SeramaSilly Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 Hi there, i haven't kept chickens for four years due to a house move and other circumstances but am now beginning to pine for them. I love the look of L/F brahamas and would feel they would be safer free-ranging as there are millions of cats around here! I am wondering whether two brahamas would be ok in an eglu go up with a run extension with free-ranging when I'm about?? Does anyone have the same set up here with brahamas? x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 I've got tiny bantams with loads of neighbourhood cats. Had to train one tomcat not to go after them. Sometimes they get spooked and all fly up, but never really a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeramaSilly Posted July 10, 2016 Author Share Posted July 10, 2016 Thanks cat tails but just love the look of large fowl brahmas too - notice I amended the spelling!! x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickabee Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 I love my Brahma, she's huge. I've got 2 cats. They don't go anywhere near her. She really enjoys mooching around the garden. She's a very gentle soul and just mixed very well with some new smaller hens that I just got Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeramaSilly Posted July 13, 2016 Author Share Posted July 13, 2016 Just bumping this up. Does anyone have two large fowl brahmas in a eglu go up with run and extension and if so how does this work for you. Also can anyone tell me if Brahmas are very noisy with their egg-laying songs?? x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeramaSilly Posted July 13, 2016 Author Share Posted July 13, 2016 Oh thanks Chickabee - is your girl noisy?? xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickabee Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 She's not noisy at all. She shares a Go (not an up) with an extension with 3 little girls. They all free range during the day but they get on well in the run Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lydia Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Hi We have a brahma called Balmy. We got her in June 2015 aged about 14 weeks and initially she shared an Eglu classic with our light Sussex. Both are large fowl and no problems with size there. However.......Balmy spent last year being scared of EVERYTHING! Not just us and other hens, but also wind, rain, leaves (Autumn was fun ) and wild birds, particularly pigeons. If anything went near her she just took off round the garden or run. Hugely comical, yes, but a bit wearing after a while. She didn't lay until March at which point she calmed down.......a bit. Then she went broody. She's been consistently broody since and averages a session about every 3 weeks. Not really a problem for us as she lives in a WIR and it's easy enough to erect the dog crate in there for 3 days and nights. However, if all you have an Eglu Go, then it might be an issue. Even if you choose not to crate and let them brood, it might still be an issue as one will not let anyone in the nest for the duration. Balmy also doesn't lay for a few days before and about a week after her broodiness, so if you had 2 brahmas this may be an issue if you're wanting eggs regularly. It remains to be seen if she will lay through this winter, I think it will be considerably reduced but we will see. I don't mean to put you off, just saying our experience. I knew brahmas were broody things before we got Balmy, I was, however, surprised at her paranoia. Maybe that is just Balmy and not indicative of the breed, I don't know. For all that she is, I do like Balmy, she is comical, especially run at speed! She can be loud but is not the loudest (that accolade belongs to Fu, our light Sussex). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickabee Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 Oh yes Vicky was laying when we got her at about 22 weeks. She has been broody since, but is laying again now. I've only had her a few months. I let her stay broody. The others laid their eggs around her and she stole them, just had to pinch them from under her hot bod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeramaSilly Posted July 14, 2016 Author Share Posted July 14, 2016 Thanks Lydia and Chickabee, I'm not worried about eggs to be honest but I would be worried about their condition if they were broody for too long. I suppose I would have to crate one in the shed but then would that distress the girls?? Worried that your brahma is noisy Lydia, thought they were quiet as a breed and purposely didn't go for sussex because they're known as noisy birds!!! :-0 My neighbour, who is frankly a pain in the bum, has 'hyper-sensitive' hearing! I suppose I could put them on hold until we can build a WIR. From the sublime to the ridiculous I do love the look of seramas too - perhaps I could slip a few of them in my pocket without OH noticing?! x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickabee Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 I always leave my girls when they're broody. Apart from the feathers they pull out, I've not had a problem with condition. Obviously have to keep an eye out for the dreaded red mite Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeramaSilly Posted July 14, 2016 Author Share Posted July 14, 2016 I remember reading on the Practical Poultry forum a few years ago about this man who had a broody brahma for ages and he'd tried all the conventional methods of breaking it. He eventually put her in a cat cage, tied a rope to it and dangled her out of his bedroom window all night - that cured it!!! :-0 Poor bird - I expect she was terrifed!!! x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lydia Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 Re the noise, with Balmy it is not so much a loud shrieking noise, more of a constant noisy whine that you can hear well through double glazing. She can keep it up for hours. They are quite near the house, though. I'm probably more sensitive to it than my neighbours; I am sure they hear Fu with her shrieking ways in the morning, but perhaps not Balmy. I don't know, never asked. Good luck with whatever you decide Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 Don't think you'd fit them in a Go Up... LF Brahmas are the size of a small toddler! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeramaSilly Posted July 14, 2016 Author Share Posted July 14, 2016 Well, I didn't think so either Clare but the omlet blurb says it does! :-0 x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 Hmmm, I met the chairman of the Brahma club at Fed show, when we were filming there, Sophie; will PM you a clip of the video so you can see just how big they are... personally, I wouldn't think you'd fit one in a Go! They need a tall house with plenty of headroom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 This is what I was thinking too. They have a few Brahma's plodding around at the petting zoo where my ladies board. They are humongous! I don't think the Go will let them stand up in the coop. And the ladder of the Go Up is rather slippery. Not a problem if you can fly up as mine do, but a Brahma wouldn't have the room to do that. And the nesting dip isn't very roomy either for such a big bum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickabee Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 My Brahma lays her eggs in the Go, surely she would have found somewhere else in the garden if she wasn't happy with the situation. She goes in happily every night to roost. I don't close the door though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 And she must be the expert! I can just imagine the big fluff ball in that little egg dip! But would you keep two full grown brahma in a Go Up run? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeramaSilly Posted July 15, 2016 Author Share Posted July 15, 2016 I haven't actually seen a L/F brahma in the flesh Cat Tails but if you look at the blurb for the go up it says that it will house 4 hybrid size birds or 2 - 3 large fowl such as orpingtons or cochins (I did see brahma mentioned too at one point) so you can understand why I was questioning it. Luckily Clare has kindly sent me a clip of her at a poultry show holding one and now I can see how huge they really are. x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 They are very beautiful though! This is the giant fluffball plodding around the childrens petting zoo. That carrot is not a parisian size... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeramaSilly Posted July 15, 2016 Author Share Posted July 15, 2016 Aw, what a beauty! x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeramaSilly Posted July 15, 2016 Author Share Posted July 15, 2016 Aw, what a beauty! x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
