Backyard Brahmas!!

[LadyBroody]

That's true. I love my babies so much!! I found never give them up for some silly vulture hock!

 

[Sjisty]

That's true. I love my babies so much!! I found never give them up for some silly vulture hock!

Good! Sometimes after talking to some of the serious breeders, I just want to go cry! Then I go outside and Comet jumps in my lap. I look at him with his goofy looking vulture hocks and straight comb. He snakes his long neck around my neck for a hug, and suddenly I don't care what he looks like!

 

[LadyBroody]

Good! Sometimes after talking to some of the serious breeders, I just want to go cry! Then I go outside and Comet jumps in my lap. I look at him with his goofy looking vulture hocks and straight comb. He snakes his long neck around my neck for a hug, and suddenly I don't care what he looks like!

Agreed! It's not what they look like that makes them special, but who they are.

 

[bumpercarr]

That's true. I love my babies so much!! I found never give them up for some silly vulture hock!

Vulture hocks won't affect anything, they will still lay eggs, they will still be lovely birds, some would say more lovely than those without the VHs. They'll go broody and raise a clutch if they are so inclined. The only thing wrong with vulture hocks is that they are a disqualification if you plan on showing your Brahmas in the US or if you are planning a breeding for sale program (hatching eggs, chicks etc) it would be irresponsible to sell without telling the person you are selling to that your birds may pass on VHs.

So for those of us that are striving for the perfect bird, we don't want vulture hocks in our breeding program. For those of us that just love the gentle giants, we don't really care. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with either point of view. Just like in other things in life, we need to learn to be tolerant of both sides and not judgmental.

Hopefully, there is enough room under this big tent for all of us!

 

[LadyBroody]

Vulture hocks won't affect anything, they will still lay eggs, they will still be lovely birds, some would say more lovely than those without the VHs. They'll go broody and raise a clutch if they are so inclined. The only thing wrong with vulture hocks is that they are a disqualification if you plan on showing your Brahmas in the US or if you are planning a breeding for sale program (hatching eggs, chicks etc) it would be irresponsible to sell without telling the person you are selling to that your birds may pass on VHs.

So for those of us that are striving for the perfect bird, we don't want vulture hocks in our breeding program. For those of us that just love the gentle giants, we don't really care. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with either point of view. Just like in other things in life, we need to learn to be tolerant of both sides and not judgmental.

Hopefully, there is enough room under this big tent for all of us!

Thanks for the info. So if they have vulture hocks will they still breed as easily as ones without VHs? Is there a difference? I want to breed them and sell the chicks, but I don't wish to show them.

 

[bumpercarr]

Has anyone read Dan Powell's website and how he looks at his Brahmas? I think it is a very interesting read, he's also written some articles, but honestly his philosophy about Brahmas almost brings tears to my eyes.

You can find it here if you are interested: http://oneearthfarm.com/chickens/brahmas.html

 

[bumpercarr]

Edited, it was the same article.

Here is the right one: http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/6-4/breeding_for_vitality_become_a_steward_of_the_breed/

 

[bumpercarr]

Thanks for the info. So if they have vulture hocks will they still breed as easily as ones without VHs? Is there a difference? I want to breed them and sell the chicks, but I don't wish to show them.

I don't think the VHs are a detriment to their ability to breed. As we've said, in most other countries VHs are fine in Brahmas. I can't imagine that the trait would be desirable if it impeded breeding and fertility, but then again, the Standard of Perfection for the back end of Cochins can sometimes impede fertility. I haven't heard of anyone having any difficulty because of VHs.

If you are going to breed and sell chicks, please make sure that anyone that wants your chicks understands that they either have VHs or carry the gene. This doesn't mean you have to come out and scream to the hills that your birds have VHs, but it does mean that you should ask anyone who is interested in buying from you what the purpose of the bird is going to be and then explain that your birds are not show quality, but are still great birds. Most backyard enthusiasts wouldn't care, but some may so it is important to be upfront with them so there aren't any ill feelings later on. If you are selling meat or egg birds to your neighbors, it really isn't a big deal. If you put yourself out there to sell chicks or eggs of high quality birds, you'll probably run into a spot of trouble somewhere down the line. One thing to keep in mind when thinking about a cottage business for chickens is that Brahmas are notoriously hard to sex until they are 4-6 weeks old. In my experience (and it is only my experience, others may have a different experience) most of my neighbors only want pullets and of course I only want to get rid of cockerels. This is difficult with Brahmas, you either have to raise them long enough to know what you have sex wise, or explain that you can't provide pullets only but that you can provide straight run chicks. If you look on any farm's site that sells Brahma chicks, they all sell only straight run. They will sell juveniles sexed, but not chicks and of course they charge a lot for the pullets and hardly anything (if not free) for the cockerels once they reach the magic age to be sexed. And of course, you need to have a plan about what you are going to do with all of the extra cockerels that you have in your flock.

Anyway, just my two cents worth.

 

[LadyBroody]

I don't think the VHs are a detriment to their ability to breed. As we've said, in most other countries VHs are fine in Brahmas. I can't imagine that the trait would be desirable if it impeded breeding and fertility, but then again, the Standard of Perfection for the back end of Cochins can sometimes impede fertility. I haven't heard of anyone having any difficulty because of VHs.

If you are going to breed and sell chicks, please make sure that anyone that wants your chicks understands that they either have VHs or carry the gene. This doesn't mean you have to come out and scream to the hills that your birds have VHs, but it does mean that you should ask anyone who is interested in buying from you what the purpose of the bird is going to be and then explain that your birds are not show quality, but are still great birds. Most backyard enthusiasts wouldn't care, but some may so it is important to be upfront with them so there aren't any ill feelings later on. If you are selling meat or egg birds to your neighbors, it really isn't a big deal. If you put yourself out there to sell chicks or eggs of high quality birds, you'll probably run into a spot of trouble somewhere down the line. One thing to keep in mind when thinking about a cottage business for chickens is that Brahmas are notoriously hard to sex until they are 4-6 weeks old. In my experience (and it is only my experience, others may have a different experience) most of my neighbors only want pullets and of course I only want to get rid of cockerels. This is difficult with Brahmas, you either have to raise them long enough to know what you have sex wise, or explain that you can't provide pullets only but that you can provide straight run chicks. If you look on any farm's site that sells Brahma chicks, they all sell only straight run. They will sell juveniles sexed, but not chicks and of course they charge a lot for the pullets and hardly anything (if not free) for the cockerels once they reach the magic age to be sexed. And of course, you need to have a plan about what you are going to do with all of the extra cockerels that you have in your flock.

Anyway, just my two cents worth.

Thank you for being patient with me, and for answering my questions in so much detail. I am very thankful for your assistance. My chicks are only six weeks old now, so I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Once again, thank you very much for your help and info.

 

[bamadude]

I have some strange mutt brahmas. They are the offspring of a buff brahma cock over a light x dark brahma hen. ( i bought them like that as my very 1st chicks. The cockerels are colored like lights and pullets are buff colored. Anyways i got a bator and hatched 1 of the eggs. Any ideas on what it will look like. Its still wet but it looks like a dark brahma color now