White-Faced Black Spanish chickens: The chicken aristocrats
“The Black Spanish chicken is truly the aristocrat of the poultry world… the adults hold themselves as benefits a Spanish Don – Head up, one foot forward, calm.”
The White-Faced Black Spanish chicken is a sight to behold. This is a truly stunning bird. This chicken is instantly recognizable by its droopy white facial skin set against bright red wattles and combs. This chicken is tall, dark, sophisticated, regal.
The breed is often referred to as “the clown-faced chicken,” but this label doesn’t do the Spanish chicken’s demeanor justice. Yes, they look like they have painted faces, but they are not clowns. They are majestic, painted aristocrats.
Today, the White-Faced Black Spanish chicken is classified as an ornamental bird, but it wasn’t always so. The breed used to be more valued for its egg-laying. Still an excellent layer, the Spanish chicken also has tender meat. A versatile chicken, for sure.
The breed is of ancient and unknown lineage.
Breath-taking? Without question. Regal? Sure. But does this black beauty have a place in your backyard? In this article, I cover all things White-Faced Black Spanish. Whatever you want to know about this bird and whether the chicken is a good fit for you or not, you’ll find it here.
You will learn:
What Spanish chickens look like (beyond their distinctive faces)
Broodiness: Spanish hens and their hatching instincts (or should I say, lack thereof?)
Spanish meat (how much do they provide and what does it taste like?)
Climate considerations for Spanish chickens (are they a good fit for your region?)
Spanish temperament (are they right for you and your family?)
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Have White-Faced Black Spanish chickens?
White-Faced Black Spanish Chicken Facts
Other Names: White-Faced Spanish, Black Spanish, and Spanish
Category: Pet & eggs
Origin: Spain
Egg laying ability: Good
Broodiness: Low
Meat production: Mediocre
Cold tolerance: Poor
Heat tolerance: Exceptional
Predator evasion: Good
Foraging ability: Exceptional
Toleration for confinement: Low-moderate
Temperament: Variable—flighty to docile
Aggression toward flock members: Low-moderate
Noise level: High
Origin of White-Faced Black Spanish chickens
White-Faced Black Spanish chickens are also referred to as White-Faced Spanish chickens, Black Spanish chickens, and Spanish chickens. It’s easy to see how they got their name. You can see their distinctive white faces and black plumage in the video below.
Black Spanish chickens have deep roots. They are one of the oldest Mediterranean breeds, and also one of the first breeds to reach the United States.
Records of white-faced chickens in the Mediterranean go at least as far back as 1600. The White-Faced Black Spanish was likely developed from Castilian chickens who had white earlobes and the red face, typical of many chickens.
When Spaniards colonized the New World, they brought the Black Spanish chicken with them. Chickens were also imported to America from Holland, and the breed was popular in colonial America by the early 1800s. They were also known in England by this time.
Sadly, the White-Faced Black Spanish chicken has fallen out of favor. It has been replaced by farms and homesteads with breeds that are hardier in the cold and mature more quickly. And, of course, the bird has no place in the factory farm industry. It just can’t compete with its Mediterranean neighbor, the White Leghorn, an egg-laying warrior.
“Because they take their time to mature and require extra care to prepare for the show ring, they are now a rare but wonderful backyard sighting.”
After losing popularity as a laying breed, the White-Faced Black Spanish chicken is now valued for its looks instead. Instead of continuing to be bred for egg production, they have been bred as show birds. Breeders have worked to increase the size of the breed’s white face.
The beautiful White-Faced Black Spanish are now in such low numbers, they have been given a conservation status of “Critical” by The Livestock Conservancy. These birds are seriously endangered.
Although the breed is struggling for survival, some popular hatcheries are now offering Black Spanish chickens for sale. Hopefully, with this ready availability and increasing awareness, we can get this bird’s numbers back up, and save an ancient and stunning breed.
What do White-Faced Black Spanish Chickens look like?
White-Faced Black Spanish chickens come in both standard and bantam (i.e., miniature) varieties.
You already know by now what makes the Black Spanish chicken distinctive. As the good people at The Livestock Conservancy put it,
“What sets this breed apart is the tremendous white ear lobes and white on face – resembling something the artist Salvador Dali might have painted…”
But there’s much more to the White-Faced Black Spanish chicken than that…
What feather colors and patterns do White-Faced Black Spanish chickens have?
White-Faced Black Spanish chickens traditionally come in black feathers (hence the name). However, this is no dull black. Their plumage is an iridescent greenish black when the light hits it.
There are also rare blue and white varieties of the Spanish chicken, although these breeds aren’t officially recognized by the American Poultry Association. The American Bantam Association, however, does recognize a blue bantam variety of Spanish chickens.
