The Brahma and Cochin Club of Australia Inc
Brahma Standard of Perfection in Australia
The standards below are the 2nd edition Australian Poultry Standards.
The club promotes the Ludlow painting below as the preferred picture to illustrate the desired UK Style Brahma type, as opposed to the drawings of Schilling in the 2nd edition document which are more the U.S. style of bird.
The descriptions of the Brahma type and head were accidentally deleted from the final draft of the 2nd edition standards, however the errors have been addressed and published in a one page 'Errata' document as well as the 2nd edition Addendum published in 2016. The complete standard is provided below.
A list of the various colours available in Australia is provided below under Colour Variety Groups.
- Note: The Brahma and Cochin Club of Australia has provided a submission to the Australian Poultry Standards Committee for the 3rd edition poultry standards, which includes the request of the addition of many more colour varieties.
Male Characteristics
• Carriage: Sedate, but fairly active.
Type:
• Body: Broad, square and deep.
• Back: Short, either flat or slightly hollow between the shoulders, the saddle rising half-way between the hackle and the tail until it reaches the tail coverts.
• Breast: Full with horizontal keel.
• Wings: Medium sized, with lower line horizontal, free from twisted or slipped feathers, well tucked under the saddle feathers, which should be of ample length.
• Tail: Of medium length, rising from the line of the saddle and carried between 65-75 degrees, the quill feathers well spread, the coverts broad and abundant, well curved and almost covering the quill feathers.
Head: Asiatic, small, rather short, of medium breadth, and a dewlap of the upper throat, between the wattles.
• Brow: Clearly prominent over the eyes.
• Beak: Short and strong.
• Eyes: Large and deeply set.
• Comb: Pea comb, small, firmly fastened.
• Face: Smooth, free from feathers or hairs.
• Earlobes: long and fine, free from feathers.
• Wattles: Small, fine and rounded, free from feathers.
Neck: Long, covered with hackle feathers that reach well down to the shoulders, a depression being apparent at the back between the head feathers and the upper hackle.
Plumage: Profuse, but close fitting.
Legs/Feet:
•Legs: Moderately long, powerful, well apart and feathered.
• Thighs: Large and covered in front by the lower breast feathers.
• Fluff: soft, abundant, covering the hind parts and standing out behind the thighs.
• Hocks: Amply covered with soft rounded feathers, or with long, soft feathers provided they are accompanied with proportionately heavy shank and foot feathering.
• Shanks: Profusely feathered, standing well out from legs and toes, extending under the hock feathers and to the extremity of the middle and outer toes. Shanks and foot feathering to be profuse, with vulture hocks being undesirable.
• Toes: four, straight and spreading.
Female Characteristics
With the exception of the neck and legs, which are rather short, the general characteristics are similar to those of the male, allowing for the natural sexual differences.
Scale of Points:
Type (shape and symmetry) .......................................................30
Colour ..........................................................................................25
Legs and feet ...............................................................................15
Head and Eye ..............................................................................15
Size and condition ........................................................................15
TOTAL: .......................................................................................100
Weights
Standards:
Male: ..................................................4.55 - 5.45 kg (10 - 12 lb)
Female: ..............................................3.20 - 4.10 kg (7 - 9 lb)
Bantams:
Male: ..................................................1.19 - 1.42 kg (2 lb 10 oz - 3 lb 2 oz)
Female: ...............................................1.02 - 1.26 kg (2 lb 4 oz - 2 lb 12 oz)
*Serious defects*
------------------------
Badly twisted hackle or wing feathers. Buff on any part of the plumage of the light variety. Excessive red or yellow in the plumage or excessive white in the tail of Dark males. Absence of pencilling or patches of red or brown in the plumage of Dark females. Lack of feathers on the middle toes. Lack of dewlap. Lack of prominent eyebrows.
General disqualifications and serious defects can be found under the relevant heading below.
Brahma Colour Guide
In both sexes of all varieties: Beak: yellow or yellow and black. Eyes: orange-red. Comb, face, ear-lobes and wattles: bright red. Shanks and feet: orange-yellow or yellow.
