The horseshoes: the description of birds, technology of breeding, feeding and disease

The name came in honor of the Brahmaputra river, which is located in India. The horseshoes are of large size, their nature is quite calm, and the decorative appearance is very beautiful. A bird of this breed has spread around the world, it is valued by egg production and meat.

These hens are considered worthy breed, and breed them only those poultry farmers who need big profits and tasty dietary meat.

Upland birds of dawn brought the Americans, who brought them from India in the mid-19th century. Further, the U.S. poultry farmers conducted a cross breeds between chittagongs, gray Cochinchine fight and Malay. The breed was given the name grey Chittagong.

In Boston in 1859 on the farm the exhibition was a presentation of the birds. Of course, the long name is not rooted. But farmer Burnham in 1852, gave the bird as a gift to the Queen of England as a breed of chickens Gornostaeva Brahmaputra, under the present name – Brahma. The Queen has approved the bird and gave the green light to spread throughout Europe.

At the beginning of the 19th century in Russia was a study of the Petrovskaya agricultural Academy. The results were as follows: in every peasant’s poultry yard gate was listed in the first five breeds in popularity. In favor were the following breeds: American Brahma, plimutrok, chinchin, faverol and orpington.

Breed chickens Brahma: description and characteristics

Conventional chicken have the following appearance:

1. skin slightly yellow hue;
2. a variety of color. Black, brown, grey, blue and white, yellow, blue, striped, yellow birch, red Colombian shade is a silvery-white color of the plumage;
3. the feathers are not loose, soft, rather densely appressed to the body. Fluff abundant with an ashy shade. Fan-shaped bushy tail. Roosters have bright collar;
4. small size head with a wide forehead. The comb is not flashy teeth, is a three-row strockbine;
5. the structure of the bird is quite meaty and dense. Moderate width of the back, abdomen, back and chest. The housing is set high. The horseshoes in contrast to conventional cochinchina have a raised tail with a small bone. Brahma roosters are more fit and slim, but the hens have a more rounded shape, and their legs are short;
6. strong legs and wings have long feathers, even the middle and outer toes. Females Brama strong toes and hocks, the color is gray, male yellow;
7. at the top of the neck is a voluminous mane, it has a small bend and the average size;
8. the beak is strong, has a yellowish coloring;
9. the lobes on the ears not more than medium size, color is usually red;
10. the eyes are deep set, orange and contrast. Eyebrows looms and slightly raised in height.

It is important to know! Impermissible is the bird with yellow plumage and white tail. Pisiform comb is missing. On toes and hocks has no feathers. In the area of the belt is black stripes, despite the fact that the vast majority of feathers have a lighter shade. Tarsus white coloring. Those don’t fit the description of a true breed.

The purpose of the breed

Initially, the breed Brahma were determined for meat products. Currently ranked as delicatessen meat products. Performance has slightly decreased due to the fact that the breed is recently been mixing with different pedigreed birds, for example: Asian species and of Cochin China.

Among all chicken meat products, their meat is highly appreciated due to its nutritional properties and tenderness. Taste may decrease, and the meat to harden, if it is wrong to choose food and supplements. At the present time lovers-collectors engaged in individual farming breed Brahma, they are not subjected to the crossing.

The weight of hens and the rooster:

1. the hen weighs on average 4 kg;
2. the rooster weighs on average 5 kg.

During the propagation of the breed were of Brahma and 7 kg, sometimes more. At the present time meeting with the big chickens will be a big success.

Character

Chickens breed Brahma have excellent qualities – resilience, ruggedness and durability. They are not fussy hence they will have enough build a small coop and arrangement of a small area for walking. They are quite peaceful, phlegmatic.

Egg production

Chickens breed Brahma can endure an average of 110 eggs in the annual cycle. Egg weight is 60 grams on average. The eggs durable enough, the shell has hues of flint, brown and brown. Chickens reduce egg production even during the winter. Young chickens, since the age of 9 months, already can become laying hens. For the formation of eggs per day requires an average of 130 grams of feed per one individual.

Variety breeds of chickens Brahma

At the end of the 19th century were withdrawn, the main varieties: dwarf decorative, and European decorative, decorative Asian-meat and American meat. There are differences in the subspecies: yellow, Kurapaty, dark and light.

