Pita Pinta Asturiana: A Total Breed Guide

The Pita Pinta Asturiana chicken may not be a well-known breed, but it can make a wonderful addition to your backyard flock. These chickens are known for their docile and friendly nature, as well as their strong egg-laying abilities.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Pita Pinta Asturiana breed and where to find them, we have all the information you need, including a list of farms and hatcheries that sell these beautiful chickens.

Let’s start with the main characteristics.

• Pita Pinta Asturiana hens lay up to 250 eggs per year
• Spanish rare and uncommon breed
• They look mottled but, in fact, have their own individual feather pattern
• Friendly and docile nature
• Seldom broody

Characteristics

Pita Pinta Asturiana chickens are a dual-purpose breed, meaning they can be kept for meat and eggs. They’re medium-sized to large chickens but not as giant as a Brahma or an Orpington. Males can weigh up to 9.5 lbs (4.3 kg), and females are tipping the scale at around 6 lbs (2.7 kg).

Their color varies from bird to bird, and although they look mottled or exchequer, each bird has its own individual feather pattern. Four color varieties can be found in the Pita Pinta Asturiana: Pinta Roxa (mottled red-brown), Pinta Negra (mottled black), Blanca (white), and Abedul (black).

The breed has yellow skin and yellow unfeathered legs with black spots. They have a single red comb, red earlobes, red wattles, and orange eyes.

The Pita Pinta Asturiana breed

This chicken finds its origin in the region of Asturias, in the northwest of Spain. It’s believed the chicken has Asian ancestors and was brought to Europe in the colonial time through the Central-European Route.

It’s the only chicken breed that originates in this Spanish region, and its name comes from the Asturian language. ‘Pita’ means ‘hen’, and ‘pinta’ means ‘painted’. The name refers to the mottled or spotted pattern.

The Pita Pinta Asturiana is a rare, almost extinct chicken breed. The upcoming of the egg industry in Asturias in the 1950s and 1960s brought improved egg layers, so the number of Pita Pinta chickens dropped dramatically, to the point there were almost no true breeds left.

It took almost 20 to 30 years for the recovery to begin. Several Pita Pinta Asturiana birds were found in the 1980s in the Spanish province of Léon, neighboring the region of Asturias. These birds were used to save the breed. They participated in local poultry shows for the first time in 1997. In 2003, an Asturian breeders association was founded and is responsible for the breed’s preservation, promotion, and improvement.

In 2021, 3669 chickens of the Pita Pinta Asturiana were counted, making it a rare breed that’s no longer endangered but still, ‘at risk’.

Personality

Next to its striking beauty, the Pita Pinta Asturiana is also a sweet and docile chicken. They’re a farm’s favorite because of their gentle disposition and friendly nature. They get along with most other chicken breeds, although this depends on chicken to chicken, and are mostly on top of the pecking order because of their size.

If you want to keep Pita Pinta Asturiana hens with other chicken breeds, try to place them with other ‘gentle giants’ like Australorps, Jersey Giants, or Orpingtons. But whatever breed you choose, the Pita Pinta Asturiana will probably get along with everybody in the flock.

The breed is quite hardy and responds well to any environment, meaning they can be kept in warm and cold climates. However, all chickens prefer colder temperatures too hot ones, always take precautions when extreme weather like heatwaves are on the way.

Egg production

The Pita Pinta Asturiana is a great egg layer! They lay up to 250 cream-colored eggs yearly, that’s 4 to 5 eggs per week. All eggs are medium-sized and weigh around 2 oz (60-65 gr). Because it’s a cold hardy breed, they mostly keep on laying during winter months, although egg production may slow down.

The breed seldom goes broody, which is something to keep in mind if you’re planning to hatch eggs. They make excellent mothers, though, but are less likely to sit on eggs.

Summary

The Pita Pinta Asturiana is a rare chicken breed, with less than 3700 chickens worldwide. It’s a Spanish breed, an excellent egg layer, and a friendly bird. The hens lay up to 250 cream-colored eggs per year, and as they are a hardy breed, they can be kept in almost any environment.

To learn more about chicken breeds, check out our ‘Chicken Breeds Page‘ to see every specific breed we address. Or go to our listicle breed summary on ‘The Classroom‘, or, if you’re unsure where to start, take a look at our ‘Chicken Breeds: Ultimate Beginners Guide‘.