Buff (Buff Columbian)
Male and Female: Plumage: marked identically to the Light Brahma, with white replaced throughout by an even shade of rich golden buff. Undercolour: slate. Leg and foot feathering: buff with black admissible.
Dark
Male: Plumage: Head: silvery white. Neck Hackle: web of feather, lustrous greenish black with narrow lacing of silvery white; shafts black. Front of neck: black. Back including saddle: web of feather, lustrous greenish black with narrow lacing of silvery white, a slight shafting of silvery white permissible. Silvery white predominating on surface of upper back; saddle matching with hackle in colour. Tail: main tail - web black. Main and lesser sickles: lustrous greenish black. Coverts: lustrous greenish black with lacing of white. Wings: fronts black. Bows: silvery white. Coverts: lustrous greenish black, forming a distinct bar of this colour across entire wing when folded. Primaries: black with narrow edging of white on lower edge of lower webs. Secondaries: lower webs, black with lower half white to a point near end of feather, terminating abruptly, leaving ends of feathers black; upper webs black; the secondaries when folded forming a triangular white wing bay between the wing bar and tips of secondary feathers. Breast: lustrous greenish black. Body: black. Fluff: black, slight tinge of grey permissible. Undercolour: slate shading lighter towards base of feathers.
Female Plumage: Head: silvery grey. Neck hackle: black, slightly pencilled with steel grey and laced with silvery white. Front of neck, breast, back, wing bow, wing bar, wing and tail coverts, thighs, body and fluff: ground colour steel grey with distinct black pencillings. Main tail: black except two top feathers which have lower web black; upper web, grey pencilled with black. Primaries: black with diagonal steel grey pencillings on lower webs. Secondaries: lower webs steel grey with black pencillings extending well around tips of feathers; balance of upper webs, black. Undercolour: medium slate. See Note below.
Gold (Partridge)
Male Plumage: Head: dark orange. Hackle: bright orange-yellow shading to a bright lemon-yellow, free from washiness, each feather having a clearly defined, lustrous, greenish-black stripe down the centre, not running out at the tip, and free from light shaft. Back: bright red of a scarlet shade, free from maroon or purple shade. Saddle hackle: to match the neck hackle. Main tail, coverts, main and lesser sickles: lustrous greenish-black. Tail free of white at the roots. Wings: fronts black. Bow: bright red of scarlet shade, free from maroon or purple tinge. Coverts: lustrous, greenish black, forming a distinct wing bar of this colour across wing when wing is folded. Primaries: black. Secondaries: inner web and end of feather, black, outer web, rich bay, the rich bay alone showing when the wing is folded. Breast and front of neck: lustrous greenish black, free from red or grey ticking. Body and fluff: black. Undercolour: black or dark grey.
Female Plumage: Head: rich golden yellow. Hackle: rich golden yellow, the larger feathers finely and clearly pencilled with black. Front of neck, breast, back, wing bow, wing bar, wing and tail coverts, thighs, body fluff: soft light partridge brown, quite even and free from red or yellow tinge, each feather plentifully and distinctly pencilled with black, the pencilling to follow the form of the feather, and to be even and uniform throughout. Pencilling to be fine, sharply defined and with three or more distinct lines of black. Main tail: black, with or without brown markings. Primaries: black. Secondaries: inner web black, outer web same colour as body, showing pencilling when wing is folded. Undercolour: slate.
Note: Pencilling in the Gold and Dark varieties should be distinct and in sharp contrast to the ground colour, regular in shape, uniform in width and conform to the contour of the feather. Each feather on the back, breast, body, wing bows and thighs should have three or more pencillings. Pencilling which runs into peppery markings and uneven, broken or barred pencilling constitute defects, as does light shaftiness on feathers of the breast and front of neck. Ground colour to be even throughout.
Colour Chart of Dark and Gold Brahma Males
Colour Chart of Dark and Gold Brahma Females
Golden Creel
Male and Female: Plumage: colour and markings for both sexes as for the Golden Creel Wyandotte. Leg and foot feathering: Male: dark grey and white barred. Female: dark grey with indistinct lighter grey barring.
