Serama Bachelor Flock

[uisceros]

Hi all,

I recently hatched out six serama chicks (offspring of one of my beloved roosters who passed away) and while obviously I was expecting cockerels, I ended up with four of them!

I love roosters, and plan on keeping them all, but since this is my first experience with a bachelor flock, I just wanted to see if anyone had done it before with Seramas.

Like, I know boys need more space to get along, but how much space would I need for Seramas? Like, 4-5 sq ft per bird?

And at what age do I need to give them this space? They’re currently 2 and 3 months old (one hatched a month after the other three). One of them lives with his female nest mate. When should I separate them?

Sorry for all the questions! I’ve only hatched two girls and one boy before, so the amount of roosters is new!

 

[fluffycrow]

@WoDia , Can't think of anyone better to answer this! I'll be keeping notes for future reference

 

[WoDia]

@WoDia , Can't think of anyone better to answer this! I'll be keeping notes for future reference

Thank you for tagging me fluffy! Okay @uisceros, here’s MY situation…. I keep ALL of my hatches. I currently have quite a few cockerels and roosters, BUT I also have a lot of hens and pullets to balance the flock a little better. The key to keeping all of them, and maintaining peace in the flock, is to monitor them and be prepared to take action when you find it necessary. The more space, the better. Plus, multiple food stations, roosts at different heights, and hiding places. This is important. For the largest part, my boys get along… but, when they DO scuffle, I’m prepared to temporarily separate the tiny bullies. I’ve never had a pair of fighting cockerels draw blood. They normally flare and lunge…. and it’s over fairly quick. One will just leave the area. Some of boys being picked on appreciate spending time in a very large dog cage inside the Serama building, where they can always see the rest of the flock. The pecking order is obviously going to be challenged at different times. In my experience ONLY, Serama roosters really aren’t too terrible to each other. The few that get picked on learn to navigate around the others and can get away when needed. I hope you can find a few things in this LONG-WINDED reply that may help you. Something I adore about my boys… they LOVE being handled. Do that as much as you can!

 

[uisceros]

Thank you for tagging me fluffy! Okay @uisceros, here’s MY situation…. I keep ALL of my hatches. I currently have quite a few cockerels and roosters, BUT I also have a lot of hens and pullets to balance the flock a little better. The key to keeping all of them, and maintaining peace in the flock, is to monitor them and be prepared to take action when you find it necessary. The more space, the better. Plus, multiple food stations, roosts at different heights, and hiding places. This is important. For the largest part, my boys get along… but, when they DO scuffle, I’m prepared to temporarily separate the tiny bullies. I’ve never had a pair of fighting cockerels draw blood. They normally flare and lunge…. and it’s over fairly quick. One will just leave the area. Some of boys being picked on appreciate spending time in a very large dog cage inside the Serama building, where they can always see the rest of the flock. The pecking order is obviously going to be challenged at different times. In my experience ONLY, Serama roosters really aren’t too terrible to each other. The few that get picked on learn to navigate around the others and can get away when needed. I hope you can find a few things in this LONG-WINDED reply that may help you. Something I adore about my boys… they LOVE being handled. Do that as much as you can!

Thanks so much for your response!!

So here’s my current situation - 7 hens (two are babies), 1 roosters, and 4 cockerel babies. I’m assuming the ratio of 7/5 will not work out well overall, which is why I decided to split them. Maybe I could keep one of the cockerel babies with my main rooster, but we’ll see.

I also have two living situations - in the winter they live in my basement (I’m in Massachusetts, so it gets too cold for me to leave them outside during the winter comfortably). Outside I have one large 60sq ft run/coop. Inside I have a large Guinea pig cage set up for them that is 22 sq ft (of which I plan to add on) where the main roo and 6 of the hen/pullets live. Right now three of the cockerels are in a brooder pen by themselves, and the other cockerel is in a pen with his pullet hatch mate. I was either going to build a larger run/coop for the boy, or try to repurpose an older small pre-fab I have.

Funnily enough, I’ve had the opposite with my serama roosters. Ozzy (my current head roo) did fight and draw blood with my other rooster who passed (Beans). I was trying to integrate them before Beans died (not of fight-related issues, I think he had a heart defect because it was incredibly sudden when he was only 5 months old). Granted Beans was the aggressor, but still. That’s why I’m a little nervous. Right now my three older cockerels seem to get along (they hatched together, and have lived their entire lives with each other), but I’m well prepared to separate.

I’m definitely a victim of chicken math, but at least Seramas don’t take up much space! I can’t/won’t hatch out larger fowl because I can’t risk a roo (I already have one, and no space for another).

As for holding them, I definitely do that!! All of my serama boys have been super sweet (though one of the babies has decided he wants to bite me all the time, so that’s fun!)

Thanks for the info!!

 

[WoDia]

Thanks so much for your response!!

So here’s my current situation - 7 hens (two are babies), 1 roosters, and 4 cockerel babies. I’m assuming the ratio of 7/5 will not work out well overall, which is why I decided to split them. Maybe I could keep one of the cockerel babies with my main rooster, but we’ll see.

I also have two living situations - in the winter they live in my basement (I’m in Massachusetts, so it gets too cold for me to leave them outside during the winter comfortably). Outside I have one large 60sq ft run/coop. Inside I have a large Guinea pig cage set up for them that is 22 sq ft (of which I plan to add on) where the main roo and 6 of the hen/pullets live. Right now three of the cockerels are in a brooder pen by themselves, and the other cockerel is in a pen with his pullet hatch mate. I was either going to build a larger run/coop for the boy, or try to repurpose an older small pre-fab I have.

Funnily enough, I’ve had the opposite with my serama roosters. Ozzy (my current head roo) did fight and draw blood with my other rooster who passed (Beans). I was trying to integrate them before Beans died (not of fight-related issues, I think he had a heart defect because it was incredibly sudden when he was only 5 months old). Granted Beans was the aggressor, but still. That’s why I’m a little nervous. Right now my three older cockerels seem to get along (they hatched together, and have lived their entire lives with each other), but I’m well prepared to separate.

I’m definitely a victim of chicken math, but at least Seramas don’t take up much space! I can’t/won’t hatch out larger fowl because I can’t risk a roo (I already have one, and no space for another).

As for holding them, I definitely do that!! All of my serama boys have been super sweet (though one of the babies has decided he wants to bite me all the time, so that’s fun!)

Thanks for the info!!

It sounds like you’ve got tons of space for them. Great! Experiences are different for everybody, but I hope I’ve helped to ease your mind. I currently have 3 cockerel chicks and 2 pullets (a winter hatch). I’ll move them to the flock when they feather in. I’ll be keeping them in their own space inside the Serama building and begin integration soon. It’s usually time-consuming but worth it to take it slow. AND, right now I’ve got more chicks incubator-hatching and 4 broodies, each on 1-3 eggs. I always say enough is enough, but…! I’ll cool it with the hatching for a bit. I’m so sorry about Beans. It’s never easy to lose a sweet floofy ball. Please keep us updated. Would love to know how your Seramas are doing!