Dark Brahma choices

[heavenjumper]

I've had to restart my Dark Brahma flock due to a predator issue that has since been resolved. The new flock is currently 16 weeks old and I have 2 cockerels that I'm trying to decide between to keep. My goal is to work toward the SOP and I'm not yet great at determining which of these guys best fits that criteria, so I'd like to get some extra opinions from more experienced people. This is Red(named for now by his band color). It's difficult to get good pictures of him because he follows me like a puppy.

This is Yellow(also band color).

I appreciate any opinions and insight.

 

[Turkeytom25]

If your goal is to work to SOP, I would consider getting some birds from a serious breeder of this variety. The birds you have now look like typical hatchery males with serious faults that would get them disqualified or lose points at shows ie pinched tails, and poor leg feathering to name two. If you just want to have a good flock of backyard birds that you can gradually work on for years that's fine, just be aware that it will take YEARS to get good birds out of the males in the picture. Also, as to choosing between them, if you want to breed seriously you will need more than one male at all times for genetic diversity. So it might be best to keep both as this breed is known to be docile and males should coexist perfectly fine when raised together. I would say if you must get rid of one of those males you should wait a couple of months for them to mature as Brahmas are slow growers and then make your choice when you can get a good look at their color and type.

That said, I think that red band looks to be the more healthy bird judging from his head and leg color but that is hard to tell from the picture. Both birds are lacking in leg feathering and both birds narrow badly towards their tail. There does seem to be some brassy tinge to the feathers on red band which is also something you could look at. Dark Brahma males should have a clear silvery white base color (except of course the black areas). My own experience from hatchery birds says that they are probably both undersize for the breed but that is also hard to judge from the pictures and given how young they are. If I was in your position I would focus on finding males without that narrowness toward the tail. Also, both birds need to be wider overall. Brahmas should have great width going all the way from shoulders to tail. Anyway, best of luck with them!

 

[heavenjumper]

If your goal is to work to SOP, I would consider getting some birds from a serious breeder of this variety. The birds you have now look like typical hatchery males with serious faults that would get them disqualified or lose points at shows ie pinched tails, and poor leg feathering to name two. If you just want to have a good flock of backyard birds that you can gradually work on for years that's fine, just be aware that it will take YEARS to get good birds out of the males in the picture. Also, as to choosing between them, if you want to breed seriously you will need more than one male at all times for genetic diversity. So it might be best to keep both as this breed is known to be docile and males should coexist perfectly fine when raised together. I would say if you must get rid of one of those males you should wait a couple of months for them to mature as Brahmas are slow growers and then make your choice when you can get a good look at their color and type.

That said, I think that red band looks to be the more healthy bird judging from his head and leg color but that is hard to tell from the picture. Both birds are lacking in leg feathering and both birds narrow badly towards their tail. There does seem to be some brassy tinge to the feathers on red band which is also something you could look at. Dark Brahma males should have a clear silvery white base color (except of course the black areas). My own experience from hatchery birds says that they are probably both undersize for the breed but that is also hard to judge from the pictures and given how young they are. If I was in your position I would focus on finding males without that narrowness toward the tail. Also, both birds need to be wider overall. Brahmas should have great width going all the way from shoulders to tail. Anyway, best of luck with them!

Thank you, this type of opinion and information is exactly what I was looking for! I know it will take generations to get close to SOP with these guys, but I will add better bloodlines when I get the chance. I have a total of 3 males right now, but the third will go to a new flock or freezer camp due to him being an a*hole. I ended up with only 6 pullets to start this flock(from hatching eggs) so I planned on only keeping 1 male due to that. Do you think keeping the 2 males will cause any problems with such a small number of females until I can get some more? This breed isn't easy to find in my area, so getting more could take a bit. Thank you again for the help!

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I'm thinking the sun is playing tricks with the yellow banded bird. Washing out the vibrancy of yellow in legs and such.

The yellow banded bird narrows less from shoulder to tail and does not have the autosomal red showing in the shoulder the red banded bird does. I'd keep the yellow banded bird.

 

[Turkeytom25]

Whether or not the males cause problems with so few females is probably dependent on their temperment. With a large gentle breed like this though you should not have much trouble with males overmating the females. Of course with hatchery birds, you never know what temperment your males might have. If they were breeder quality birds I would say you have nothing to worry about.
Since you plan on adding more birds later you could go either way, but given your recent predator problems, it's best to have a spare roo. If you had predators once you'll probably have them again eventually.

 

[Turkeytom25]

Incidentally, take what Egg head Jr. said seriously. The yellow banded bird is less narrow towards the tail and he's probably right about the sun messing with the coloring. I guess I didn't consider that very much.

 

[heavenjumper]

Whether or not the males cause problems with so few females is probably dependent on their temperment. With a large gentle breed like this though you should not have much trouble with males overmating the females. Of course with hatchery birds, you never know what temperment your males might have. If they were breeder quality birds I would say you have nothing to worry about.
Since you plan on adding more birds later you could go either way, but given your recent predator problems, it's best to have a spare roo. If you had predators once you'll probably have them again eventually.

The predator problem was a neighborhood dog that somehow got into the pen and only left 1 surviving duck out of 32 chickens and ducks. My roosters were the only ones torn apart because they fought to save their girls. We've since further secured the pen and the dog has been taken care of, but still not a bad idea to have an extra just in case. Fortunately, they aren't directly hatchery birds and the flock they came from all have great temperaments so I'll see how they do starting together and I have options to separate if needed as well. Thank you for your help and info.

 

[Geena]

I'd keep the yellow banded bird.

I wonder if he has a wry tail though? In 2 of the 3 pics it seems tipped to the left.

 

[heavenjumper]

It was tough to get good pictures because they follow me around, so hopefully it's due to the camera angle. I'll catch them this weekend while I'm out there and get better pictures. I noticed today that they don't look as narrow in person as they did in the first pictures, so I'm hoping that's a camera angle issue as well.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I wonder if he has a wry tail though? In 2 of the 3 pics it seems tipped to the left.

Now that you mention it I wonder too.