The Brahma

The Brahma is a very large, heavily feathered chicken with feathered legs, a small pea comb and a broad "beetle-browed" head. The Livestock Conservancy calls it one of the largest chicken breeds and notes its old nickname, the "King of All Poultry." For roughly 70 years, from the mid-1850s to about 1930, it was the leading meat breed in the United States.

This site is an independent reference that explains where the breed came from, how it is defined in the poultry standards, how big Brahmas really get, and what keeping them involves. Every fact on these pages is drawn from a named, linked source — breed conservation organizations, university poultry departments, extension publications, reference works and contemporary reporting. It is not the American Brahma Club; see About for details.

A short history

The breed's ancestors arrived in America from China. According to The Livestock Conservancy, a treaty in 1843 opened Chinese ports to trade, and very large chickens with feathered shanks and toes from the Shanghai area were among the birds that reached the US. Chittagong fowl, named for the port in what is now Bangladesh, were used to a smaller degree and contributed the Brahma's distinctive head and comb. Early birds were sold under a dozen or more names — Gray Shanghae, Chittagong, Brahma Pootra and others — before "Brahma" became standard. The craze for these imported fowl in the late 1840s and early 1850s is remembered as the "hen fever." Read more on the history page.

Three large varieties

The American Poultry Association's Standard of Perfection recognizes three large-fowl color varieties: Light, Dark and Buff. Light and Dark were included in the very first Standard in 1874; Buff followed in 1924. Bantam (miniature) Brahmas are recognized as well. See the varieties page for a full table.

How big are they?

Standard weights for the Light Brahma are 12 lb for a cock and 9.5 lb for a hen, according to Oklahoma State University's breed reference and a University of Arkansas summary. Individual birds have been recorded much larger: The Livestock Conservancy cites documented males of 17 to 18.25 lb by 1901. In March 2017, a video of an unusually large Brahma circulated on Facebook and was viewed more than 105 million times within days, prompting Farm and Dairy to publish its "10 facts about the giant chicken that went viral." The size and weight page explains the numbers.

Eggs and temperament

Brahma hens lay brown eggs and are known as good winter layers. The Livestock Conservancy reports up to about 200 large to medium brown eggs a year, with most laid between October and May. Oklahoma State University describes them as fair layers that go broody and are fairly good mothers. The birds are calm and docile, rarely flighty, and not aggressive toward other breeds — though their size can intimidate small children.

Care in brief

Brahmas are exceptionally cold-hardy thanks to the pea comb and dense, downy feathering, but they handle heat poorly and need shade and water in warm climates. Their feathered feet can collect mud in wet ground. As a heavy breed, they need more floor space, roost space and feed than lighter breeds. The keeping Brahmas page covers housing, feet and the laying season, and the comparison page sets the Brahma against the Jersey Giant, Cochin and Langshan.

Sources