Lavender Brahma Chicken

Description

The Lavender Brahma chicken is an even shade of light slate blue. The color is also called self blue because the plumage is all one color and because mating two lavender chickens yields 100% lavender chicks.

Brahmas have a broad head, a short beak, and a beetle brow. Their small pea comb, coupled with their large size and heavy plumage, makes them especially winter hardy.

Brahmas are large, slow growing, meaty chickens. Imported from Asia in the mid 1800s, they were the leading meat breed in the United States until about 1930.

The hens are good layers, especially in the winter months. At the age of about 6 to 7 months they start laying medium to large size eggs with brown shells. They make excellent broodies, although with their large size and feathered legs, they can sometimes be clumsy mothers.

The genetic code for lavender plumage in Brahmas, as in all chicken breeds, is associated an unfortunate feather quality issue known as the shredder gene. The result is that sometimes a lavender chicken, especially a rooster, develops a frayed or tattered tail.

Brahmas first appeared in the American Poultry Association Standard in 1874. However, the lavender variety has not yet been accepted.

The Brahma is the second largest chicken breed, after the Jersey Giant. Despite their huge size, Brahmas are not a bit aggressive and get along well with other breeds. They are particularly gentle and people friendly, making the Lavender Brahma chicken a wonderful choice for young and first time chicken keepers.

In addition to our Lavender Brahmas, Cackle Hatchery® also offers a number of other Brahma varieties, both large and bantam.