Backyard Brahmas!!

[Huntress78]

I bought 4 Brahma hens in late September. The breeder said they were 2 years old. I didn't expect them to be great layers, but I love the breed. October 6th was the last egg I received, and nothing since. Granted they were molting pretty hard. But here we are a month later, and their faces are pale as can be, and no signs of impending eggs. Brahmas are known for laying during winter and it's not even cold here in N. California.

Do your Brahmas stop laying? For how long? I hatched some eggs from them, so I have up and coming stock. How many weeks would you give them before making chicken stew?

There are a number of things that could contribute to your hens not laying right now and it could be a combination of...
Stress from being moved. It takes them a while to settle in a new coop.
Molting. This alone can be hard on some birds.
Brooding stress. If they are two years old they may be depleted from brooding chicks this summer.
Dietary deficiency. If they were not fed well all summer they may be weak from a poor diet...this can show in pale faces/combs.
Illness. Many illnesses will make them stop laying.

This is still Fall...my birds are not laying well right now either. I'd feed them up with a minimum 18% feed, make sure they have oyster shell available, add a vitamin/electrolyte supplement to their water and give them high protein treats...bugs, grubs or meat. Let them rest for a few more weeks and then decide if you want to get rid of them.

Good luck!

 

[DrTacosMD]

I bought 4 Brahma hens in late September. The breeder said they were 2 years old. I didn't expect them to be great layers, but I love the breed. October 6th was the last egg I received, and nothing since. Granted they were molting pretty hard. But here we are a month later, and their faces are pale as can be, and no signs of impending eggs. Brahmas are known for laying during winter and it's not even cold here in N. California.

Do your Brahmas stop laying? For how long? I hatched some eggs from them, so I have up and coming stock. How many weeks would you give them before making chicken stew?

If they're done molting, it's probably due to seasonal photoperiod changes. Chicken maturation and egg laying follows the duration of light they receive per day. With my brahmas, I notice that they need a minimum of 12 hours to even be laying eggs at all. But when I'm trying to get a lot of eggs from them for hatching purposes I usually go up to 16 hours per day.

 

[MikeTodd]

I'm sure I know the answer but need confimation. Hen or Roo?

 

[Sjisty]

I'm sure I know the answer but need confimation. Hen or Roo?

Rooster.

 

[MikeTodd]

Well crap, we have two that are identical.

 

[Flowerbh]

I'm sure I know the answer but need confimation. Hen or Roo?

Rooster. You can tell by the saddle feathers.

 

[bunsnpupsnchick]

Well crap, we have two that are identical.

Rooster. There's a pic of my light Brahma pullet in a previous post. He's handsome.

 

[speckledhen]

I'm sure I know the answer but need confimation. Hen or Roo?

ANY rooster will have a fringe of pointy saddle feathers (there are a few rare hen-feathered breeds, but you can almost bank on saddle feathers to indicate a male). Here are what your bird has that say rooster, the circled area on my Partridge Brahma cockerel-Brahma hens will never have those.



My bunch today:

 

[Wyatt0224]

Can anyone here tell me how much a bantam brahma roo/hen would weigh?

 

[speckledhen]

Can anyone here tell me how much a bantam brahma roo/hen would weigh?

I believe this is what you're looking for, so divide by 16 to get pounds. This is actually from the Australian Brahma club, but probably the same. I just had the link up and handy.

Bantams:
Male: .............42-50oz
Female: .......................36-44oz