Brahma Breeders thread

[Tim63]

Thanks Tim, that's what I thought I had read before. I don't claim to be an expert but I do want to improve all my birds. I figure if u are not improving u are going backwards.

EXCELLENT point.

 

[bumpercarr]

Specifically in your case with the Bantam Darks. You can cull them VERY early for Vulture Hocks. They will come in very evident as soon as the bird begins to feather in.

Generally I don't cull for minor color issues. TYPE is paramount. I like to let my birds grow. I'll cull obvious sparrow heads at a couple of months. Of course I DO NOT baby sickly chicks that fail to thrive. I'll cull females with WAY too much black in cushion area. I keep typey females with some black there as breeders.

Matt, I don't cull for growth rate as I just raise bantams. As far as vigor... I don't keep sickly birds.

To BC, just remember WIDE.....WIDE head, Wide back, WIDE tail, even WIDE feathers. Brahmas are a massive, broad bird. Look for birds that show good overall width. Sparrow-headed, narrow birds with pinched tails are NO GOOD. (for our purposes as exhibition breeders anyway).

Tim

Thanks Tim. That answers my question exactly. I read somewhere that vulture hocks are a recessive gene and can pop up even thought the parents are vulture hock free. Do you know if that is true?

 

[Sjisty]

I'm not Tim, but YES that's true! I have been battling vulture hocks for years as my original stock came from the UK, where they are preferred.

I kept breeding them because I loved the colors and size, but even now, years later after breeding back to clean hocks, every now and then one pops out of the egg with huge vulture hocks.

 

[big medicine]

Knew an old time breeder who would cull at hatch if the chick did not have a fully feathered middle toe, or a head as wide as his thumb( or maybe thumbnail), large fowl that is.

 

[bumpercarr]

Knew an old time breeder who would cull at hatch if the chick did not have a fully feathered middle toe, or a head as wide as his thumb( or maybe thumbnail), large fowl that is.

I'm not sure that I could cull at hatch! I just have too curious of a personality and want to at least see what I've got. I do think I'm going to try to cull as early as possible though....just to save myself some feed. Our farmer's market opens up in about a month and I think I can sell any that I don't want there.

Just another curiosity question, how many eggs do you guys set every spring and how many of those that hatch do you keep beyond 6 weeks?

 

[Tim63]

Not sure exactly how many I set. ALL of them till I get what I want hatched...around 100. I don't cull many(if any) at six weeks. There is NO WAY I could hatch and raise 100 big birds.

Tim

 

[bumpercarr]

Yeah, I'm finding the raising the babies thing to be a lot of work. I'm just not sure enough at less than 6 weeks what I'm looking for yet. Frankly, I'm not really sure until they are about 12 weeks. I think I need to start taking better notes so that I remember what's what at 1 day, 2 days, 1 week, etc. After a while I will probably be able to tell earlier than I can now, but right now I'm going pretty much on instinct. Unfortunately, there isn't anyone close by that can be much help.

So far, the one chick that I babied is too small and is definitely a cull, regardless of what gender it turns out to be (probably a cockerel knowing my luck!). Learned a lesson there. But so far, I think that is the only lesson I learned besides to try to get all of my eggs at the same time so I don't have so many hatches. No way I can raise 100 big birds either, not enough room, not enough time, not enough money....all of those things. I'm thinking I'd like to keep the flock at about 30.

Haven't seen any vulture hocks yet, but I don't have any that have feathered that far. Maybe I should try the thumb method that Big Medicine mentioned. 6 LF hatched today, so I'll try it and see what I find. I'm assuming it doesn't apply to bantams, maybe the index finger?

 

[bumpercarr]

Well, all of the hatchlings passed the thumb test.

 

[Tim63]

I try and hatch 100, BUT....only about 10 or so birds are kept for breeders. I hold on to a few older birds and a few first year birds to breed from. You have to have the good breeder birds to produce your show birds. Sometimes good show birds make good breeders. You have to keep some over-colored birds to maintain a good Columbian pattern. I only breed Columbian varieties.

Tim

 

[bumpercarr]

I try and hatch 100, BUT....only about 10 or so birds are kept for breeders. I hold on to a few older birds and a few first year birds to breed from. You have to have the good breeder birds to produce your show birds. Sometimes good show birds make good breeders. You have to keep some over-colored birds to maintain a good Columbian pattern. I only breed Columbian varieties.

Tim

What is an over-colored bird?