Brahma Chicken

Brahma chicken is actually an Asiatic chicken breed. It is among the large chicken breeds which was developed in the United States from very large breeds imported from the Chinese port of Shanghai. This breed was the principal meat chicken breed in the United States from the 1850s until about 1930. Nowadays, people raise Brahma chickens for both meat and egg production and also for ornamental purpose. There has been considerable controversy over the origin of the Brahma. Brahma chickens were the result of limited cross breeding with Chittagong chickens which gave the Brahma the distinctive characteristics of head shape and the pea comb, and another breed that derives from the Shanghai breeds.

In December 1852, Brahmas were first exported to England. When George Burnham sent 9 Gray Shanghaes as a gift to Queen Victoria. From that stock, English breeders developed the Dark Brahma variety and later this breed were re-exported to the United States. The American Poultry Association Standard of Perfection included the Light and Dark Brahma in the first edition in 1874 and Buff variant were added later (in 1924 or 1929). There it is considered that Brahma chicken breed originated from India. And the name Brahma comes from the river Brahmaputra in India.

Characteristics
Brahma chickens are dual purpose breeds. They are very beautiful, large and hardy birds. They are stately birds with an upright carriage and a large head. They should almost appear to form a V, when standing. They stand fairly tall, males more than the females. They have strong feet with feathers extending all the way down the middle toe.

The plumage of Brahma chicken should be held more tightly. They have pea comb and they can adopt themselves with all types of climates. They are winter hardy birds and lay large light brown color eggs. The eggs of Brahma chicken weight approximately 55-60 grams. Cocks are larger in size than the hens. On an average, an adult Brahma cock weights about 5.5 kg and a hen weights about 4.5 kg