Brahma Thread

[want brahmas 2]

yes they are beautiful birds !!! i used to raise them i got my birds from TOM WILTSHIRE he got eggs from Germany !!! the thing with the GERMAN strian is they had very bad vulture hocks . it took use a few years of crossing males on dark pollets to breed that out of them . tom sold his birds years ago due to his age and i about the same time due to a divorce ! miss the birds and would love to get some more some day i think tom sold his to a woman in minnasota ??? dont know her name but wish i did i would call her for sure love your birds though very beautiful probably our strain though keep up the good work want brahmas 2

this was about LG Partridge Brahmas sold mine atleast 10 years ago

 

[cubakid]

I have a question that I hope the experienced breeders of bantam buff Brahmas can answer for me. My first hatch of eggs from John Neff's birds were pretty uniform in color, but this new hatch of eggs from Darlene Hobbs lines have some chicks that are quite dark. A couple of them have dark instead of light feathering down their legs and their bodies and heads are darker too. I was wondering if these chicks are going to end up with improper feather coloring. Any insight would be appreciated 

Pictures of the Hobbs line chicks~











When this chick hatched I thought they had sent me the wrong eggs it was so dark! 

I have noticed that some of my best birds were dark when hatched. Slate Undercolor is important on brahmas, I have found that the darker the slate the better and it should go all the way to the skin. There should only be slate Undercolor, although my original lights had white Undercolor at the base of the feather. I've noticed it helps in the outer color as well( in the hackle, saddle, coverts, and flights). This nice dark chick down can tell you the intensity of the Undercolor they will have as adults, at least that's what I've noticed.
Zach

 

[brahmabreeder]

My two from Darlene aren't very dark. I did have one who died who was really dark. I have noticed though that the darker the chick the better that buff color will be.

 

[Roxannemc]

She is young. All three of my birds are 8 weeks.

Their "brooder" (converted large-dog wire kennel) has a perch that is 21" off the ground. My Rhode Island Red and Easter Egger love to hang out up there, but my Brahma has never gotten up there. She always seems alone.

Since we're trying to get the real coop installed, I was wondering if there was a perch height that would be good for all three birds. I'd rather that the Brahma wouldn't have to spend her life as a loner sitting on a floor perch while the other two sleep in a higher perch. I've read that the the perch is supposed to be higher than the egg boxes.

The egg boxes on the coop are floor level. The egg box doorway is also cut to fit a standard size chicken - the boxes are 14"x15" - but the doorway to the box is smaller.

I'll admit... I'm a first time chicken owner. I bought my birds at a feed store. I got the Brahma because the store clerk said "oh, get one of these, they're really cool looking". I had no idea she was going to be bigger or be so much different than the other two. Now that I have them, at this point, I LOVE the Brahma breed and wish I had gone with 3 Brahmas instead. If her personaility is similar to other Brahma's, she's perfect for our family. Not overly spunky, doesn't fly all over the place and never gives us attitude. I want to accomodate the coop to be Brahma-ready for the next time around.

I bought 3 light Brahmas last march from Cackle HatcheryHad bought some other breeds too a few days before.
The Light Brahmas have always wanted to be together all the time.
When i moved them outside for air if i took one first it would scream until the others were with her again.Now at 16 weeks old AT night they are the last 3 to get in the coop.Maybe they are very breed exclusive.?
They are so gentle and sweet they are my favorites too.I am now trying to hatch some Buffs

 

[chickee]

I have noticed that some of my best birds were dark when hatched. Slate Undercolor is important on brahmas, I have found that the darker the slate the better and it should go all the way to the skin. There should only be slate Undercolor, although my original lights had white Undercolor at the base of the feather. I've noticed it helps in the outer color as well( in the hackle, saddle, coverts, and flights). This nice dark chick down can tell you the intensity of the Undercolor they will have as adults, at least that's what I've noticed.
Zach

Thank you so much! This is good news since I was afraid the dark down was a bad thing! Now I will have to go look at the under color on my John Neff chicks (the ones I posted pictures of.)

 

[pgpoultry]

What is the optimal amount of leg feathering?

My (British) Brahmas by and large have fairly heavy leg feathering. These get broken wandering about free ranging our site. On visiting the "Fur and Feathers" section at the Royal Welsh Show a few days ago, the Brahmas there all seemed to be heavily feathered, too.

I don't know if there is a difference either side of 'the pond', as I am aware that us Brits have a different stance on vulture hocks and we tend to have huge birds (I attribute the size of mine partly to their genetics, but partly due to the thick grass and ridiculously large supply of bugs in it).

Thanks. folks.

 

[NickyPick]

I've got a question about my 20 week old Brahmas. From what I learned last year with my mixed flock, was that when a pullet starts getting red in the face, she's close to laying. One of my light Brahma pullets has been very red faced for the last month and if I go by the two darks I had last year, I don't really expect to see eggs from this young group until late September or October. Could Lemon be gearing up early to lay? Or do Light Brahmas just get red early and it's not a sign of egg laying? My other light, Kiwi, is still pale faced.

I guess no one can help me?

 

[Chick_In_The_Burbs]

I guess no one can help me?

Not a statement on brahmas specifically but on pullets in general; it is usually best to judge based on the girls development and not on the breed average. Is she squatting for you yet? That's another strong sign. All of my hens started laying within two to four weeks of squatting and they started getting red a few weeks before that.

 

[pgpoultry]

NickyPick.....mine were more like 8 months old before they started to lay.

Red face is a good a sign of sexual maturity in Brahmas as with any other type of pullet, as is squatting as mentioned in the previous post.

Was Lemon from a hatchery as hatchery stock tend to lay earlier?

 

[NickyPick]

I've never seen any of my hens squat. The two dark brahmas I got last year (also from Ideal Poultry), well one started at 8 months and the other started at a year. This bunch is only 20 weeks old now, but Lemon has been pretty red in the face for the last 2 months or so. She doesn't have any cockerel characteristics, so I'm relatively sure she's a pullet. The cockerel the bunch is nearly twice the size of the pullets already! (and still hasn't crowed).