Ongoing Brahma Projects Thread

[big medicine]

with such beautiful potential why would you slate such rare and special birds for consumption. First of all they mature very slowly, meat breeds are bred to mature very fast, like Cornish rock cross. You have real showroom potential in those Brahmas, Please consider selling them to someone interested in showing them, and buy chicks that will mature faster and give you better meat value.

While I agree that meat specific breeds would be a much more efficient conversion of feed to meat. Most of these experimental color Brahma varieties are a long way from being show worthy, type wise.

 

[bumpercarr]

While I agree that meat specific breeds would be a much more efficient conversion of feed to meat. Most of these experimental color Brahma varieties are a long way from being show worthy, type wise.

Agreed. Nothing wrong with raising them for meat, or for eggs, or for both. To each their own I say.

 

[TNBEARCHICK]

I agree while slow to mature they are still a dual purpose breed worth enjoying. We will be eating any culls from our Blue Columbian Brahmas.

 

[bumpercarr]

Well, now that I'm recovering my flock from my losses, I'm starting to think about the next projects that I need to work on. First, if I get a decent dark cockerel out of the chicks that hatched this week, I need to put him over some partridge females to improve on their type and maybe to get some of the penciling stronger in the color. My understanding is that this second breeding will give me all dark females and then if I put the best male back to the mother(s) I'll get both partridge and dark females and partridge and split males. Does anyone have any ideas or advice for this "project"?

One question that I do have, I'm planning on keeping any of my blue partridge brahmas out of this breeding program for now. What would I get with the dark male/blue partridge female cross? Should I even concern myself with separating them out, maybe I should just breed them in as well?

Thoughts appreciated!

 

[TNBEARCHICK]

We are glad to have chicks growing out from the first couple of hatches of our Blue Columbian Brahmas and they are just so good looking.

 

[big medicine]

Well, now that I'm recovering my flock from my losses, I'm starting to think about the next projects that I need to work on. First, if I get a decent dark cockerel out of the chicks that hatched this week, I need to put him over some partridge females to improve on their type and maybe to get some of the penciling stronger in the color. My understanding is that this second breeding will give me all dark females and then if I put the best male back to the mother(s) I'll get both partridge and dark females and partridge and split males. Does anyone have any ideas or advice for this "project"?

One question that I do have, I'm planning on keeping any of my blue partridge brahmas out of this breeding program for now. What would I get with the dark male/blue partridge female cross? Should I even concern myself with separating them out, maybe I should just breed them in as well?

Thoughts appreciated!

I forget just what you currently have on hand to work with here. Do you have a decent partridge male?

A dark male over blue partridge female would produce silver based pullets, half should be blue penciled theoretically. Same with the cockerels except they will be split gold/silver.

 

[bumpercarr]

We are glad to have chicks growing out from the first couple of hatches of our Blue Columbian Brahmas and they are just so good looking.

Pictures!!! Congrats, I know you've been working hard on these.

 

[TNBEARCHICK]

I don't have any chick pics, so obviously I need to ad them to my picture list for saturday.

 

[bumpercarr]

I forget just what you currently have on hand to work with here. Do you have a decent partridge male?

A dark male over blue partridge female would produce silver based pullets, half should be blue penciled theoretically. Same with the cockerels except they will be split gold/silver.

I lost my partridge male, he was pretty good I probably would have given him about an 8/10, all of the females were probably 6/10. I currently have 8 chicks in the coop, all between 5 and 8 weeks old (all from the male I lost). I know that the two that are 8 weeks are both cockerels, one of those is not satisfactory (too small) and is bound for the pot. The other we'll have to wait and see, it will be a golden (not blue). I have 6 chicks that are only 5 weeks old, I am sure that two of them are cockerels and possibly one more. Don't know colors on those yet, I'll have to wait and see. Based on the law of averages, at least one of them should be blue, dad was gold partridge and all the moms were blue. Another thought is to put a blue over any dark hens that I may have.

The two major things that I need to work on for the partridges are the penciling in the blues (hope to get that from the dark) and get rid of the cushion/bunny tail in the hens (both gold and blue). My male had a good tail and good penciling, but the penciling in the blue hens remained very weak and needs to be enhanced. I've got good size, could always be bigger of course, pea combs are appropriate, no vulture hocks, feathering is probably a little fluffier than it should be. The other thing that my partridge male had was a narrowing toward the tail, need probably some more body down there, the females don't exhibit that trait. All of the other "standard" traits are as they should be I think.

Thanks for your help big medicine.......

 

[big medicine]

What was the breeding on the blues ? Any chance of splash in your youngsters ?