Light
Male Plumage: Head: silvery white. Hackle: web of feather, lustrous, greenish-black, with narrow lacing of silvery white, greater portion of shaft black. Back: silvery white. Cape black and white. Saddle: silvery white with an elongated V-shaped black stripe increasing in width, length and density as it nears the tail coverts. Note: the stripe should extend from near the tip of the feather approximately one-half to three fourths the length of the web and allow a clean break of white between the undercolour and base of stripe. Tail: Main tail: black. Main and lesser sickles: lustrous greenish black. Tail coverts: lustrous greenish black, laced with silvery white. Wings: fronts white, some black permissable. Bows and coverts: silvery white. Primaries: black with lower edge of lower web white. Secondaries: lower web, unexposed portion, black; exposed portion, white; upper web black edged with white; the white extending around the end of feather. The white ends of the upper secondaries growing progressively wider so the exposed portion in the upper row is entirely white; forming a white wing bay when wing is folded. Breast and front of neck: white. Body: white except under wings where it may be bluish slate. Fluff: white. Undercolour: white with some light bluish slate.
Female Plumage: Head: white. Hackle: web of feather lustrous, greenish black with a narrow lacing of silvery white; greater portion of shaft black. Front of neck, back, breast, wing fronts bows and coverts, body and fluff: white except under the wings where it may be bluish slate. Tail: Main tail: black, except two top feathers, which are slightly laced with white. Tail coverts: black, with narrow lacing of silvery white. Wings: Primaries: black with white edging on lower webs. Secondaries: lower webs; lower portion, white extending around end and lacing upper portion of upper webs, growing wider in shorter feathers, sufficient to show a white wing bay when wing is folded; upper webs, black. Undercolour: white with some light bluish slate.
White
Male and Female Plumage: Pure white throughout all sections.
Colour Variety Groups
Columbian Patterns: Light, Blue Light, Buff, Blue Buff, White, Buff.
Pencilled Patterns: Dark, Gold Partridge. Blue Partridge.
Self Colours: White, Black, Blue, Buff, Red*
Laced Patterns: Silver, Gold, Blue Laced Gold, Blue Laced Silver, White Laced Bay (Chamois)
Barred Patterns: Barred, Light Barred, Cuckoo, Buff Cuckoo, Barred Light Columbian (Delaware), Barred Buff Columbian, Golden Crele, Silver Crele.
All other colours: Salmon, Splash*, Speckled*
* Colours also being created but not yet described in new draft standard of perfection.
Defects and Disqualifications
Defects:
1. Any bird that is excessively over or under weight for its age and sex.
2. Odd eye colour.
3. Pea comb which is lopped below the horizontal plane of the skull or inverted at the rear.
4. Presence of positive enamel white in the face, earlobes or wattles.
5. Slipped or drooping wing.
6. Split tail.
7. Badly twisted hackle or wing feather.
8. Lack of spurs on adult males.
9. Lack of feathers on middle toes.
10. Missing toenails.
11. Lack of dewlap.
12. Lack of prominent eyebrows.
Disqualifications:
1. Specimen, seriously lacking in breed characteristics.
2. Definite indications of contagious disease, indications of infestation of lice, mites or scaly leg mites.
3. Clear evidence of faking, ie, the self evident attempt to remove or conceal a disqualification or or defect, thus creating merit which does not naturally exist.
4. Any malformatuion or deformity of the beak.
5. Blindness, defective eyesight or defective pupils.
6. Comb, other than a pea comb (triple)
7. Presence of crest or beard and muffs.
8. Wry neck, wry tail or squirrel tail.
9. Crooked, roached or deformed in skeletal structure.
10. Abnormal protrusion of breastbone. Breastbone curved down behind leading or drooping abdomen.
11. Split wing.
12. Badly twisted or curled primary or secondary feathers.
13. Bow legged or knock kneed or obviously in or out at hocks.
14. Deformed or twisted feet. Badly splayed feet. webbed feet.
15. Badly crooked or turned toes. Duck toed.
16. Twisted or warped shanks.
17. Coarse, malformed or unnaturally enlarged bone in shanks, feet or toes.
18. Other than four toes.
19. Shanks and outer toes, No feathers down outer sides.
20. Other than yellow or orange-yellow legs or feet.
21. Spurs on outside of leg.
22. Great want of condition.