Brahma Thread - Page 395

My buffs have never been mean. Only the one chick I hatched out is a bit feisty. He bits me when I get to close to him. He probably won't be staying here. If my hicks were as mean as you are describing I would get rid of them. Sorry to hear they are being so mean.

I have had aggressive hatchery birds (of other breeds) but not Brahmas I have gotten in the past from a hatchery. My guess would be that they are too crowded. I would try giving them more space, plus give them something to keep them busy, like a baby cake (like the flock block but for chicks) to satisfy their desire to peck. 

GOOD LUCK!  

Brahmabreeder if things don't change I will get rid of them.

Chickee I thought 15 sq feet would be plenty room but will finish the new coop tonight and move them tomorrow.

Since they were 4 days old they have gotten fresh chick feed/water early morning, then mid morning they get added food...cut up apple, grated carrots, yougart, steamed pumpkin and cooked eggs. The also get lettuce hearts or other greens to pull apart. Weather permitting, they then go outside in a 6'x12' pen. Feeding is repeated in the evening when they come in. The brooder has sticks and perches for hiding and roosting.

I will try the baby cakes next. Any other ideas to keep them busy?

Wow, I kept all 14 of my chicks in a large wading pool for 5 weeks before they went outside.  2 cockerels in the group and none of them got very aggressive with each other.  There would be a couple of face offs, but they never lasted more than 5-15 seconds.

How many chicks do you have? Do you notice less aggression when they can go out in the 6' x 12' pen? I have noticed at the feed store the chicks that have feathered in always have missing tail and back feathers from over crowding and that is why I thought it might be from keeping them in too small of a space. If not, then you just got some bad tempered birds and may have to re-home them. I had to get rid of my SLW hatchery hens because they were so aggressive I could not introduce new birds. I have heard a number of other people complain about their hatchery birds being mean. 

I have read that a head of cabbage or a flake of alfalfa keeps them entertained. I have not had this problem with my birds so I can only throw out suggestions based on what I have read. 

Hope this helps 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Huntress78 

Brahmabreeder if things don't change I will get rid of them.

 

Chickee I thought 15 sq feet would be plenty room but will finish the new coop tonight and move them tomorrow.

Since they were 4 days old they have gotten fresh chick feed/water early morning, then mid morning they get added food...cut up apple, grated carrots, yougart, steamed pumpkin and cooked eggs. The also get lettuce hearts or other greens to pull apart. Weather permitting, they then go outside in a 6'x12' pen. Feeding is repeated in the evening when they come in. The brooder has sticks and perches for hiding and roosting.

I will try the baby cakes next. Any other ideas to keep them busy?

There are 27 chicks all together. 14 Lights, 12 Darks and 1 Barred Rock. Even outside the Darks are more prone to fighting than feeding/exploring.

The cockerels that are being kept seperate seem to have finally worked out their differences...they were still fighting this morning but now are getting along better. The Dark pullets (also in their own small brooder) are calmer than they have been but still go at each other once in a while and still attack me when I change feed or water. The Lights are in the large brooder and doing great...when I open the door they rush me for attention and seem to want to be held/petted/fed with no pecking whatsoever.

Wierd how different they are...the Lights are much more fearhered. There is one that is almost fully feathered at only 2.5 weeks old but the Darks barely have their wing feathers.

I'll be working on getting everyone into larger quarters. We'll see how it goes.......

I got my lights from McMurray hatchery and so far they are the friendliest of all my breeds.  None of my hatchery birds seem to be mean (except the free, rare breed rooster) but maybe I got lucky.  I'm not experienced, but I thought brahmas were known for their exceptional temperaments and so far my hatchery ones are good.

How do you go about getting birds from breeders, rather than a hatchery.  Do you always have to get hatching eggs, because I don't have an incubator.  I was planning on going to the State Fair this year and checking out the chickens there and maybe taking names.
 

Go to poultry shows and talk to breeders.  That is what I did. I got my birds at the ohio national last year. You don't have to get eggs if you don't want to. My birds were at the point of getting ready to lay eggs. Just be for warned that some of the smaller shows may not have a lot of brahmas especially in the for sale section.

Interesting colors.  Last year I purchased quite a few black Brahmas.  I kept two pullets and have now started breeding them to my red splash roo.  I wanted to share some pictures -

This guy is mostly blue, but he has some "chocolate" coming out on his back, along with a lighter color.  Pictures don't do him justice.  He still has quite a bit of growing to do, he's about 20-ish weeks.

This one also is mostly blue, but is getting some "rust" here and there and is starting to get gold hackles.

His brother.  You can see the gold coming out around his neck.