employ : Brahmin chickens are threefold - function crybaby known for their regal stature , enormous size , feathered legs and calm , easy - going disposition . Like other heritage chicken breeds , they grow more slowly than modern hybrid broiler , but they have delicious , steady flesh , and hens lie a respectable number of large - sized , browned eggs . They are also idealistic pet chickens , described by the International Brahma Club as “ tike - friendly . ” Brahmas make out in both big - fowl and bantam size of it .
account : Although a lot of hypothesis be , the exact origin of the Brahma is unsealed . The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy postulates that they were developed in America from large fowls imported from China via Shanghai with additions of Malayan blood , hence the Brahma ’s small pea comb , and to a less academic degree , Chittigong chickens from India . The Brahma breed originally was known by many names , specially the Brahma Pootra , which was shortened to Brahma around 1850 .
Cochins and Brahma chicken breeds fueled a craze that sweep up America and England around 1850 known as “ Hen Fever , ” an obsession for fowl , peculiarly chickens . In 1852 , poulterer George Burnham presented nine of his best Brahma chickens to Queen Victoria of England , an zealous fowl breeder in her own right field . agree to the ALBC , this event caused Brahma wimp terms to stand out from $ 12 to $ 15 per couple to $ 100 to $ 150 per pair overnight . ( That equals $ 2,860 to $ 4,300 per pair by today ’s standards , calculate using today ’s Consumer Price Index ) .
Brahma chickens were conceive America ’s chancellor core breed from the mid-1850s though the 1930s , after which indicate the industrialization of the American chicken made inheritance breed obsolete . It ’s recovered enough to be considered an rare , but not threaten , breed . The Brahma chicken strain is currently name in the ALBC ’s Watch category .
compliance : Historically , Brahma hens reached mean weights of 10 to 12 pounds , and some roosters tip the ordered series at an astounding 18 pounds . Today , the American Poultry Association Standard calls for 12 - pound cocks and 9½-pound hens .
Brahmas have yellow skin and come in three color : light , drab , and buff . The unaccented and grim variations were take over into the American Poultry Association Standard in 1874 , and the buffs in 1924 . They have feathered shank and toes , pea plant combs , suave - fit feather , blocky bodies , and broad , wide school principal with “ beetle brows ” jutting out over their optic .
Special Considerations / Notes : Brahma chickens are splendid free - range chickens but do n’t incline to range as far abroad as other foraging breeds . Because their wooden leg feathering pick up clay and ice , they thrive well on dry , well - drained grime . They also stomach confinement well and ca n’t vanish over chicken - outpouring fences easily . Their profuse , airless feathering with a peck of down underneath , coupled with a small pea cockscomb , makes them very cold hardy . They are superior wintertime layers of heavy - sized , intermediate - brown eggs , averaging three or four eggs per week . hen are broody and respectable mothers , but because of their size of it , there is a trampling peril the first few days after birth . Brahma chickens are among the most teachable chicken breed , and they make great pets . It ’s backbreaking to beat the Brahma as an all - around hobby - farm boo .
