American serama thread!

[Sally Sunshine]

Happy Thanksgiving!! Now, off to dinner for my standing ovation,...

. Be blessed peeps!!

GOOD LUCK... dont forget a pick of the bird!!!

 

[chefj]

Hi Everyone Happy Thanksgiving! I am hoping to get some help from you wonderful, knowledgeable people! I just adopted a serama hen from a college student who kept her inside in a cage. I have over 30 girls and a couple of roos (brahma, silkies) - brahmas, easter eggers, orps, rirs, barred rocks, gl and sl wynnadotes - and a few silkies, black tail Japanese bantams....but nothing this small!! Oh my, is she the cutest, but I am sooo worried about the winters here in MA. I know it is a lot worse elsewhere, but I never had to worry about the others. From what I have been reading, she should stay inside for the winter - and should I bring in the two bantams she seems to hang out with? I want to do whatever is the best for her. I think I have been smitten with the Serama.
My other concern is I actually keep the house at about 54F all winter - I use my fireplace to heat the main room. Would a heat lamp be ok if I house them in the basement? Seems silly to ask, having had chicks and birds for 7 yrs - but I never did a winter sleepover before!
thanks for your help!!!

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

i really think they are too fragile and special needs to end up in that dilemma- i prefer to see improving the breed to just the money angle- i love having them, can't imagine having them out in the elements, and free ranging, they would be gone quick! i love my silkies, but there are alot of badly bred ones, so i limit mine to just my special ones-



for your humor of the nite- just as i clicked, this little guy tried to land on mamas head!

Ha ha ha, that is funny!

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Hi Everyone Happy Thanksgiving! I am hoping to get some help from you wonderful, knowledgeable people! I just adopted a serama hen from a college student who kept her inside in a cage. I have over 30 girls and a couple of roos (brahma, silkies) - brahmas, easter eggers, orps, rirs, barred rocks, gl and sl wynnadotes - and a few silkies, black tail Japanese bantams....but nothing this small!! Oh my, is she the cutest, but I am sooo worried about the winters here in MA. I know it is a lot worse elsewhere, but I never had to worry about the others. From what I have been reading, she should stay inside for the winter - and should I bring in the two bantams she seems to hang out with? I want to do whatever is the best for her. I think I have been smitten with the Serama.
My other concern is I actually keep the house at about 54F all winter - I use my fireplace to heat the main room. Would a heat lamp be ok if I house them in the basement? Seems silly to ask, having had chicks and birds for 7 yrs - but I never did a winter sleepover before!
thanks for your help!!!

I would love to see a pic of her!!

 

[froggiesheins]

Hi Everyone Happy Thanksgiving! I am hoping to get some help from you wonderful, knowledgeable people! I just adopted a serama hen from a college student who kept her inside in a cage. I have over 30 girls and a couple of roos (brahma, silkies) - brahmas, easter eggers, orps, rirs, barred rocks, gl and sl wynnadotes - and a few silkies, black tail Japanese bantams....but nothing this small!! Oh my, is she the cutest, but I am sooo worried about the winters here in MA. I know it is a lot worse elsewhere, but I never had to worry about the others. From what I have been reading, she should stay inside for the winter - and should I bring in the two bantams she seems to hang out with? I want to do whatever is the best for her. I think I have been smitten with the Serama.
My other concern is I actually keep the house at about 54F all winter - I use my fireplace to heat the main room. Would a heat lamp be ok if I house them in the basement? Seems silly to ask, having had chicks and birds for 7 yrs - but I never did a winter sleepover before!  
thanks for your help!!!

WELCOME to the wonderful world of seramas! Be because she is used to being inside, I would wait till spring to let her live outside. You can start acclimating her to colder weather now by gradually turning the heat lamp down till it is 54F. It would be nice for her to have a buddy. Also, she needs sunshine. How long has she been alone? How old is she? If she has been alone her whole life, take it slow introducing her to a friend. LOL
P.S. And of course pictues!

