Brahma chicken

The Brahma is an American breed of chicken. It is believed that it was first bred in the United States from birds imported from the Chinese port of Shanghai, and was the principal American meat breed from the 1850s until about 1930.

History

There has been controversy and confusion over the origin of the Brahma. It appears to have developed in the United States from large birds, with heavily feathered legs, imported in the 1840s from the Chinese port of Shanghai, and thus known as "Shanghai" birds. The distinctive head shape and pea comb of the Brahma probably result from cross-breeding with Grey Chittagong birds of Malay type, imported from Chittagong in eastern Bengal (now Bangladesh); these characteristics distinguish the Brahma from the Cochin, which also derives from "Shanghai" birds.

At first there were many different strains and at least a dozen different names for the breed. At a meeting of poultry judges in Boston in 1852, agreement was reached to name it "Brahmapootra"; this later became "Brahma".

Brahmas were first exported to England in December 1852, when George Burnham sent nine "Gray Shanghaes" to Queen Victoria as a gift. The Dark Brahma variety was developed by English breeders from this stock, and later re-exported to the United States. Both the light and the dark (pencilled) Brahma were included in the first Standard of Excellence, published by the original Poultry Club of Great Britain in 1865. Both were included in the first Standard of Perfection of the American Poultry Association, published in 1874; the buff variant was added in 1924 or 1929.

The Brahma was the principal meat breed in the United States from the 1850s until about 1930. Some birds were very large: weights of about 8 kg (18 lb) for cocks and 6 kg (13 lb) for hens were recorded.