Brahma vs Other Giant Breeds

Jersey Giant, Cochin and Langshan side by side

Four breeds come up whenever people talk about "giant" chickens: the Brahma, the Jersey Giant, the Cochin and the Langshan. Three of them — Brahma, Cochin and Langshan — trace their roots to China and sit in the American Poultry Association's Asiatic class; Farm and Dairy notes that the Asiatic class's three breeds share Chinese roots. The Jersey Giant is an American creation. The table below uses The Livestock Conservancy's breed profiles throughout so that the figures are as comparable as possible.

At a glance

Brahma

The Brahma is the classic "big" Asiatic breed: a large bird with a pea comb, beetle brow and feathered legs. The Livestock Conservancy gives 12 lb for males and 10 lb for females and notes it was America's leading meat breed from the mid-1850s to about 1930. Hens are good winter layers. More on size and weight and varieties.

Jersey Giant

The Jersey Giant is generally the heaviest standard breed of the four. According to The Livestock Conservancy, it was developed between 1870 and 1890 near Jobstown in Burlington County, New Jersey, by the brothers John and Thomas Black. It was admitted to the APA Standard of Perfection in 1922, with White recognized in 1947 and Blue in 2003. Roosters weigh 13–15 lb and hens 10–11 lb, with blacks running about a pound heavier than whites. Hens lay about 150–200 extra-large eggs a year, ranging from dark brown to light cream.

Cochin

The Cochin and the Brahma are close relatives. The Livestock Conservancy explains that both descend from the very large fowl imported through Shanghai in the 1840s, and that the Brahma's head and comb — from Chittagong crosses — are what distinguish it from the Shanghai bird now called the Cochin. The Conservancy's Cochin profile cites a 1923 publication placing its origin in the Shantung region north of Shanghai. Cochins were admitted to the APA Standard in 1874, the same year as the Brahma. They are a little lighter — roosters about 11 lb, hens about 8.5 lb. Hens lay about 150–200 brown eggs a year when not broody and may not begin laying until about eight months old. The breed is known for an extremely gentle disposition.

Langshan

The Langshan comes from the Wolf Hill area of eastern China near Nantong on the Yangtze. The Livestock Conservancy records that Major A.C. Croad first imported it to England in 1872, and that the Black Langshan entered the APA Standard in 1883, White in 1893 and Blue in 1987. The classic "Croad Langshan" is a tall, long-legged bird with a deep body and large breast. At 9.5 lb for males and 7.5 lb for females it is the lightest of the four, but it lays 150 or more large brown eggs a year, some very dark with a purplish tint. Pullets begin laying at about six to seven months.

Which "giant" is biggest?

On typical weights from The Livestock Conservancy, the Jersey Giant is the heaviest, followed by the Brahma, the Cochin and the Langshan. Exceptional Brahmas, however, have been recorded far above their standard: the Conservancy cites documented males of 17–18.25 lb by 1901. The Livestock Conservancy also notes that Brahmas can reach up to 30 inches in height, and it was a Brahma that became the internet's "giant chicken" in 2017.

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