Brahma Breeders thread

[cutipatooti]

Brahma breeders, I have 17 blue/gold/splash partridge brahmas that I am growing out for the purpose of starting a small breeding group. I know I have to grow them out untill at least 8 months to get the best idea of what I have unless it's a serious fault, and even then I might want to wait. I just wanted to see what you all thought of this chick. It's a runt. I'm almost positive I will not be keeping this chick based on size alone. I'm not positive but I think it's a pullet just because it's so small, but feather growth says boy. It's the smallest of all the chicks by far. If I should find this chick a good home should I let it go or is it still benificial to grow it out. Here are some pics of the size difference. This is the chick with one of the larger cockerels both hatched same day.

 

[brahmapapa]

That was a year ago at least. She is way back in business by now.

sorry, i guess i missed the posting date on that one

 

[Tim63]

No need to apologize. Just wanted you to know she has fully recovered and then some.

 

[brahmabreeder]

Brahma breeders, I have 17 blue/gold/splash partridge brahmas that I am growing out for the purpose of starting a small breeding group. I know I have to grow them out untill at least 8 months to get the best idea of what I have unless it's a serious fault, and even then I might want to wait. I just wanted to see what you all thought of this chick. It's a runt. I'm almost positive I will not be keeping this chick based on size alone. I'm not positive but I think it's a pullet just because it's so small, but feather growth says boy. It's the smallest of all the chicks by far. If I should find this chick a good home should I let it go or is it still benificial to grow it out. Here are some pics of the size difference. This is the chick with one of the larger cockerels both hatched same day.

I always cull birds that fall behind in growth from their hatch mates. I want big birds that grow quick (well as quick as quick can get with this breed.)

 

[cutipatooti]

I always cull birds that fall behind in growth from their hatch mates. I want big birds that grow quick (well as quick as quick can get with this breed.)

Thanks. That is what I was thinking. I wasnt sure I i should keep it in case it had some Other qualities that were good. To me the first think you notice with the brahmas are their size. Is there any thing that trumps size first? I know I have to look at wing angle, vulture hocks, head size, brow ridge and whatnot, but if it's just not big enough do any of those things matter ( unless it's a bantam)?

 

[bumpercarr]

I am back from my many adventures! I will post tomorrow. At Houston airport after a 10 hour flight....home after midnight. Talk to everyone tomorrow!

 

[brahmabreeder]

Thanks. That is what I was thinking. I wasnt sure I i should keep it in case it had some Other qualities that were good. To me the first think you notice with the brahmas are their size. Is there any thing that trumps size first? I know I have to look at wing angle, vulture hocks, head size, brow ridge and whatnot, but if it's just not big enough do any of those things matter ( unless it's a bantam)?

Size is always important to a Brahma. It's just a matter of what size were talking about. Their weight is most certainly one of the more important factors in deciding whether or not to use the bird for breeding. I will say though, that if a bird has a trait my breeding program needs, such as head width, tail, width, or something else, and it really excels in said area then I wouldn't hesitate to breed that bird since there would be a benefit to it. However, I would not just pair it with any bird. I would try and counteract the size issue by placing it in a pen with a bird that had the size, but was just lacking in the area that the other bird excelled in. Make sense?

 

[bumpercarr]

I have some cockerels (6 weeks about) that are out of a dark over partridge. Some of them look to be quite spangled instead of penciled. Now, they are young yet and may change, but I was wondering if anyone knew what could cause this? I know that my partridge males tend to be pretty spangled (but with gold, not white) when they are young, so I think that these will grow out of it. Any ideas?

 

[cutipatooti]

Brahmabreeder, you make perfect sense. Thanks!

 

[bumpercarr]

Thanks. That is what I was thinking. I wasnt sure I i should keep it in case it had some Other qualities that were good. To me the first think you notice with the brahmas are their size. Is there any thing that trumps size first? I know I have to look at wing angle, vulture hocks, head size, brow ridge and whatnot, but if it's just not big enough do any of those things matter ( unless it's a bantam)?

Not in my opinion. Keep in mind that there are some lines out there that have a slow growing gene as well. Although I probably wouldn't consider breeding one of those either unless bird was really nice in every other way then I might think about it. I don't know enough about that gene to know how it is passed on to their get. I have a really nice cockerel right now that is about 11 months old but I think is behind in the size area. I'm willing to give him some more time to grow before I decide what I'm going to do with him. I also prefer my breeding birds to grow on the faster side (for brahmas).

On the other hand, I have a dark male now that has been at weight and size for more than two months, but has shown no interest in the girls until just recently (today was the first day I saw any action on his part). So, he grew size wise, but didn't mature sexually at a normal rate....fortunately, I was willing to wait for him because I really want to breed him.

There are some interesting comments (can't remember where) about whether the faster growing brahmas have shorter lives (i.e. heart attacks and other problems associated with their large size).