Brahma Breeders thread

[big medicine]

My small flock of blue partridge brahma. Just started laying. Bottoms up.





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I see one of your hens has dark head and neck hackles, just curious how that is received among blue partridge breeders ?


Myself personally I like the look of the dark head/neck, and have breed for it in both my single and double laced blue laced red Brahma projects. My bids carry this trait from distant dark Cornish ancestry. I wonder how your.hen acquired this trait ? Another breed that might be a possible source is the Barnevelder.

 

[PeppyLaRoo]

Thanks to those who liked my birds. I had 5 babies hatch last night and today. Out of 5 brahma eggs in the incubator. I think the very first 5 eggs they laid all hatched, so fertility is good. Here is a better picture of the hen in question. I don't know anything about the history as I purchased hatching eggs on ebay. I could have kept another hen that looked like the normal hens but I liked the look of the one. I had cockerel that was black instead of blue, but I sold it.

 

[PeppyLaRoo]

This cockerel was in with the others.

 

[DesertBrahma]

When can I move move my 5.5 wk old chicks outside in a warm safe enclosure to get used to the adult chickens? I would like to move them outside so everyone can safely get used to each other and they get used to the area they're going to be living in. Plus I want my laundry room back lol.

 

[snowbird]

When can I move move my 5.5 wk old chicks outside in a warm safe enclosure to get used to the adult chickens? I would like to move them outside so everyone can safely get used to each other and they get used to the area they're going to be living in. Plus I want my laundry room back lol.

Myself I would not put 5 1/2 week old chicks in a pen with older Brahma.

 

[DesertBrahma]

Not in the same area as the adults but where the adults can see them, and both groups get used to each other. I'm not going to endanger my chicks i worked so hard to get, and raised to this point and beyond. These 3 chicks will be going into my established flock. They're not going to be a separate flock. So they're going to have to get used to each other. I would prefer without the conflict. So i want to safely get everyone used to each other. I want the chicks little enclosure to be inside the area the main flock is. Their parents are in the main flock. These chicks are home laid, hatched and raised. I just need to figure out how to build a little broody enclosure so everyone is safe, and happy. The babies aren't very happy right now because their broody area in house is getting too small. My laundry room isn't that big, and their taking up a pretty big spot. That's what I want to do. Give the chicks a bigger area, and acclimate all my chickens to each other. Not just throw the babies in with the adults. I know I'm going to use an old dog house as the chicks coop area. I just need to know how high the fencing needs to be so everyone is safe. I know my Brahmas can't fly. Well the adults can't because their big birds. The babies can hop pretty high. I'm going to put down hardware cloth, and put fencing around some pallets i,have to enclose it safely. That way everyone stays separate to start. I'm planning on putting a sunshade over the top and sides of the "run" area. Should I put a little roost area inside the doghouse? Should I put the heat lamp i haven't used in 2 weeks in the doghouse with the thermostat attached? These are the questions i need answers for. Temps have been from about 40-50 at night, and 70-80 during the day. So i know day time is warm enough. The house stays between 70-78 so i know their good on temp in house. I don't want to cause a fire outside. I don't want the babies injured. I want them to thrive, and be well adjusted to being an outdoor chicken. Not be house pets lol.

 

[Lilyput]

Dear Desert Brahma: I would invest in a holland heater, which radiates heat down from the top and no lights. (It cannot cause a fire.) You adjust it by moving the legs as the chicks grow. Place it and the chicks in a large dog cage off the ground but where they can see the other birds. Add some roosts. I put mine under a large deck umbrella to protect from the elements.And you may need to cover it partially at night to be sure there are no drafts. When they are fully feathered (if the nights aren't too cold) you can take out the heater. At about 8 weeks old, I would put a little fencing around the dog crate so they can get out on the ground. (I would think 3 feet would be high enough. At about 12 weeks let them out with the hens; but watch very carefully for a couple of days. I wouldn't put them with the mature hens until they are at least 12 weeks old and they shouldn't get layer feed. If you use layer feed for your hens, switch to all flock with separate oyster shell until the pullets are full grown. I just keep mine on all flock; it's a lot easier. I never keeps chicks in the house anymore; just love this heater and the birds seem to thrive in fresh air and regular light patterns. Keep us posted. Best of luck.

 

[DesertBrahma]

I feed Nutrina Feather Fixer to my adult flock. I just moved the 3 young pullets to grower chick feed. This morning it's 65 degrees. Oh its wonderful. I love the heat. The place I have picked out for the outdoor brooder is shielded on the north side by my shed. I have 3 pallets coming off it that I'm going to put fencing on. They're almost feathered out. All 3 are healthy, and strong. I don't think I'm going to hatch anymore eggs in house again. I'm going to let 1 of the adult girls brood. The dog house has old plastic flaps over the doorway so it should cut some of the wind. It's supposed to be around 20-25 mph winds today ugh. I've been putting the babies bin on the porch lately and the adults including Foghorn have been going up and seeing them. None of them realize these are their babies. All 11 of the adults are curious about everything I'm bringing into the backyard and are inspecting everything lol. My girl Big Mama decided to go sit in the doghouse for a while lol. I'm also going to put hardware cloth on the bottom of their " run" area so nothing can come up under them. The sunshade I'm going to use I'm going to drape over the top of the pallets from left to right, then over to the doghouse. This is my redneck idea at least lol. I know they won't need any supplemental heat after 8 wks. So i have about 2 wks to go. I'm going to put a 1 gallon waterer in there, and a smaller feeder than i have out for the adults. Heck might just use an old dog food bowl. I'm trying to keep this a cheap as i can to build. I have some smaller branches from some of my trees I'm going to use as roosts. They'll have fresh grass, and their scratch once they get outside. Reminds me i need to put more oyster shell out for the adults. Now I have the idea, it's time to get the energy to implement it.

 

[cvamoca]

Over the last 25 years I have made the Buff-Light cross several times and never had a chick with the buff head and the balance light. What breeder did this line originally come from ?

No idea Don--someone in New Brunswick, Canada. He has Light Sussex...so...maybe someone got in the woodpile.

I believe he added birds from both hatcheries and a breeder in Quebec--he says he's never had a light one pop up--these chicks are now white--white heads, too. One is really, really clean, two have some buff on their wings, they are a month old.



I don't know what to do--I have orders for buff chicks--these looked buff when they were day olds--I have nothing that is not buff--all the adults are buff. I saw the parental stock and they were all buff, too. So what in heck happened here?
It's interesting to note that the Light chicks feet are better feathered than some of the others.
What to do with what I hoped would be the next generation of breeders? I have size in them--but colour...not so much.

 

[nightowl223]

Oh, my goodness!!

Here I thought nothing would ever get between me and my Light Brahmas, but these beauties could definitely do it! Wow!

And now, I need another coop...