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There
is not a great deal of the history of the Brahma available. What little
there is, is all that we have to go on.
The Brahma is said to have originated from the far East (China) to areas of India. One thing is certain, and that is that they were imported into the United States by sailors who had been travelling abroad, and that they were a very large bird. Even though today the birds that have been re-created here (in Australia) are large, there is still a way to go until they get to the size that they originally were. As for type the Brahma is a far cry from the original in type as well, with the original birds being very gamey for type compared to the Cochin look that they have today. From photo's today, even those in the US have lost the original gamey look that the original drawings of Harrison Weir, Lewis Wright and others have shown. Is this a sign that they were a cross with a game bird originally, before they ever arrived in the US. In the book "Brahma and Cochin Poultry" by Dr Joseph Batty, Dr Batty points out that there are inconsistencies in some versions of the history, and that basically with everything taken into account "it would appear that the Brahma was a product of the Cochin and the Chittagong, a form of Malay" All any of us can do is surmise. It is an unfortunate fact that records were not kept, that we know of, and to this end it will really be a guessing game as to their true origins. Recommended reading Brahma and Cochin
Poultry...Dr Joseph Batty ISBN 1-85736-388-4
Contact the Secretary: brahma2000@bonbon.net
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