What is notable about White-Faced Black Spanish chickens?
“No other breed of chicken so embodies the word “aristocrat” in its posture, as does the Spanish chicken. ”
The White-Faced Black Spanish chicken has a large, single comb with five points. This comb is upright in roosters and typically flops to the side in hens.
Below if a video that shows Spanish hens with their floppy combs.
Whereas both breeds have long and thin wattles, roosters have white on the upper insides of the wattles as well.
The white faces of the Black Spanish are meant to be smooth, but will always have some folds. Ideally, the white face hangs lower than the wattles.
Although Spanish chickens have dark slate shanks, they have pink on the bottoms of their feet.
How big do White-Faced Black Spanish chickens get?
Roosters: 8 lbs
Hens: 6.5 lbs
Bantam roosters: 30 oz
Bantam hens: 26 oz
The standard Spanish chicken is one of the larger Mediterranean breeds, although not as large as the Minorca breed. The breed has slightly longer legs and necks than most of the other breeds in the Mediterranean class, such as Leghorns and Anconas. They are altogether longer than the other breeds, and have a more steeply sloping back.
What do White-Faced Black Spanish chicks look like?
White-Faced Black Spanish chicks are black with white or yellow patches. Many have light-colored bellies and chests. Check out the YouTube video below to see these adorable chicks:
Spanish chicks have also been known to be more delicate than some other breeds. If you have the opportunity to pick Spanish chicks up straight from a hatchery, rather than shipping them, do so. If you must ship them, don’t ship them in winter. They may not survive the journey.
White-Faced Black Spanish chicken growth
White-Faced Black Spanish chickens are very slow to mature. They typically take more than a year to reach their full grown size and glory. This includes their large, beautiful white faces. Black Spanish chickens usually will need to go through their first annual molt before sporting their aristocratic good looks.
Some chicken keepers have noted that their hens take longer to develop their full white faces than do their roosters.
Bantam White-Faced Black Spanish chickens grow more quickly than the standard variety, however.
Are you getting White-Faced Black Spanish chicks?
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White-Faced Black Spanish Chickens and Egg Laying
Egg color: White
Egg size: Large
Age of lay: 5+ months
Eggs/week: 3-4
Eggs/year: 160-180
White-Faced Black Spanish chickens are good layers. Although they don’t lay as many eggs as many of the more prolific egg-laying breeds, they still lay a good 3-4 eggs per week.
Their eggs are chalk-white and large in size.
I could not find a reliable source for when White-Faced Black Spanish start laying. I found a blog that said 5 months, which is possible, but seems early for a breed that’s been bred more for ornamental purposes. However, Mediterranean breeds do generally start laying early.
If you have Spanish chickens, please let me know when your chickens first started to lay in the comments below.
Broodiness: Do White-Faced Black Spanish hens want to hatch their eggs?
Because White-Faced Black Spanish hens were originally bred for egg production, the broodiness trait has been mostly eliminated. This means that your Spanish hens will probably have no interest in sitting on eggs and hatching chicks.
Meat production of White-Faced Black Spanish chickens
White-Faced Black Spanish chickens are not typically used as meat birds. This is probably because they take so long to reach their adult sizes (over a year). However, Christine Heinrichs, author of The Backyard Field Guide to Chickens, says that “their meat is also highly recommended as white and flavorful.”
The Livestock Conservancy cites the breed’s market weight at 5.5 to 6.5 lbs.
White-Faced Black Spanish chickens: Not as hardy as they once were
White-Faced Black Spanish chickens used to be a hardy breed, except that they were susceptible to frostbite with their large combs, wattles, and earlobes.
However, because modern breeders began breeding the chickens for ornamental purposes, a lot of the Spanish chickens’ hardiness was lost.
How do White-Faced Black Spanish chickens do in the heat?
White-Faced Black Spanish chickens were born for the heat. Originating in warm Mediterranean climates, these chickens are much more heat tolerant than most other breeds.
One Floridian chicken keeper said that her Spanish chickens don’t just tolerate the high temperatures, but “seem to relish the heat.”
You’ll definitely want to consider these birds if you live in a region with soaring temperatures. Of course, like all chickens, they will need plenty of shade and a constant supply of cold, fresh water.
How do White-Faced Black Spanish chickens do in the cold?
White-Faced Black Spanish chickens are not cold hardy. The long, droopy faces, long wattles, and large combs of the breed are very susceptible to frostbite. And can you imagine how painful that would be to have frostbite on your face?
Additionally, because the breed has lost so much of its hardiness in modern times, many strains of this bird are just too fragile for the cold.
