve heard from different keepers, they do very well in both heat and cold. The air in the coop would need to be well-ventilated and dry in cold climates to reduce the chances of frostbite.
Thank you very much. I live in Wyoming at 7200 feet altitude and will start a flock this year. I am intrigued with the friendly nature of this breed, egg laying capability and that they will come when called!! My 90-year old father has always had chickens and my brother does, too, so I will carry on the tradition.
That is excellent! You will love them. Definitely head over to the EO forum where you can learn all about them and get answers to all of your questions. I love that you are carrying on your family tradition!
I have a couple girls but didn’t know their breed until now, thanks. And yes they are great egg layers and very nice birds in our flock.
We are up to nearly 30 hens now and ALL have a great temperament. We have 11 Roosters in a pen by themselves and have seen NO Squabbles or Fights!!!! Try that with any other breed!!
I concur! We have a small bachelor pen of EO cockerels and have had the same experience – no picking, fighting, or bickering. Our rooster is great at protecting the flock and is pretty easy to handle compared to other large breeds I have had.
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Great article! only a little correction, Euskal Oiloa is not mediterranean type, it’s atlantic.
Thanks for writing about our wonderful hens!! If you need anything, please contact us!
EOALAK IS NOT A SPANISH, BUT BASQUE ORGANIZATION, WE ARE BASQUE ONLY.
Thank you! That is an important distinction. I’ve updated the article to reflect this change.
Hi Heather,
I’ve researched these Basque hens and am convinced they seem out-of-the-ordinary extraordinary in both personality and temperament. However all my chicken breeds come when called by their name so I don’t find that too exceptional in Basque. I had an 18-day-old Dominique chick that carried on chirping conversations with me but when I actually called her name she would come up to me also. My hens wait their turn at treat handout time until each hears her name before she reaches for the food.
What I would really like to know is your personal experience in how well EOs do in a mixed breed flock? I have kept my backyard breeds all under 5-lbs to avoid bullying of our two 2-lb gentle Silkies. We have had to re-home a 7-lb Marans bully and a 4.5-lb White Leghorn who started getting roo-ish and pushy after 3 years. Since Basque hens average 6 lbs I would like to ask your experience in mixing them with gentler smaller bantams or would the temptation to bully smaller birds be too tempting for the 6-lb EO?
Would Basque be best in an all-EO flock or can you recommend what breeds Basque would do best with? We enjoy our Silkies so much and IMO the best layer for a bantam that we center all decisions around their well-being. So far, a 5-lb APA Ameraucana and a 4.5-lb Buff Leghorn have been gentle breeds to mix with the 2-lb bantams.
I met a Basque rooster on an overseas chicken-chasing adventure and can attest to the friendly, curious and highly personable temperament. What struck me upon picking him and having him under my wing for a few minutes was that the breed seem also perfectly weighted- neither too heavy in the chest/legs nor too light and fluffy in the feathering. I’ve dealt with Pymouth Rocks, large Leghorns, Sicillian Buttercups, Phoenix Fowl…all with their various charms, but Basque- at the least the one that I met- was the perfect specimen for a backyard breed.