American serama thread!

[WVduckchick]

Got a tiny one . 17 days old !View attachment 1566988

Eeee! Looks like a silkied!

 

[Nimueh Alene]

Well I heard back from University of Arkansas...
He said my hatching problem with Cajun and Sabine appears to be inbreeding. He recommended not breeding either bird. He reminded me that all Serama in the US comes from only 135 birds and inbreeding problems is becoming up more often. If I want to use Cajun and Sabine he recommended out breeding to Japanese than using those chicks to breed back to serama but they won't be deemed pure Serama until breeding back to pure Serama for 6 generations from the serama Japanese cross.
Note : Glad I have the chicks from you WVduckchick!

 

[WVduckchick]

Well I heard back from University of Arkansas...
He said my hatching problem with Cajun and Sabine appears to be inbreeding. He recommended not breeding either bird. He reminded me that all Serama in the US comes from only 135 birds and inbreeding problems is becoming up more often. If I want to use Cajun and Sabine he recommended out breeding to Japanese than using those chicks to breed back to serama but they won't be deemed pure Serama until breeding back to pure Serama for 6 generations from the serama Japanese cross.

Wow, that's an odd recommendation! I kinda understand, but it still surprises me. I'd be tempted to use OEGBs instead of Japanese, but Japanese are closer relatives. I would definitely only use long-legged Japanese.

 

[Nimueh Alene]

I sent him photos of all the dead in shell chicks I've taken. Most what I thought was just died before finishing developing was actually their brains outside their skulls.. One of the chicks pictured below.

so when your chicks are old enough I'll put Sabine in with one of the 4 cockerels from you and Cajun with the pullets and go from there .

He is right though genetic diversity is thin.. Think of all the Serama in the US, possibly thousands from 135 birds. I just got mine from a bad breeder.. I know they starter from a trio but I didn't realize all their breeding pens came from that trio. I did talk to them about it but they didn't seem to care. If the chicks hatch the are OK, the dead ones are the defective ones. So much for caring about the breed..

 

[Nimueh Alene]

I could use Kismet he's half Serama 1/4 Silkie 1/4 OEG. He has white skin and 4 toes and tiny.. Only 15 oz. Lol.
Nah he's mommies baby.

 

[WVduckchick]

I sent him photos of all the dead in shell chicks I've taken. Most what I thought was just died before finishing developing was actually their brains outside their skulls.. One of the chicks pictured below. View attachment 1567853 so when your chicks are old enough I'll put Sabine in with one of the 4 cockerels from you and Cajun with the pullets and go from there .

He is right though genetic diversity is thin.. Think of all the Serama in the US, possibly thousands from 135 birds. I just got mine from a bad breeder.. I know they starter from a trio but I didn't realize all their breeding pens came from that trio. I did talk to them about it but they didn't seem to care. If the chicks hatch the are OK, the dead ones are the defective ones. So much for caring about the breed..

That’s truly sad, that they don’t care. Mine have come from at least 5 different groups of birds and/or eggs (and any of those eggs could have come from different genetics themselves) and after my original group, any roosters from those originals are gone, so those offspring can’t be related. My male silkied came from different lines than my girls there also, so I feel like mine are fairly diverse and mixed enough.

I actually had someone question me on FB because I was asking $20-$25 for a gorgeous pullet, if my birds were GFF lines or something because of the high price.
I told them no, I consider them my line now.

 

[Faraday40]

2 wks 3 days old
Since hatch, my gut's been telling me the light one is male & the chipmunk striped is female. Now I wonder if both are male. Either way, they're both pretty spoiled.

 

[Nimueh Alene]

Spoiled is all Serama middle name !

 

[Nimueh Alene]

Any new babies out there . Pictures of Serama cuties ?
@Faraday40 still a boy and girl ?
@WVduckchick anything new your way ?

 

[WVduckchick]

Well, not much new here. My duo’s babies are growing, they are all growing. Looks like the latest hatches have been girl heavy, so I’m extremely happy about that!

I have two girls sitting together now, it’s been cold, and I didn’t think their eggs were fertile. When I checked the other day, they only had 2 eggs! Lol They were clear, so I gave them 6 (or 8?) eggs from my other pen. I forgot what day I did that. Hope I dated the eggs lol

A few recent pics for fun.