Cold weather has also been known to cause dark spots to form on the breed’s beautiful white faces. And, of course, these faces will be permanently blemished if they ever get frostbitten.
If you live in a region where temperatures drop, think twice before adding this bird to your flock.
But if you feel like you must raise these chickens in your cold climate, be sure to hang Sweeter Heaters in your coop to help fend off frostbite.
You can find small Sweeter Heaters here on Amazon, medium Sweeter Heaters here, and large Sweeter Heaters here. I hang Sweeter Heaters in all my coops, and can’t recommend them enough.
White-Faced Black Spanish chickens vs. predators
Because White-Faced Black Spanish chickens are a vigilant and flighty breed (and, yes, they can actually fly), they tend to do well at evading predators compared to many other breeds. Additionally, their dark-colored plumage can help them blend into the background in many environments.
White-Faced Black Spanish chickens: Expert foragers
White-Faced Black Spanish chickens, like many Mediterranean breeds, are exceptional foragers. They will forage for a high percentage of their food if they live in a free-range setting.
White-Faced Black Spanish chickens: Can they handle confinement?
“The Spanish is quite noisy, flighty, and excitable, making it difficult to keep either in a confined space or in areas where neighbors have to be considered.”
White-Faced Black Spanish chickens really need to live a free-range life or live in a large backyard. They have been said to “tolerate” confinement, but they certainly don’t thrive in confinement. These are flighty birds that like to roam, so keeping them in a small run or crowded coop isn’t kind.
The bantam variety can handle a little less space than the regular-sized variety, but will still be happiest with lots of room.
White-Faced Black Spanish chicken temperament: a mixed bag
White-Faced Black Spanish chickens are typically described as active and curious. They can, however, run the gamut from incredibly flighty to docile.
In the book, Storey’s Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds, Carol Ekarius wrote that Spanish chickens have “personalities ranging from not particularly friendly and kind of standoffish to downright charming and highly people-oriented.”
This range of personalities is born out in chicken keepers’ own anecdotes. One chicken keeper said of his Spanish chickens, “My personal experience of these birds is that they are wild as the March wind.”
Whereas, another said that her Murray McMurray Hatchery Spanish chickens are “…very people oriented, they are very curious and tend to follow you around.”
How are White-Faced Black Spanish chickens around children?
Again, because their personalities run the gamut, it’s hard to know how new chickens will be. They may be very loving and personable, or they may be frightened and irritated by children.
Some White-Faced Black Spanish roosters may be aggressive, so be careful if you have roosters around children.
How well do White-Faced Black Spanish chickens get along with other chickens?
White-Faced Black Spanish hens tend to get along very well with other chickens. Roosters may or may not be aggressive—again, they’re a mixed bag.
Below you can see a video of a White-Faced Black Spanish Bantam trying to pick a fight with a very large Blue Andalusian rooster. Short man syndrome, anyone?
Are White-Faced Black Spanish roosters aggressive to people?
Some White-Faced Black Spanish roosters have been known to be aggressive towards people.
White-Faced Black Spanish chickens: Are they noisy?
Spanish chickens are noisy chickens. Like many of the other Mediterranean breeds, such as Leghorns and Anconas, they like to talk. They aren’t necessarily louder in volume than your other chickens, but they are more frequent talkers.
I, personally, love chatty chickens. Whereas all chickens have distinctive personalities, chatty chickens always let you know what they think. You can get to know them really well.
However, if you have cranky neighbors who don’t understand how truly wonderful chatty hens are, you may want to consider a quieter breed.
White-Faced Black Spanish chicken health problems and life expectancy
Chickens typically live 5-8 years or longer in ideal backyard conditions. However, most strains of White-Faced Black Spanish chickens are more delicate than your average chicken. Again, this is because they lost their trademark hardiness when breeders started breeding them for the show ring, not the backyard.
Although Spanish chickens aren’t prone to any particular illnesses, they are generally more vulnerable to health problems than hardier breeds.
Breeds you may want instead of White-Faced Black Spanish
One breed that is very similar to the White-Faced Black Spanish, but is much hardier, is the Minorca chicken. These chickens, also Spanish in origin, look a lot like the Black Spanish chicken, but their faces are red, not white.
The Minorca chicken is an ornamental breed that lays extra-large white eggs. The Minorca also struggles with frostbite in cold climates, but otherwise is an incredibly hardy chicken. Check out my article, Minorca chickens: The perfect homestead chicken for warm climates, for more information.
If you want a hardy Mediterranean breed that also does well in the cold, look no further than the rose comb variety of the Ancona chicken. Check out my article, Ancona chickens: The homesteader’s best kept secret, for more information on the breed.
