Backyard Brahmas!!

[bumpercarr]

Thanks for your reply. May I ask what you feed yours. This is the first time I've ever had chickens. I want to feed them the best that I can. But I don't know a whole lot just yet.

One thing to remember with Brahmas is that they are slow growers, so when you read the back of the bag of feed you have to take that into consideration. If the bag says to feed to 10 weeks, make it 16-20 weeks for brahmas, if the bag says 20 weeks (most other chicken's laying age), it is 40 weeks for brahmas.

Personally, I feed Purina medicated chick starter until they are 16 weeks old more or less. They will be fed that for a shorter period of time if I put them in with the juveniles before 20 weeks, sometimes I have to do that because of weather conditions (like right now it is really hot and they need to have more space than they have in the brooder). At somewhere between 16 and 20 weeks, I put them on Purina grower feed. I keep all of my birds on that until their first molt. Then I switch to Nutrena Feather Fixer. They will be on that for the rest of their lives. I start leaving free choice oyster shell out for them when they start laying. I supplement with black oil sunflower seeds, just a handful for 3-4 birds in the morning is a nice treat for them. Also, when it is not hot I'll give them a handful of meal worms (one handful for 3-4 birds) every afternoon as a treat. When it is hot out, I try to keep the protein intake at 18% or a little less, when it is cold I'll push it to 20% or more. Meal worms are 50% protein, so you really do not want to overdo it. I also give them vegetable and fruit scraps from the garden and kitchen for their enjoyment. I never, ever feed scratch....they will fill up on it and there is very little nutrition in scratch. You can give them a flock block, although it isn't particularly nutritious it keeps them busy.

This is one of my pullets...just getting about to laying age:

 

[bitsy68]

Have a question. I was given this chick for free because the breeder was out of buff brahmas. I was told that it was a buff laced brahma. It's feathers are coming in pure white and it had a black spot on its head. There is no lacing on its feathers and it is about 4 weeks old. It is also much smaller and less developed than my other chicks of the same age. Any thoughts?

 

[bumpercarr]

Have a question. I was given this chick for free because the breeder was out of buff brahmas. I was told that it was a buff laced brahma. It's feathers are coming in pure white and it had a black spot on its head. There is no lacing on its feathers and it is about 4 weeks old. It is also much smaller and less developed than my other chicks of the same age. Any thoughts?

Do you know what other breeds the breeder had? I can't tell much from the picture, but it doesn't look like a brahma to me.

 

[bitsy68]

This is them at 1 week He had many breeds. They looked like brahmas but maybe not. The other 2 died. It does have feathered feet but he had Cochins also.

 

[sroy]

One thing to remember with Brahmas is that they are slow growers, so when you read the back of the bag of feed you have to take that into consideration. If the bag says to feed to 10 weeks, make it 16-20 weeks for brahmas, if the bag says 20 weeks (most other chicken's laying age), it is 40 weeks for brahmas.

Personally, I feed Purina medicated chick starter until they are 16 weeks old more or less. They will be fed that for a shorter period of time if I put them in with the juveniles before 20 weeks, sometimes I have to do that because of weather conditions (like right now it is really hot and they need to have more space than they have in the brooder). At somewhere between 16 and 20 weeks, I put them on Purina grower feed. I keep all of my birds on that until their first molt. Then I switch to Nutrena Feather Fixer. They will be on that for the rest of their lives. I start leaving free choice oyster shell out for them when they start laying. I supplement with black oil sunflower seeds, just a handful for 3-4 birds in the morning is a nice treat for them. Also, when it is not hot I'll give them a handful of meal worms (one handful for 3-4 birds) every afternoon as a treat. When it is hot out, I try to keep the protein intake at 18% or a little less, when it is cold I'll push it to 20% or more. Meal worms are 50% protein, so you really do not want to overdo it. I also give them vegetable and fruit scraps from the garden and kitchen for their enjoyment. I never, ever feed scratch....they will fill up on it and there is very little nutrition in scratch. You can give them a flock block, although it isn't particularly nutritious it keeps them busy.

This is one of my pullets...just getting about to laying age:

Thank you SO much! This is exactly the answer I was looking for. I asked this on a different thread with not much response. I was thinking brahmas had different feeding requirements than smaller, faster growing chickens, no one else seemed to think so. I'm now feeding mine PURINA START & GROW SUNFRESH RECIPE POULTRY FEED. They were on Dumar starter/grower but did't read good things about that food so I switched. Thanks again for the step by step info, it's very helpful to this newbie. Beautiful dark pullet you have there by the way, I have a buff trio, they are 10 weeks old. I just adore them!

 

[XxMingirlxX]

Hello Brahma lovers!

I'm thinking about adding a Brahma to my flock, could you give me the pros and cons and tell me what you think about the following types :
Dark
Gold
Lemon Pyle

Do you have any photos of them aswell as their eggs,
Thanks in Advance.

