Brahma Chicken

The Brahma Chicken is a former staple North American chicken breed and was the primary meat chicken from the 1850s-1930s before being slowly replaced by the Delaware Chicken.

General
Brahma Chickens are decent dual-purpose chickens, but mainly used for meat, laying only 150 eggs each year on average compared to the 300+ of many prominent layer and dual-purpose breeds. They also lack decent flight ability due to their size, making them an easy chicken breed to manage compared to other more wild chicken breeds.

Due to their massive size, they produce very high quality meat, which helps them keep their place as a staple meat bird.

Behavior
Brahma Chickens are normally extremely docile and relaxed, they are also not known to openly attack humans often. Some may even be playful, making them a good starter breed for those wanting a more relaxed chicken.

They're no more curious than any other chicken, and tend to stick to themselves rather attempting to get out of their enclosures, making them decent chickens for an environment where they cannot free-roam.

Appearance
Brahma's can appear in a variety of colors, including, but not limited to: Blonde, Brown, Black, White, Grey and sometimes even red. The color of a brahma greatly depends on the specific variation of Brahma Chicken.

Variants and History
The exact origin of Brahma chickens is unknown, but they are assumed to have evolved from similar looking breeds imported to the United States from China.

In only a few decades they slowly became the staple meat bird breed of the United States during most of the 1800s, from around the 1850s-1930s until being slowly replaced by the Delaware Chicken.

Many variants of the Brahma exist for mostly Ornamental reasons, and were mostly developed in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Buff Brahma
The Buff Brahma is arguably the most popular Brahma chicken breed of the modern breed and typically is very large with a mixture of brown, blonde and grey feathers. They were first recognized as a unique variation of Brahma chickens in the 1920s.

Light Brahma
The Light Brahma(sometimes called the White Braham) is another popular variant of the Braham chicken, often appearing almost albino similar to the Delaware Chicken. They were first recognized as a unique breed of Brahma in 1874.

Dark Brahma
The Dark Brahma was a breed of Brahma that originates from the United Kingdom, originating from a pair of Brahma presented to Queen Victoria and created via selective breeding. As their name suggests, they are a much darker colored variation than other Brahma Variants.

Laying
Brahma are typically poor layers, laying only about 150 eggs on average, but producing large brown eggs when laid.