Backyard Brahmas!!

[Junibutt]

The breeder brahma group really doesn't like to answer questions about sexing your chicks.....just letting you know that you probably won't get an answer over there. So, here goes........

Chewey - looks like a cockerel to me. The rest look like pullets although the whiter one in the third picture is suspicious (note shorter wing feathers). Only time will tell. Sometimes, they are just slower to mature. If you read through this entire thread, you will find that some that thought they had one or two cockerels come to find out that they are indeed pullets. So, feather sexing at this age isn't really very accurate. You should be able to be about 90% sure at 8 weeks or so. Even then though, you can make a mistake. It's usually best to wait until it is pretty obvious, like they lay an egg or start to crow.

Welcome to the backyard brahma forum!

Thanks, I just don't want my kids to get attached and then have to give him up. Chewie does not have a tail at all so thats what made me suspicious. The other lighter one Sapphire does have long feathers, its not very clear in picture because they are mixed colors.

Are they all Light Brahmas though? or are they mixes? I have no interest in keeping them if they are not Light. My wife only gave me permission (yes she has strict leash on me when it comes to chicken) to add to our flock provided they were Light Brahmas.

 

[bumpercarr]

Thanks, I just don't want my kids to get attached and then have to give him up. Chewie does not have a tail at all so thats what made me suspicious. The other lighter one Sapphire does have long feathers, its not very clear in picture because they are mixed colors.

Are they all Light Brahmas though? or are they mixes? I have no interest in keeping them if they are not Light. My wife only gave me permission (yes she has strict leash on me when it comes to chicken) to add to our flock provided they were Light Brahmas.

I can't help you with whether they a lights or not. They look like it to me, but I raise partridge and darks, so I have no idea what lights look like as chicks. They don't look partridge or dark, so I would guess they are either lights or buffs. As I said, they look like lights to me, but what do I know?

 

[bamadude]

Janibut: those look exactly like my lights did. They may have some dark or buff patches on them but the silver coloring is definately there.i also have buffs and they were almost brown looking at that age. I have no idea the sex of those tho. I can guess but im 3 for 10 so far lol.

 

[livininbrazil]

I got mine out of the pullet bin at TSC and I had know clue what they were. I couldn't look at them closely to see that they had feathered feet, they just put them in the box. I thought it might have been a sex link because they didn't say what exactly were in there. When I brought them home I realized that they were brahmas and I have 4 of them now. They grow so slow and I have 1 adult one from last year and barely ever lays eggs. She laid maybe about 8 and stopped. She is molting now. I want to get rid of them when they get bigger and use them for meat. My theory is that I'm not going to pay for birds that just eat up the feed and don't lay eggs.

Well, of corse, it depends what you want. I think Brahmas are lovely-looking chickens, so I breed them for that. I don´t breed a lot of them, and i sell off those I don´t want to other people who want something pretty in their yard. Not even much good for meat, as you have to wait so very long for them to get a good size.
For eggs, i keep isa browns, stars or hi-line types.

 

[kenzier093]

Well, of corse, it depends what you want. I think Brahmas are lovely-looking chickens, so I breed them for that. I don´t breed a lot of them, and i sell off those I don´t want to other people who want something pretty in their yard. Not even much good for meat, as you have to wait so very long for them to get a good size.
For eggs, i keep isa browns, stars or hi-line types.

Yea they don't need to be big when I butcher them, just decent enough to have some meat on them.

 

[livininbrazil]

yes, mine were from a breeder as well. But mine were only pullets (8 mos) when I lost them, hadn't had a chance to go broody yet. I don't want to post a pick yet, the damage to the older one is pretty graphic. I'll try to post one of the little one this afternoon. It's raining here now, so hard to get a pic. Of course, the first night after I move the hospital cage out of the house, back to the coop it has to rain! It only rains here about 10 days a year.

So, yes, your theory is out the window! But, each line seems to lay differently. I've heard some lay like mine, pretty regular, and then some only lay every other day. I think it also depends on age. I actually chose brahmas because they lay less.....that wasn't working out for me.

However, as they aged they may have slowed down. I won't know for another year and a half or so.

My hens will lay every day for maybe 8 or 10 days, then they want to brood. if I take all their eggs away, they´ll just stop laying and have a rest. Mostly, though, I leave them with 3 eggs to keep them occupied. last year I just had 3 Brahma breeding hens and 2 cross-bred ones. This year i´ll have 5 more Brahma hens. they´re just youngsters at the moment. I have others, but they´re not Brahmas. I´m looking forward to seeing what they produce, as i got 2 more new pullets and one new cockerel from different sources.
I understand about the pics. When mine lost a huge amount of skin on her side, I couldn´t imagine how it was going to heal.. But it did, and really well. Chickens are amazing.

 

[Jryan18]

Hi,

I am new to Brahmas and got my first chicks 10 days ago. They were sold to me as Light but are different colors. Kindly advise based on pictures. They also seem to be playfully aggressive to each other since day 1. Is it normal behavior for Brahmas?
Lastly 3 of them have grown tail feathers already and one (Chewie) has not. Chewie also has a taller stance. Could he be a rooster?

Thanks everyone for their input in advance,

Here are the pics:

1. Chewie



2. Cutie



3. Sapphire and Sleepy

believe those are lights but in my limited experience, our light hens have always been almost completely yellow and the roosters(we have only had two) both had the black coloring on their backs and heads.

 

[Junibutt]

believe those are lights but in my limited experience, our light hens have always been almost completely yellow and the roosters(we have only had two) both had the black coloring on their backs and heads.

Thanks everyone for their input. I guess I will wait it out!

 

[CarolinaHen]

Update:  Little one is doing fine, no issues at all and has even opened that eye.  Although I suspect she is blind in that one, we'll see how it progresses.

8 mo old pullet - I was ready to put her down yesterday, she just seemed to be in so much pain.  I gave her the prescribed meds again (pain, anti inflammatory, antibiotic) yesterday afternoon along with some more egg yolk and of course water.  Last night at bedtime, she had moved to the other side of the cage where she would have access to the food & water but I didn't see her eat or drink anything.  This morning, I got her out to give her water and egg yolk, she took the water easily, but wanted nothing to do with the egg yolk.  So, I took her outside (it's warm here) so she could get some sun and fresh air.  She found a bug and ate it!!  So, I put some mealy worms in front of her and she ate more and more and more!  Looks like she might make it folks!

I'm going to continue the water regimen until I'm sure she's drinking on her own since drinking involves moving the head up so much.

Great news!

 

[LilyD]

believe those are lights but in my limited experience, our light hens have always been almost completely yellow and the roosters(we have only had two) both had the black coloring on their backs and heads.

Last year I bought some hatchery lights and they were darker color like yours are. They could still be lights even though they aren't all yellow. Good luck.