Brahma chickens are a large, dual-purpose breed.
Their prominent features are a flat, pea comb and feathered feat.
This Asiatic breed is known as the “King of Chickens” for a reason.
This quality bird stands approximately 30″ inches tall and weighs 8 to 12 pounds at maturity.
But how much should you feed such heavy birds, and how much will it cost?
Key Takeaway:
The average Brahma chicken will eat 1/3 pound of feed per day. This is about 10 pounds a month per bird. The average cost for feeding this amount per bird is between $13.50 to $18 per month, according to age and sex.
Read on to find out how much to feed your Brahmas during each stage of their lives and a cost breakdown for each stage.
Summary of the Cost of Feeding Brahma Chickens
| Life Stage | Daily Feeding Amount | Cost per 40 lb bag | Monthly Cost Per Bird |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicks | 25-55 grams | $23 – $75 | $1.76 – $6 |
| Adult Hens | 1/3 pound | $54 – $90 | $13.50 – $18 |
| Adult Roosters | 1/3 pound + supplements | $54 – $90 Average cost of all seed supplements = $26.17 | $20.04 -$29.04 |
How Much Feed do Brahma Chicks Need Per Day?
Brahmas will need a starter feed with about 18% protein as baby chicks.
Protein is essential for your chicks’ development.
Their bodies use protein to develop muscle, improve cell production, and build a strong immune system.
Commercial feed is specially formulated to give your chicks the vitamins and minerals they need for a balanced diet.
Starter feed is softer and easier to digest for small birds.
Backyard chicken keepers should feed baby chicks 25-55 grams (about 1/4 cup) of feed per day, divided into servings every two hours (or 5-6 times a day).
Treats and table scraps should not be given to chicks until they are at least 3 – 4 months old.
It is also incredibly important for chicks to have fresh, clean water daily.
They will drink 3x as much as they eat.
How Much Does it Cost to Feed Brahma Chicks?
Whether you are raising Brahmas as meat birds or egg layers will affect the type of feed you give them.
Broiler-type birds need more protein to bulk up.
Most meat bird crumbles cost about $23 per 40lb bag as of this writing.
Further Reading: Brahma Chickens As Meat Birds: What You Need To Know
A single Brahma chick will eat approximately 3 pounds of feed per month.
So it’s possible to feed approximately 13 chicks a month on a 40-pound bag ($1.76 per chick).
Check out this quality chick feed crumbles on Amazon if you’re having trouble deciding what to get.
Choose options of both medicated starter feed and unmedicated.
Brahma chickens are one of the largest chicken breeds, so they grow slower.
They take longer than most broiler chickens to reach a marketable weight as a fully-grown fowl.
Adult Brahma Chicken Daily Feed
Another use for these quality birds is to raise hens for eggs.
Since Brahma chickens produce about 300 eggs annually, they need quality feed for good egg production.
Brahmas reach egg-laying age later than most chickens.
Pullets begin to lay eggs at about 6-7 months old.
So, you won’t begin transitioning their feed until about 5 months of age.
The main difference for layer hen feed is the amount of calcium.
Brahma hens lay 3-5 large, brown eggs per week at their peak.
So, layer hens need plenty of calcium to produce quality chicken eggs.
Commercial feeds include about 3.3 to 3.8% of calcium in the mix.
Fully grown Brahmas will consume about 1/3 lb of feed per day.
They lay even during winter months.
These gentle giants will eat approximately 10 pounds a month per hen.
As always, remember to provide your hens with fresh water each day.
Did you know if you don’t feed them enough they’ll let you know with some clucking?
Learn more in our article on Brahma chicken noises.
How Much Does it Cost to Feed Brahma Hens?
If you have 4 hens and they get 10 pounds per month each, you’re looking at 40 pounds total.
This is a common size of layer feed, such as Purina Layena +.
The cost of chicken feed is approximately $54 per 40-pound bag (about $13.50 per hen) for this brand.
Once again, consider organic feeds, certified free of pesticides, antibiotics, and hormones.
Scratch and Peck Feed Organic Layer Mash is about $90 for two 25-pound bags (50 pounds total).
So, the feed cost would be about $18 per hen per month.
Do Roosters Eat More Than Hens?
It is tempting to feed roosters the same layer of feed as hens, yet roosters have different requirements than hens.
The extra calcium in layer feed can lead to kidney chicken diseases and calcium toxicity.
So, they need a pellet feed with a larger protein content to support their large chicken size.
If they eat layer feed, it may stunt their growth, and healthy birds are important for the broiler industry.
Either add high-protein snacks to your layer feed to fill the nutritional gaps or buy a rooster-specific feed.
Fully-grown Brahma roosters are calm birds.
Although a gigantic chicken breed, they don’t tend to be bullies by nature.
But they can bully regular-sized chickens if they don’t have enough food.
Roosters each a little more than hens.
Usually, allowing these docile birds to free range alongside the normal 1/3 pound of feed will help make up the difference.
How Much Extra Does it Cost to Feed Brahma Roosters?
If you want to keep feeding your roosters the same as your hens, provide your magnificent roosters with the right amount of protein they need to be healthy birds.
Add flax, sunflower, chia, and poppy seeds to the layer feed mix for your Brahma roosters to add the proteins they need.
Your gentle giant should have about 18% protein feed.
These seeds are found at the supermarket with the following average costs:
| Seed | Average Price | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Chia Seeds | $14.24 | 2 pounds |
| Sunflower Seeds | $44.49 | 20 pounds |
| Flax Seeds | $37.99 | 12 pounds |
| Poppy Seeds | $7.99 | 8.8 ounces |
Consider buying a mixed flock seeds bag (around $27.99 for a 50-pound bag) when you have a range of birds in your flock of backyard chickens.
This is a way to get the basic general nutrients to various poultry breeds.
These giant chickens need slightly more feed in cooler temperatures to regulate their bodies.
Can Your Brahma Chickens Free Range To Cut Down On Cost?
Chickens are omnivores; they enjoy foraging for whatever they can find: snails, insects, worms, and plants.
Brahmas love to forage but are heavier birds than the average chicken and cannot live off foraging alone.
They need commercial feed to help them get all of the nutrients they need.
However, foraging is a great way to keep your game birds from being bored.
aIn most cases, the heaviest chicken breed will forage enough to make up for their additional feeding needs.
Yet, this giant chicken breed needs more feet per chicken to forage on than regular-sized chickens.