 

[newmarch2014]

Hi I am new to Brahmas myself and have no experience with the 3 varieties you mention, I have 2 hatchery Light Brahmas (a rooster and a pullet and no I didn't want a rooster) that are 4 1/2 mos old.
Cons:1)If you are hoping for eggs soon they mature slower than other breeds so it is a longer wait. My girl is nowhere near ready to lay at this point but last years were laying by 20-22 weeks and this years EE's are gettting really red in the face already.2) They eat a LOT, it takes a lot of food to grow those monsters. I feed good food and would love to do organic but I have gone through a50 lb bag of chick then grower feed each month for those 2 and 2 little EE's that barely eat. That is compared to my last years flock of 2 Production Reds and 2 Buff Orps that took till POL to go through 2 bags.With that amount organic is out of my budget. They get a lot of treats of kitchen scraps which brings me to my....
Pro: 1)They are not skittish and are pretty docile and friendly, because of their appetites they are the first to come get treats out of my hand and hang around a bit.2) It is just really cool having a rooster that is as big as a medium size dog haha.

 

[big medicine]

One thing to remember with Brahmas is that they are slow growers, so when you read the back of the bag of feed you have to take that into consideration. If the bag says to feed to 10 weeks, make it 16-20 weeks for brahmas, if the bag says 20 weeks (most other chicken's laying age), it is 40 weeks for brahmas.

Personally, I feed Purina medicated chick starter until they are 16 weeks old more or less. They will be fed that for a shorter period of time if I put them in with the juveniles before 20 weeks, sometimes I have to do that because of weather conditions (like right now it is really hot and they need to have more space than they have in the brooder). At somewhere between 16 and 20 weeks, I put them on Purina grower feed. I keep all of my birds on that until their first molt. Then I switch to Nutrena Feather Fixer. They will be on that for the rest of their lives. I start leaving free choice oyster shell out for them when they start laying. I supplement with black oil sunflower seeds, just a handful for 3-4 birds in the morning is a nice treat for them. Also, when it is not hot I'll give them a handful of meal worms (one handful for 3-4 birds) every afternoon as a treat. When it is hot out, I try to keep the protein intake at 18% or a little less, when it is cold I'll push it to 20% or more. Meal worms are 50% protein, so you really do not want to overdo it. I also give them vegetable and fruit scraps from the garden and kitchen for their enjoyment. I never, ever feed scratch....they will fill up on it and there is very little nutrition in scratch. You can give them a flock block, although it isn't particularly nutritious it keeps them busy.

This is one of my pullets...just getting about to laying age:

I agree on using a medicated chick starter, although not a fan of Purina since they switched to the plant based formula years ago. I think they do better on a animal protein based ration.

As to scratch, I use it sparingly. Not enough to be much of a factor nutritiously, but more as maybe a management tool. Maybe a handful scattered across the litter in the morning gets the girls stirring and fluffing the littered, keeping it drier and lighter, extending it's usable life, plus the girls are happily purring away scratching for a spec of wheat, or sunflower. I increase the percentage of corn in the scratch mix in the winter. On very cold days I will throw a good handful of corn about an hour before dark. The theory being digesting the corn will produce heat, helping through a very cold night.

Another way I use scratch is like last evening. Nasty looking wall of black clouds rolling our way, birds are oblivious, still happily wandering the yard. A little rattle of scratch in a plastic scoop gets their heads up, and they come running. Everybody got in, and buttoned up dry (including me) before it all broke loose.

 

[sroy]

What do you feed yours big medicine? I only have like 3 choices Purina, Nutrena, and Dumar.

 

[bumpercarr]

I agree on using a medicated chick starter, although not a fan of Purina since they switched to the plant based formula years ago. I think they do better on a animal protein based ration.

As to scratch, I use it sparingly. Not enough to be much of a factor nutritiously, but more as maybe a management tool. Maybe a handful scattered across the litter in the morning gets the girls stirring and fluffing the littered, keeping it drier and lighter, extending it's usable life, plus the girls are happily purring away scratching for a spec of wheat, or sunflower. I increase the percentage of corn in the scratch mix in the winter. On very cold days I will throw a good handful of corn about an hour before dark. The theory being digesting the corn will produce heat, helping through a very cold night.

Another way I use scratch is like last evening. Nasty looking wall of black clouds rolling our way, birds are oblivious, still happily wandering the yard. A little rattle of scratch in a plastic scoop gets their heads up, and they come running. Everybody got in, and buttoned up dry (including me) before it all broke loose.

I agree on the Purina, but unfortunately, it is the only choice here besides Dumar, which I really don't like at all, until they are old enough to go on the Nutrena. For some reason, our TSC only carries the Nutrena for adult birds, not for the youngsters.

Mine come to the bag of meal worms shaking....but meal worms can be pricey so I am very, very careful with how much I feed. Good idea on putting some scratch in the shavings...I'll have to try that, maybe instead use some sunflower seeds since it is so hot here? I've avoided feeding inside the coop because of the mouse problems that I've had, but maybe if I got the girls scratching through it they would also keep the mice away.

Has anyone noticed that the boys are not as inclined to treats as the girls are? My boys will eat the sunflower seeds and the meal worms, but really don't like the other treats like kitchen scraps.