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The word "Brahma" evokes an association with the aristocratic caste of India - the Brahmins. Apparently, this is why many poultry farmers are convinced that Brama chickens were imported from India. Moreover, the proud look of the chicken makes one think of an important noble person. In reality, everything is more prosaic. Brahmas were bred in North America at the end of the 19th century by crossing Vietnamese meat Cochins and Malay fighting chickens. The Malay breed, by the way, appeared in Europe 200 years ago.
Brahmas were registered as a breed in 1874. In those days, Brahma chickens were highly valued as a meat breed. The weight of the roosters reached 7 kg, which is why they could barely stand on their feet. The fact is that Brahma had large muscle mass with an elegant skeleton, and the laws of nature are such that the more muscles there are on the bones, the thicker and stronger the bones must be in order to withstand the weight of the muscles. There was a clear imbalance in the gates of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. With the advent of broiler chicken breeds, the importance of Brahma as a productive meat breed decreased, and selection began to focus on decorative appearance.
Modern Brahma chickens do not correspond to the description of the breed of the last century. Today their weight has decreased, and their appearance has become more decorative.
Brama breed standard
The weight of the modern gate is almost 2 times less than the previous one. Roosters weigh 4 kg, and chickens 3. Compared to ordinary chicken breeds, this is a lot. In addition, brahmas are high-legged and due to this they appear to be the size of a goose.
Brahma rooster
It looks like a very large and massive bird with a small head on which grows a low triple comb. The brahma's beak is short and strong. The earrings are small, while the earlobes are large. Comb and lobes with red earrings. The ear openings are covered with delicate feathers.
Brahma, in general, is a “hairy” breed, in which weak plumage is a disadvantage.
The neck is medium in length with a beautiful curve. The neck opening is high, which visually increases the size of the rooster. A profuse mane grows on the neck.
The body is dense, tightly knit. The body of the Brahma rooster gives the impression of being “square” due to the wide back, chest and shoulders. The plumage on the body should be abundant everywhere.
The rooster's loin gradually rises towards the tail, which is “pumped up” against the background of the rest of the feathers of the brahma. The rooster's tail should be short but bushy. The tail braids should not be long.
The rooster's shins are covered with lush feathers. The yellow metatarsals are well feathered in front, and feathers grow on the toes.
Disadvantages of the Brama breed. Insufficient feathering on the metatarsals, bald middle finger, flat body (herring effect: very large when viewed from the side, almost invisible from above), overly long legs, white lobes.
Brahma chicken standard
The Brahma chicken differs from the rooster in that it is smaller in size and has a more horizontal tail than the rooster. In terms of color, the differences between a rooster and a chicken are within the limits of their color variety.
Brahma chicken colors
Theoretically, chickens of this breed can be:
- light (white);
- dark (black);
- partridge;
- fawn.
In practice, it is difficult to find a brahma with a high-quality color in Russia, since they are often crossed with cochins and other breeds of chickens. Brams of different colors are also crossed with each other. Inbreeding also does not add high quality chickens.
In Russia, the most popular colors are light and dark. This breed ranks second in number among ornamental chickens. On the first bantams.
Brama light
The light breed of Brahma chickens has two-color plumage. The black tail feathers on top may be covered with white outer feathers. There is mixed feather in the mane on the neck. White on the head, it is gradually replaced by long dark feathers with a light shaft. The body of the light gate is white.
Brahma is dark
The color of the rooster of the dark branch of the Brahma breed is also called silver-black. The head and neck of the rooster are covered with light feathers with black longitudinal stripes. On the shoulders, back and lower back the cover feather is also light. On the lower back, the color of the long feathers repeats the color of the feather in the mane.
The color of the chicken is more original, although at first glance it looks simple.
The Brahma chicken has a mottled gray color that varies from dark to light gray. A healthy chicken with shiny feathers creates the impression of feathers shimmering when moving due to the alternation of light and dark stripes on each individual feather.
There is an interesting rivalry between these two color varieties.The owner of Brahma chickens in the video claims that the white branch is larger than the dark one.
Other sources say the exact opposite: the dark branch of the brahma is half a kilogram heavier than the light one.
Considering that 500 g with a rooster weighing 4 kg is a relatively small error, it can be assumed that in fact both of these branches are the same in average weight, and a difference of half a kilogram exists between individual individuals. And, possibly, due to fat, since the breed is prone to obesity.
Brahma partridge
The partridge coloring of the brahm is the coloring of its wild ancestors. The rooster looks quite elegant, but the chicken, painted in brown tones to match the color of the earth, looks inconspicuous in the jungle.
The Brahm breed today is bred in two directions: in Europe, these chickens are decorative; in the USA - meat. The partridge brama is a branch of American selection, so a rooster can reach a weight of 5 kg.
In the video with cooropatchaceous brams, you can not only see the high-quality color of this branch, but also learn some nuances that you should pay attention to when choosing chickens for breeding.
