Brahmas

[don azul]

How tame or docile are these chickens? Are they quiet?

 

[Percheron chick]

Tame and docile yes. Quiet no. Mine are blabbermouths.

 

[fiddlebanshee]

I concur. Mine produced a sound that was a cross between a honking goose and a screeching crow. Loudly. They were also neither tame nor docile. They bullied the other 11 chickens and eventually I sold them as I was getting tired of the noise and the bullying. I know that the common wisdom is that they are docile, maybe I just got a bad lot.

I have come to conclude that a chicken's temperament is much more determined by individual traits than breed. So: it is basically a crapshoot and you can't plan for tameness by selecting certain breeds. I know people who's leghorns are lapchickens, while they are described as flighty. Go figure.

 

[BryanMaloney]

My Brahmas are very docile--I only have Brahmas. Things may be different if one also has smaller breeds. My Brahmas are not quiet. The cocks crow quite a bit, both on their own and in conversation with two other flocks that are somewhere in the neighborhood. All of them vocalize a good deal beyond that, but loudness is usually reserved for the crowing.

 

[don azul]

I only have hens but the road island reds are soo loud but great eggs. The Plymouth rocks are quiet?

 

[don azul]

Looking to replace the road island reds or even cross breed if that's option.

 

[Sarahbeck]

I have a cute 5 week old light brahma and she's already a bit bossy (who am I kidding I'm new... so perhaps I'm reading it wrong). I'm hoping that shaking it up by adding a third to the duo will improve things.

 

[don azul]

I have no experience with brahmas. But everything I have learned and witness says if they don't grow up together they won't get along. At least that has been my experience with the aggressive road island reds . I have three of them with 4 Barred rock or Plymouth Rock. They all get along but this is my new batch and they all have been together since birth. Everyone I talked too that adds hens says it doesn't work?

 

[Alaskan]

I haven't ever had a problem with adding hens, but I have never added just one by itself. I will get a new set of babies and then introduce them to the flock when they are old enough.

But I always have at least two of everything.(feeders, waterers, lots of perches)

 

[Sarahbeck]

It seems to be going ok at the moment. Am watching like a hawk though and have two feeders and waterers. The chick I added is also 4-5 wks old.

It's been fascinating to watch how they get to know each other. I hadn't realized that submissive behavior crosses species borders (makes sense though now that I think about it).