Brahma Thread

[TNBEARCHICK]

Here are my blue columbian brahmas. Third picture is the hen that is all curly cued- she is not going to be part of the breeding program but, is a sweetheart and just cute so she will be my pet.

 

[Anchises85]

This weekend I am going to look at some light and dark brahmas to add to my flock. I only want hens but these will not be sexed. They are 9-10 weeks old so I am hoping I will be able to tell cockerels from pullets. Can anyone offer tips on what to look for when I pick the birds?

 

[TNBEARCHICK]

you should be able to tell the difference between pullet/cockerel on the dark brahmas but, the buffs always throw me- I thought I had all females until they were mature and the males finally got darker. I would imagine the light are like the buffs, hard to tell till maturity.
On the dark- the pullets will have the penciled look to the feathers.

 

[brahmabreeder]

I always look for saddle feathers on the males . Should be seen on them by now. Darks are a lot easier to sex though. Males are lighter in color than the females.

 

[Sazbaby]

This weekend I am going to look at some light and dark brahmas to add to my flock. I only want hens but these will not be sexed. They are 9-10 weeks old so I am hoping I will be able to tell cockerels from pullets. Can anyone offer tips on what to look for when I pick the birds?

I have 3 light brahmas that are 10-11 weeks old, and there are 2 obvious boys (comb is definitely more developed!) and the third one I posted a pic a few pages back, because I still can't convince myself of whether it's a boy or a girl... lol Hopefully with them side by side at this age you should be able to tell a definite difference in comb size/color. Wish I had a guaranteed pullet to compare mine to! My 3 at this age don't have any saddle feathers yet, and I'm not positive there are even hackles on the ones I know are boys... just regular neck feathers so far, it seems... Good luck, hope you hit the pullet jackpot!

 

[BGMatt]

Here is my Buff Brahmas. I have 3 Roos (the one giving me a standing ovation is my oldest butterball) and 2 hens. The hens and the other 2 roos were hatched from Dick Horstman eggs. Need some critique and advice on how good or bad. Tim.... have you had your snickers for the day?

I'm not Tim obviously, but I really like the pattern on the two hens, nice and clean, and even some lacing on the main tails, they look ok as far as top line goes too, perhaps a bit too much cushion on the one in the 4th picture down. The males pictured, can't see much type on the one that is drinking, the one in first picture has too high of a tail angle. How is their head width? Color looks good to me, but it's always perilous to judge buff color from a photo as everyone's monitors are different.

 

[Shark Akhrrana]

I'm not Tim obviously, but I really like the pattern on the two hens, nice and clean, and even some lacing on the main tails, they look ok as far as top line goes too, perhaps a bit too much cushion on the one in the 4th picture down. The males pictured, can't see much type on the one that is drinking, the one in first picture has too high of a tail angle. How is their head width? Color looks good to me, but it's always perilous to judge buff color from a photo as everyone's monitors are different.

I agree with you. I don't know much but i think the soft colors on that hen are very very lovely

 

[Sazbaby]

Hi all! I ordered Lt Brahmas this summer and was supposed to get 12 males and 3 females... well, after a shipping delay and a particularly bad last day of transit, only 3 remained. They are now 10-11 weeks old, and 2 are definitely looking like boys. This one, however, still eludes me... the comb is a bit redder than I'd expect for a pullet, but it's remarkably smaller than the 2 obvious boys. Hackle feathers are currently looking fairly rounded, can't really see any saddle feathers yet. Not much in the way of real tail feathers yet. Can any of you experienced brahma folks give me a little more confidence in saying it's a girl or a boy? A friend of ours wants to buy it from us if its a girl, they don't want a boy... sounds like I have a little over a week before they'll be coming to get their birds... hoping it will become a bit more obvious by then! lol

Uh oh.... I just pulled out one of the "for sure boys" from this group, and the combs are looking fairly similar to this one- out of the 3, one is definitely larger overall, with a bigger comb as well, the other two are smaller (seems like they always have been...) but their combs are still red even though they're about half the size of the other boy... I'm thinking I've ended up with 3 boys, which sort of makes sense given what I started out with... lol At least I have another week till he/she is supposed to go (if he/she turns out to be a girl! lol)

 

[Tammy N]

Quote: Looks like a Boy , why did you want 12 males and 3 females ?

 

[Sazbaby]

Looks like a Boy , why did you want 12 males and 3 females ?

Funny, I've gotten lots of votes both ways, seems I'll just have to wait this one out! lol I'm thinking with my odds, it's a boy... The hatchery couldn't fulfill my order since the breed I wanted didn't hatch well, and this was the only breed they had available with males *and* females that met my needs... the only had 3 females to send, so they just filled out my order with males... they'll be going in the freezer anyway. Just a screwed up situation from the start, unfortunately! Would have been nice if I'd ended up with at least 1 female survivor, but I can't do much with 3 boys, now, can I? lol