Brahma fawn
A chicken of this color lives up to its name. The rooster is brighter. Only the rooster's chest, belly and legs are fawn. The head, neck, back and lower back are covered with brighter red-brown feathers. The black tail feathers are partially covered by a red-brown outer feather. The tail braids are black.
The weight of these chickens is the same as that of the light and dark varieties.
Red Brama and Blue Brama are most likely crossbred chickens, unless we are talking about dwarf Brama.
Characteristics of the Brama breed
Brahmas are late-ripening, and this immediately makes them unsuitable for industrial breeding.Brahma chickens grow very slowly, and they reach puberty only at 7–8 months. At the same time, egg production in chickens is also below average: 100 – 110 eggs per year. Egg weight is 55 - 60 g. In the second year, egg production drops sharply.
It is believed that brahma hens have a well-developed brooding instinct, but sometimes it happens that brahma hens “forget” about the eggs lying in their nest. Therefore, to breed brood hens, it is recommended to cross the brahm with smaller egg breeds of chickens. With such crossing, the brooding instinct is preserved, but the hen takes her responsibilities more seriously. Most likely, this is the reason for the very large number of non-purebred brahmas.
Brahmas, like hens, have another significant disadvantage: due to their large weight, they can simply crush eggs by stepping on them with their paws. When pressure is applied to the egg at one point, the egg shell cannot withstand it.
Perhaps a duck egg can withstand a light 3-kilogram frame. Turkeys crush duck eggs. So it’s better to first check whether the duck eggs can withstand the gate as a brood hen. Geese are able to withstand the pressure of a large chicken.
Features of feeding brahma
Chickens of this breed are prone to obesity, so the composition of the diet and the amount of feed given to chickens should be approached with caution. Poultry must be provided with fresh feed with sufficient protein content. Chickens also need vitamins and minerals. If the diet is inadequate, chickens get sick. For large breeds, a complete diet is especially important, since chickens will not be able to make up for the deficiency by searching for food on their own.
If the owner does not have zootechnical education, it is better for him to rely on professionals and use ready-made food. Experienced poultry farmers can create their own diet by adding vitamin premixes and shell rock to the crushed grain.
Content
The content features here are quite simple. All bushy-legged chicken breeds require special cleanliness of the litter. Otherwise, dirt and droppings may stick to the feathers on the paws. Perches for gates should be made at a low altitude, since this bird flies poorly due to its heavy weight.
Breeding and feeding chickens
Here the opinions about the gates are directly opposite. Some argue that chickens are very capricious and demanding of their living conditions. Others, on the contrary, say that this is a very unpretentious bird with a 100% hatchability and survival rate. It may very well be that this has to do with different housing and feeding conditions, as well as the seller of the hatching eggs.
You can often buy infected eggs or already sick chickens from poultry farms. Unfortunately, until the chickens begin to die, it is impossible to understand that they are sick. Since many diseases are very difficult for chickens to tolerate and occur in a hyperacute form, it is rarely possible to save chickens.
The main scourge of hens and chickens is coccidiosis. On farms, antibiotics and special drugs against eimeria are used to combat it. Private owners who are afraid of the word “antibiotic” and try to treat chicken diseases using traditional methods often lose their entire number of chickens.
Dwarf gates
If a large variety became decorative, then naturally, breeders could not pass by and not develop a dwarf breed of these chickens. Although this breed is not usually described as people are more attracted to giants.
At the same time, the dwarf Brahma chickens in the photo, in the absence of scale, are no different from their giant counterparts.
But roosters weigh only 1.5 kg. Chicken - 1.3 kg. Laying hens produce 80 small eggs per year.
Just like their larger counterparts, dwarfs are distinguished by a calm, balanced disposition.
When setting up a chicken coop for dwarf chickens, you must take into account that these little ones also fly poorly. Therefore, perches for them should be at a height of 20–30 cm.
Feeding is the same as for large chickens.
“Everything is like the big ones,” only in proportion to the size.
Reviews from brahma owners
Let's sum it up
Brahmas will definitely be the pride of the court, but you shouldn’t expect serious returns from them in terms of eggs and meat.These chickens are for the soul and communication.
Brama bought chickens, they have grown up, they are not yet a year old, 9 months old, but I can’t tell where the rooster is, are they different in any way?
Hello
The chickens are different in some way, but in the case of brahms the differences are small. Brahmas reach sexual maturity only after 9 months. By this time, the roosters should have grown earrings and lobes. They will also begin to try out their voice.
But due to the abundant plumage and similar tail position of the brahma, it is really difficult to distinguish a young rooster from a hen. Braids, and even those short ones, will appear in the tail only at 1.5-2 years. The combs of roosters are also small, but they can serve as a difference since they are larger than those of chickens. Bramney earrings are well developed in roosters. They are quite large, especially compared to those of chickens.
There is one more nuance. You might get lucky with same-sex chicks. The more individuals there are, the higher the likelihood of purchasing chickens of different sexes. Among the dozen there will almost certainly be hens and roosters (according to the law of meanness, a ratio of 7-8 roosters, 2-3 hens is often found). If only 3-5 chickens were purchased, they may turn out to be the same sex.
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