Brahmas are a very old breed originating from what is now India. I am not going to bore anyone with a history penned by me, instead please read this article. It is from a wonderful website, Backyard Poultry, and is much better written than anything I could do.
My son has the bantam version of these, the males weigh @ about 2 pounds and the females slightly less. They are lights, which means they are a columbian color pattern, or IOWs, white chickens with black in the hackles, wings and tail. Important features of a good bird are:
1. A good broad skull, with eyebrows projecting over eyes, making them seem deep set. They seem to look perpetually "worried" to me.
2. Undercolor of the body feathers should be slate colored, the darker the better. This refers to the "fluff" part of the feather, which is just what it sounds like, the fluffy stuff closest to the bottom of the feather. The dark should not extend into the "web" or top part of the feather everyone sees.
3. Feathers should extend all the way down the legs to the tips of the two outer toes. They should be soft feathers, no stiff shafts on them.
4. Penciling, or the coloring of black on white (or vice versa) should be as fine and even as possible.
5. They have a "pea comb" and abundant feathering, making them very hardy. A pea comb is basically a jelly bean shaped comb with 3 parallel rows of bumps running down it.
There's more, of course, but I think I have hit a few of the main points. If you would like to keep chickens this would be a good breed to start with. They are hardy, cold tolerant birds that lay well and are meaty bird when butchering time comes. They are very gentle in general, even the largest, so are good for families with children. Here is one photo of my son and his pullet (female under 1 year). He was fortunate enough to win top prize, a "best in show" at the Wisconsin State Fair. Against adults too, mind you!
OK, that was the official nice picture. Here is the one Mom likes:
Just don't tell him, OK?
What a pretty bird your son is holding. I like the look of the Brahmas, even more so now that I have a cochin, they have a lot of the same features. There are just so many breeds to chose from, makes it hard not to keep buying chickens. Thanks for your comments and I responded back at my site.
ReplyDeleteOne more thing, I like the second picture too! Haha! XD
good blog.....interesting and informative
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