They are calm birds with wide, deep bodies, full breast and orange or yellow legs and feet covered with lots of soft feathers which make big floppy feet. The head of the bird is small in comparison to its body. Its face is also clean from feathers and they have small wattles. They are well known as being one of the largest breeds of chicken. These beautiful birds were first recognized in America in 1898. This fancy breed of chicken makes a great pet for its quiet and tame nature and tolerance to the cold.
Pros: Sweet and pretty, rooster ruled the flock despite his size
Cons: Zero eggs, wholly disappointing
I bought a trio of Brahma bantams expecting sweet, pretty birds that I could show and breed. Unfortunately, while the tiny rooster ruled the flock, the hens never laid in egg during their six month life and died of disease before I could even show them, despite the price tag. The rooster died soon after.
Pros: Docile, calm, easy to handle, quiet, good layers
Cons: A little less friendly than some breeds
I purchased day-old bantam Buff Brahmas from a hatchery, ending up with 4 pullets and 1 cockerel, a nice little breeding group. The chicks were handled frequently but were never nearly as friendly as my Easter Egger bantams, and that was a bit disappointing, but they are gentle birds overall and easy to handle. There are two things I love about my Brahmas - my rooster is very gentle so far. He is 9 months old and his great temperament could change, but he's been a fine lad to this point. He has never once attempted to bite or scratch me, although he has tried to engage in a tug-of-war when I removed one of the girls from the coop. He is quite nice to his girls, too, and very protective, on top of being gorgeous. This I like a lot, because a nice rooster is worth a lot if you want to raise chicks, and I want to raise chicks.
The other thing I love is how these little girls lay. Bantam hens are the bomb, and Brahma bantams are quite respectable layers. I have four 9-month old pullets and I am collecting 18+ eggs per week, sometimes 21 per week, and they are quite large for bantam eggs. My little girls are a fraction the size of their large fowl counterparts, less than one fourth the weight, but they lay 70%-80%+ of the egg! Two of my pullets regularly lay eggs that weigh over 1-5/8 oz. A "large" egg from the grocery store will weigh an average 2 oz. This amazes me. It's magic that these little chickens lay these beautiful eggs that taste wonderful.
I cannot find many people who agree with me (although I have found a couple), but I think bantam eggs are tasty little gourmet things, due to that larger yolk-to-egg-size ratio that is well known in connection with baking using bantam eggs. More yolk ounce-per-ounce provides a richer tasting egg, and I think I can tell the difference. My neighbor thinks he can, too, and it completely surprised him when he first ate bantam eggs.
Obviously, because they are bantams they can be more inclined to go broody, which can be a pro or a con, depending on one's objectives in raising chickens.
I'm not crazy about the feathered feet because they can be messy, but I have to admit it's cute. And finally, one thing I really like is the adorable friendship between two of my pullets. They were picked on by one of the other pullets to the point of drawing blood. I removed them from the coop and gave them their own apartment. They are so fun to watch. They love each other and they do everything together, including seemingly help each other lay, at least it looks like "helping," and moving each other's eggs around. It endears them to me, it is so sweet to see. I cannot imagine separating them.
Pros: Sweet, constantly calm, quiet, small size, great for kids
Cons: not the brightest crayons in the box, susceptible to predator attacks, hard to find good quality
Out of the chickens I've had, this breed has been my favorite. They don't mind one bit if you pick them up and seem to quite enjoy your company. With their small size, it's easy to see how these hens could live in anyone's backyard, even in the densely populated city. The one rooster I had was such a gentleman. He would only make noise twice a day: once to let us know it was morning and once to let the hens know there was some good food. That was it! He was such a good boy. His death was very sad, but as I would imagine is not uncommon for this breed. My rooster was so friendly I'm sure he tried to make friends with the predator that laid the one fatal blow to his head. Poor guy spent a night in the "emergency ward," aka the bathroom of our cabin, before he succumbed to his wounds. The hens still live to this day and I must say they are similar to other bantam hens in that they don't lay many eggs. However, they do a great job at being mothers. Overall, this breed is has a great disposition, small compact size, and remains very quiet. I would recommend brahma bantams to anyone that just wants a friendly breed or a breed great for children. Did I mention they have really fluffy butts? I got mine through an auction house near our farm. It isn't always easy to find show quality versions, but try this website: http://www.horstmanspoultry.com/bantamshome/buffbrahma.html. I've heard great things about Dick Horstman's birds, and his pictures look just like my birds. If anything happen to my sweet hens, that's where I would go to find more.