Subspecies:

1. pale yellow Brahma. The plumage is brown and Golden, the tail and the feathering on the neck dark. Mane roosters darker and different from the primary feathers. Perfectly suffer the consequences of winter;
2. Kurapaty gate. American subspecies beef. The plumage is mostly brown, but there is a Golden hue. The tail is black with a green metallic sheen. The color of this bird similar to the partridge colour;
3. dark Brahma. Mainly the vast number of chickens the white-grey colour, on his head is a silver shade. The neck has a white plumage with dark edging. On the trunk there is a sickle-feathers gray to black. The plumage is abundant and loose. His head cocks gray-silver, neck with mane have a Central black stripe on a white and silver feathers. Legs covered with lush hawk shred. The prevailing color of the plumage is blackish-green. Pinkish-white skin with yellow paws. A red tone on brown eyes. The curved beak and short yellow with dark stripes. The tail is small and straight. The safety of poultry at a high level. The survival rate of adult hens is 83% and the survival rate of Chicks is 68%. Laying hens of the breed Brahma is a lovely hen and can contact with other breeds;
4. light Brahma. The colors of the Colombian birds – gray-silver. Flight feathers, tail type tail feathers, the collar is a contrasting dark green color. On the Tarsus and toes are black stripes. Hens have white feathers on the waist and cocks black feathers. Earlobes, face and crest are expressed in red. Osanetant, lush plumage, large beak and eyes create a decorative appearance.

Keeping and breeding

Raise poultry, purchasing adults, Chicks or eggs. Poultry farmers are mainly buying the breed Brahma in the poultry plants. Chick age old 2 weeks costs about 350 rubles Adults are at a price of 3000 RUB One egg for incubator ranges in price 60-200 RUB Selected purchased or hatched eggs are recommended to be transferred to an incubator.

Gate different sensitive instinct of the hens, but due to the large weight can crush the fourth part of the eggs. The incubator is a more feasible option. The young grow very slowly and hatched Chicks after June endangered. Not all will survive winter conditions. If the chickens were purchased in the adult form, they should be placed on a quarantine mode. Chicks age 4 months need to be kept isolated from all birds and adult individuals of the same breed.

The contents of chickens Brahma

Allowed breeding of chickens in the home, but most poultry farmers prefer an adult or young Chicks. In the period when Brahma hens start laying eggs, you can display and create high-quality breeding herd. But for high-quality breeding chickens need to purchase adult chickens: their age must not be less than two years. Only in this way guaranteed success.

It is important to know! One cock has an average of 15 females.

Coop

Chickens breed Brahma dial with time quite a lot of weight and the need to build a sturdy aviary. The height of the perch should be at least 40 cm, and the width not exceed 30 cm. Only in this roost with these parameters the bird will be easy to sit there and feel comfortable.

For bird Pets should eliminate all the drafts, and the coop should be equipped with so that it was dry and light. This is especially true of chickens. A day for Brahma chickens must be at least 14 hours of light in the room. In winter the house is equipped with a secondary artificial light. This breed is not fastidious to the living conditions, not afraid of cold, and the place mats dry sawdust.

Food and nutrition

Basic rules and requirements for the feed:

1. chickens need to provide fresh food;
2. it is recommended to give the birds three meals a day. Brahma is very punctual and will expect food at the same time, they can also be trained to eat from the hands;
3. in the feed should contain large amounts of vitamins, trace elements, minerals, and the diet should not exclude the calcium. To use as feed can food waste, herb gardening herbs, specialty supplements, grain, limestone in powder form, ground egg shells, and chalk;
4. for perfect health the stomach, it is desirable to throw in a bird feeder gravel and sand of small size;
5. experienced poultry houses suggest a simple system of feeding: morning – grain food, lunch special additives, mixed with the broth, greens and food waste, the evening grain;
6. the water flow must be constant. Should provide hens with room temperature water. 1.9 liters is required in one part of the feed in dry form;
7. in the winter you need to put on the Mat the grain – this will increase the activity of the birds on 10%;
8. for chickens Brahma required a uniform high-calorie diet, because youngsters are quite active and spends a lot of energy. This feeding continues until 7 months of age. First weeks food given the finely chopped eggs boiled, added to the same wheat and corn.
9. in the following weeks will be given small nettle, low-fat cottage cheese and dandelion. Next we enter the tops and roots of carrot, apples, zucchini, cucumbers and beets. For adult Brama diet is: grains – 60 grams, boiled potatoes – 100 grams of flour – 10 grams bone meal – 2 grams, a chalk – 3 grams, 0.5 grams of salt. For breeding chickens in meat production it is necessary to increase the daily rate.

It is important to know! The weight of the solid Brahmins need to keep under periodic control, because birds are prone to obesity.

Disease

These hens have a strong immune system, but they may suffer from various diseases. Cleanliness is the key to success in breeding chickens Brahma. All accessories periodically to handle: litter, roost, feeder and drinker. Ash and ash – an excellent remedy against dilution in feathers of different parasites and therefore should be pour into the litter.

From time to time is recommended to prepare antiparasitic baths. They are made from the tank in which is added to crude oil or birch tar in a third large bowl. Young is strongly recommended to vaccinate to prevent bird flu. The room does not have to be drafts. To Chicks did not suffer from rickets, they should be fed at least once a week, fish oil or a fish with no bones.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages are the simplicity to housing conditions and climate, unique decorative birds Brahma, resilience, high productivity and fleshiness. The disadvantages lie in the small activity of chickens, egg laying begins in late age, expensive for the content.