Brahma Breeders thread

[loribischof]

Hi, just wanted to subscribe. I have two standard light Brahmas and they are georgeous (in a layman's eyes). Interested in doing the local shows and some breeding, so it's nice to read the discussion. I had thought my pair were hens, but now it seems that I may have two cockerels.

Cheers,

Lori

 

[wyandottegirl]

Hi, does any one know the degrees for the Brahmas tail angle? I can't find it anywhere.

 

[Tim63]

Great question. Unlike most other standard breeds, no specific tail angle is given (in either standard) for Brahmas. Both basically say: tail carried just high enough to continue the concave sweep of the back. The Bantam Standard description for the male is worded a bit differently, "rising from saddle and carried fairly high". Hope this helps.

Tim

 

[mom of silkies]

Hi, just wanted to subscribe. I have two standard light Brahmas and they are georgeous (in a layman's eyes). Interested in doing the local shows and some breeding, so it's nice to read the discussion. I had thought my pair were hens, but now it seems that I may have two cockerels.

Cheers,

Lori

The one on the right looks like a roo, I don't know about the one on the left,it might be a hen.

 

[bumpercarr]

Does anyone know exactly what "lavender" is? Is it a blue gene with some sort of modifier?

 

[loribischof]

The one on the right looks like a roo, I don't know about the one on the left,it might be a hen.

Thank you. I believe that you are right. The one on the right's face has gotten a brighter red and a crest is starting a bit, but the one on the left has not undergone these changes.

 

[big medicine]

Does anyone know exactly what "lavender" is? Is it a blue gene with some sort of modifier?

Not sure about exactly, but to my understanding lavender is completely different than blue, although it also referred to as self blue. Lavender is a recessive trait, requiring two copies to show. Breeding two lavender birds should produce 100% lavender chicks, where as breeding blue to blue results in 50% blue chicks. A one copy blue bird is blue, a one copy lavender bird is not.

I have read old articles warning not to mix blue and lavender as it makes it too confusing to determine just which genetics a individual bird may all posses.

 

[big medicine]

Hi, just wanted to subscribe. I have two standard light Brahmas and they are georgeous (in a layman's eyes). Interested in doing the local shows and some breeding, so it's nice to read the discussion. I had thought my pair were hens, but now it seems that I may have two cockerels.

Cheers,

Lori

I'm not picking up any saddle feathers in this photo.

 

[Sunshine0235]

Does anyone know exactly what "lavender" is? Is it a blue gene with some sort of modifier?

Lavender is a double dilution of black, it takes two copies to show. It dilutes both black and reds. Like big medicine said, its can be difficult to tell light blue vs lavender, so its best to breed back to black for feather quality and improving type. I've heard that the lavender gene can cause feather quality problems after a couple of generations, so you breed back to black to improve that. I think the reasoning is that the lavender gene is close to some feather quality genes on the chromosome so when they split, they usually end up together.
Lavender will breed true. And its sometime possible to tell the difference with blue vs lavender with the underside of the spine of feathers, one is a darker spine and the other isnt, but im not sure on specifics there, I dont have either color.

 

[loribischof]

I'm not picking up any saddle feathers in this photo.

An excellent point! These chickens are about 16 weeks old. Here is a picture that I took this morning:

I realize that Brahmas develop a bit more slowly, but since this is my first time owning some, I was not sure how slowly.

Thanks for your input!
Cheers,
Lori