THE LIGHT BRAHMA A GENERAL PURPOSE FOWL. 



They are Good Layers of Large Eggs; Make Desirable Broilers, and May be Cheaply Housed and 



Easily Cared For. 



By E. Erickson. 



w 



in the show 

 good layers, 

 answer, that 

 course we do 



"B ARE often asked by visitors 

 room if Light Brahmas are 

 We believe we can truthfully 

 they are very good layers. Of 



not claim that they will lay 



more eggs than the Leghorn 



or some of the other small 



breeds, but if the size and 



weight of eggs are taken into 



consideration, they will head 



the list. We have jus>: placed 



on the scales one dozen Brah- 

 ma eggs, that were gathered 



from our yards to-day, and 



they weigh one pound four- 

 teen ounces. We also weighed 



one dozen White Wyandottes, 



that weighed one pound nine 



ounces, showing a difference 



of five ounces in favor of the 



Brahma. Thus it would take 



a little more than fourteen 



Wyandotte eggs to equal the 



weight of twelve Brahma 



eggs. At this rate for a year, 



allowing the Brahma an aver- 

 age of one hundred and fifty 



eggs per year (a record which 



they will easily make, and 



many of them will lay more 



than that), the Wyandotte 



will have to lay one hundred 



and eighty to equal the weight 



of the Brahma eggs. 

 One of our customers told 



us that he kept a record of 



his flock for a period of 190 



days. By the use of the trap 



nest boxes he found that one 



hen laid 145 eggs in this time. 



With good care she surely 



would have reached the 200 



mark in a year, as he had 175 

 days more to go. 



We will suppose that the 

 birds are kept for market 

 only, and that the old hens are 

 sold off along in July after 



the laying and hatching season is over. A flock of good 

 Brahma hens will average about nine pounds each, while 

 most of the smaller breeds will not average over six. Let 

 them sell, say at ten cents per pound. Here again the 

 Brahma will gain thirty cents per head over the small, 

 heavy laying competitor. Some one will say that the 

 smaller hen has already gained that much in the extra num- 

 ber of eggs laid. Yes, she may have, if she has been laying 

 heavily during the winter. But it must be remembered that 

 the Brahmas are naturally good winter layers. With their 

 low combs and heavy feathering, they can stand more cold 

 than any other breed that we know of, and for this reason 

 they do not suffer or lose any time on account of frozen 

 combs. They do not need as costly built and warm houses 



as the high combed varieties. Any kind of a house that is 

 tight and dry will do for them. 



If early broilers are wanted, there is no breed that will 

 reach a weight of two pounds each in less time. We have 



,.M *>"• 







:'.- mj^^ 



NEW ENGLAND LKHIT5RflHnACD/D 



IDtflL • 



IOPY RtGKT — 



Light Brahma Female Adopted as the Ideal of the New England Light Brahma Club. 

 A Sewell Production Based upon the Ideals of the Members. 



tried them in the same brooder with Wyandottes and Ply- 

 mouth Rocks, and we always found that at eight to ten 

 weeks old the Brahmas were a quarter to a half pound 

 heavier than the others. Some people claim that the Brah- 

 ma will not feather quick enough for a good market chicken. 

 We have found that all the buyers care for is the weight. 

 They do not care whether the chick is full feathered or not. 

 So this cannot be any obstacle in the way of those who 

 want to produce early chickens for market. By careful 

 feeding the Brahma can be grown a great deal above stand- 

 ard weight. 



The Brahma is naturally of a quiet disposition and can 

 be easily confined. This quality makes them especially 

 adapted to those who have limited space. E, ERICKSON. 



