Are you familiar with Brahma chickens, one of the largest breeds of ornamental poultry in existence? Many of our users appreciate them, but for Saverio Gentile, they represent a true passion.

Saverio lives in Lecco and raises his animals on a 6,000-square-meter estate fifty meters from Lake Como. A former national boxing and weightlifting athlete and a goldsmith, Saverio inherited his passion from his father, with whom he continues to raise his animals: koi carp, exotic canaries, diamond doves, geese, and, of course, chickens, among which the giant and magnificent Brahmas stand out. Saverio is one of the administrators of the Facebook group Professional Poultry Farming, which has over 16,000 members, along with Franky d’Aprile, a combat breed enthusiast and poultry genetics expert.

• Saverio, how many years ago did you start breeding Brahmas?

Saverio: I started taking an interest in Brahma chickens around 2016, and began serious selection shortly thereafter.

• Which color varieties do you breed?

S.: At the moment, I am selecting for the Lemon Pyle and Cuckoo varieties, and I would like to succeed in selecting a new color, trying to stabilize animals with splash plumage on the hackle, rump, and tail, but white on the lower parts of the body.

• Where do your animals come from?

S.: They have various origins, but to acquire some high-quality breeding stock needed for my projects, I traveled as far as Moldova and Romania.

• Wow, congratulations on your dedication! So, is your farm basically a single-breed operation?

S.: Yes, in terms of selective breeding, I have focused only on Brahmas for now. I also raise Pheasant-colored Cornish, a trio of Serama, and meat crosses, but my farm is primarily dedicated to the selection of Brahmas.

• How have you organized your farm to select Brahma chickens?

S.: I have divided my farm into 15 pens, all consisting of a night shelter (ranging in size from 1.1 x 2 m to 3 x 3 m) and an open space of 3 x 3 meters where the animals can scratch around. Each pen houses a maximum of 3 or 4 birds, ensuring plenty of space for all my animals. In total, I have about fifty Brahma breeders.

• Do you use Novital incubators? How long have you been using them?

S.: Sì, ho una Covatutto 24 digitale automatica, una Covatutto 54 digitale automatica e una Covatutto 162 digitale automatica. Io e mio padre abbiamo sempre avuto macchine Novital, prima di queste avevamo una vecchia Covatutto 20 (macchina oramai fuori produzione)!

• What are your current goals as a breeder?

S.: As I mentioned, I am selecting for the Lemon Pyle variety, which is essentially a Buff Columbia Splash plumage. I am now in the third generation of this variety, and the results are getting closer to my vision of how this color should look. I imagine it with a lighter buff than what other breeders think; in any case, the results so far are promising.

Furthermore, I am trying to create a plumage where the upper parts of the animal—tail, rump, hackle—are a fairly light Splash, while the lower part of the body is totally white. I am using animals of different colors to try to achieve this result—Splash, Black, Blue, White—but at the moment I am working very empirically, though supported by advice from Franky d’Aprile.

• What advice would you give a breeder to achieve good results with selection?

S.: Certainly, not to try to select too many traits at once, but to focus on one at a time and perfect it before moving on to others. It may seem like it slows down the selection process, but in practice, keeping a bird that is only moderately better as a breeder often results in the breeder carrying forward many defects that are then difficult to remove. Since I started focusing on one trait at a time, I have seen more concrete improvements.

Our chat with Saverio ends here. We can only thank him for the passion he puts into his breeding and for the time and patience he so kindly dedicated to us. Thank you, Saverio, and keep up the good work! Good luck with all your projects!

Saverio Gentile (https://www.facebook.com/saveriodinamyte.gentile), Novital user since 2016. Interview conducted in 2019.

User of Covatutto 24 digital automatic – Covatutto 54 digital automatic – Covatutto 162 digital automatic.