I waited for a return email from Landlady before releasing Agnes the Red to the tender clutches of the Brahmas. The reply said it would be okay as long as she didn’t pick on the Brahmas, which made me smile a bit because she was certain to try picking on them, at least briefly, but I didn’t think it would go well. Remember when she tried to pick on Upgrayedd?
But I’m new at this chicken farming thing, and I’ve been wrong before. So I brought the carrier into the big chicken house, opened it, and sat back to observe the, um, social interaction.
Agnes the Red did, in fact, attempt to pick on the very first Brahma hen she encountered. She puffed herself up, bumped breasts, flew up…and found herself under a hen that was twice her size and probably three times her weight. Buff Brahmas are big chickens.
What happened next pretty much had to be Agnes’ worst day ever as twelve big hens lined up to explain her new place in the flock’s social order individually and as pickup tag teams. There are three cocks left, but they served only to swat her back into play when she tried for a few moments’ breather. There were times when she disappeared entirely under the scrum.
I hung around long enough to make sure they weren’t planning to kill her right there, then wished her a pleasant night and went home. I’ll check early tomorrow so I can save my dinner if she’s not going to fit in. I don’t think Landlady needs to worry about her picking on them.
Hmm, wonder how the Buff Brahmas do in the cold. They sound like my kind of chickens. I’m wondering, however, why they are not laying if they are that big. How old are they?
Six, maybe seven months, and that’s the downside. Apparently they can take eight months go start laying. But they’re supposed to do well in cold.
Waiting for the morning report. Survivor or dinner?
Yes, do tell. Is chicken dinner in your immediate future? 🙂 And it sounds as if you only have a few more weeks to wait for eggs from the others.
I’m curious too!
Mama Liberty, regarding the Brahmas, they are very gentle and laid-back. As Joel mentioned, we currently have 3 roos and only 12 hens, but they don’t appear to be experiencing much conflict despite the high roo ratio. Almost makes me feel bad about my Thanksgiving plans to eat one of the roos!
I’m certainly eager to get some chickens again. I’ve had them off and on for most of my life, but they were usually just “chickens,” and of no particular breed that I knew of. I did have some Araucana hens for a number of years and they were always my favorite, being gentle and quiet. But I’m told they would not do well in the cold of Wyoming, so I’m very interested in the Brahmas.
In the spring, my garden area will be fenced down the center, and a shelter of some sort built there. Hopefully, I can get baby Brahmas then. Did you get them locally or mail order?
After the pasty, colorless, almost tasteless chicken I get from the store, I won’t have any problem eating the roosters, or any of the rest of them when the time comes. 🙂
Mailorder, from McMurray Hatchery. They have dark, light and buff brahmas. The buffs are rare enough that you can only get a straight run (25 minimum order). I wanted about half of that for hens and so figured I’d eat most of the roos that I ended up with. Plan’s worked pretty well – a couple of the chicks died within the first couple days, but that’s not unusual from what I understand.
The light and dark are available as all F or M in addition to straight run, but I thought the buffs were prettier. Yeah, I’m a dork and pick my chickens in part for aesthetics. 😉
I went looking and discovered this breed: http://chickenbreedslist.com/Australorp.html Sounds like a very good match for me. Might get a few of the Brahmas just for fun, but I’m mostly looking for the eggs, and these Australorps sound like the ticket. I’ll probably have to get at least 25 of each one, but should have no problem selling extras to my neighbors. I’ve heard of McMurray Hatchery, actually. Will certainly explore that as a source.