Backyard Brahmas!!

[greenfeathers]

I ordered a mix of breeds. So I have only one LT bhrama hen and one roo. Pictured above. They're 20 weeks now. No eggs yet from any of them. I don't know that she eats any more than the others but I'd guess so. She is bigger and so is the Roo.

My feed consumption is right at the chart I found online for adult birds so if she eats more someone else must be eating less but they all look healthy.

 

[newmarch2014]

Oh yeah my poor Brahma is hating this heat. We usually add a chunk of ice to the water bowl (a large metal dog dish) and she digs herself in and lays her side along it during the hottest part of the day. She is just so fluffy she is miserable.

 

[Lady Who]

My standeredsize hens eat a lot. They'll clean out a watermelon but yea. They do get hot easy but it's vary helpful when it's the winter

 

[speckledhen]

My Brahma only acts stressed if temps are up around 90* in the barn and humidity is high. Otherwise, she's had no issues with heat or cold. That's one reason I wanted more Brahmas. My Delawares and Del crosses suffer the most plus any of the individuals with super dense underfluff.

 

[SD Bird Lady]

I should clarify that when I say hot I mean 90°F or hotter and my cold is 0°F or colder. South Dakota has some extremes in it's seasons.

I have heard others say their Delawares suffer from the heat because of their dense feathering too.

 

[newmarch2014]

Yes same here in Utah, we are high desert so this week it has hovered at 100 F and it gets down to 0 F regularly in the winter.

 

[speckledhen]

I should clarify that when I say hot I mean 90°F or hotter and my cold is 0°F or colder. South Dakota has some extremes in it's seasons.

I have heard others say their Delawares suffer from the heat because of their dense feathering too.

I think it's even more than the tight feathering, though that's part of it. It's dense musculature from their meat bird heritage, or that's my theory. If you pick up a Delaware hen, a proper one, anyway, not a skinny hatchery one, they are much heavier than they look! We rarely get up to over 90*, but it's very humid. We do get into the single digits, sometimes below zero in winter, though not for long periods. Even if you cross them with other birds, that heat intolerance seems to follow along.

Yes same here in Utah, we are high desert so this week it has hovered at 100 F and it gets down to 0 F regularly in the winter.

I lived in Utah twice. It's super dry, which I loved, so 100* there is so much better than 90* here in the soupy south. I always love low humidity days. Beats breathing hot water!

 

[SD Bird Lady]

Humidity is the worst!! But then I have an excuse to go swimming haha

 

[speckledhen]

Humidity is the worst!! But then I have an excuse to go swimming haha

 

[kegmanatee]

I am hoping to get some more people but so far not many takers.  I do rememer.  When you get all done post pics and definitly post pics of the babies.  What hatchery are you ordering from? I think I may order some more as right now the only rooster I have is EE and I would like to keep my breeds "pure"  I reccommend Cackle as they are much closer to what you see in photos then the ones I recieve from ideal. You will have fun with them they are great birds.

I realize this was originally posted almost 4 months ago, but I was at Cackle today, and had a wonderful experience. It's clean, ALL the chicks were very healthy and appeared very happy, not like when you go to a farm store. We got 5 more chicks to add to our flock. We specifically waited this late because we wanted more light brahmas. I had gotten 2 "Cochin" chicks in March that were actually brahmas and ended up losing one. They are both gentle and friendly. The one I lost was an an amazing chick. (Of course I lost my favorite). They are such a loving breed. After I lost mine, the other one started flocking with my barn cats. He drives the poor cats nuts, trying to snuggle up to them while they nap!