 

[Pinx]

Well.... Just candled my eggs again. (I set Serama eggs about once every 4 days so I am getting to candle all the time

) Since I was so discouraged about my chicks not making it I sort of just quit checking the eggs in the incubators. I haven't even been collecting their eggs hoping they will go broody and give me a break lol.

Anyway I candled tonight and it turns out that my black frizzle hen is laying fertile eggs now

. She is in with a young cockerel so I guess he has things figured out now. I have about 5 or so eggs from her that are developing, and my hen that has been laying... (about 1/3 of her eggs are fertile) has quite a few eggs developing as well. And to top it off one of my pullets that is in with a frizzle roo started laying last week (I doubt they are fertile yet but I'll check soon)! So I should have a better chance of hatching chicks now. The hen I have been getting eggs from just isn't doing so hot fertility wise, well I say it is her... I think it is the rooster she is with. He is borderline Micro, she is a B class so it shouldn't be her. It really doesn't matter if neither one of them are fertile because I am SO attached to them, it is just nice to have the others picking up the slack for them.

Now if my last little pullet will just start laying I will be in business... I honestly think the chicks I get from her pen will be the best out of all my pairs, the pullet is really tiny though so I may be going through fertility/laying issues with her. Hopefully she grows more and I don't have any problems.

So I fell off the Serama wagon and now I am back on lol.

 

[Pinx]

Hi Everyone Happy Thanksgiving! I am hoping to get some help from you wonderful, knowledgeable people! I just adopted a serama hen from a college student who kept her inside in a cage. I have over 30 girls and a couple of roos (brahma, silkies) - brahmas, easter eggers, orps, rirs, barred rocks, gl and sl wynnadotes - and a few silkies, black tail Japanese bantams....but nothing this small!! Oh my, is she the cutest, but I am sooo worried about the winters here in MA. I know it is a lot worse elsewhere, but I never had to worry about the others. From what I have been reading, she should stay inside for the winter - and should I bring in the two bantams she seems to hang out with? I want to do whatever is the best for her. I think I have been smitten with the Serama.
My other concern is I actually keep the house at about 54F all winter - I use my fireplace to heat the main room. Would a heat lamp be ok if I house them in the basement? Seems silly to ask, having had chicks and birds for 7 yrs - but I never did a winter sleepover before!
thanks for your help!!!

My only concern would be the transition from about 70 degrees all the time to 50's all the time, I would do it gradually. Once you get her used to it though, those temperatures should be fine. My birds are in a shop that doesn't have a heater and when it gets into the 20's it is about in the 40's in the shop with a heat lamp and they do fine. I have them in pairs (Except for my cockerel "Kujo") and they all cuddle up with each other to keep warm. The cockerel is just on his own unless he stops attacking me... then I'll give him a girl friend.

The shop doesn't have any drafts, I put plastic up to keep from drafts getting through. and their pens are solid on 3 sides, top, and bottom. They have sand in their pens and since the sand can get cold I put shavings in a section of the pen for them to get in and keep warm. I have one roo that isn't doing as well as the others, he is still fine but just not as hardy and him and the pullet he is with have solid shavings in their pen with plastic over the front that I can drop down just to try to help keep them a little warmer at night.

I think if you gradually bring the temps down and get her a buddy or two to snuggle with and to keep her company she will do fine. Or even if you keep her a little warmer this winter she will slowly acclimate next fall to the temp drop. For now though if you don't think the heat lamp is enough you can put a water bottle full of hot water in her pen to snuggle up next to.

 

[cluck-cluck]

Well, my Harriet, who is 2 weeks older than the 3 siblings, is fighting all the time with 2 of the sibs. The black one does look like it could become a roo, and the blond one who is the biggest. The blond one seems to be challenging Harriet all the time, and holds her own, but the black one, who wants to chest butt all the time, not only loses, but Harriet pecks on him afterwards! I see no damage to him, so I figured I better just leave them alone, but I can't help but worry. Harriet is so much bigger than the black one! Egghead, the brown one, is more docile and stays out of the fray. Blondie sometimes comes to Blackie's defense. I guess this is normal behavior, but I can't help but worry! They have lots of room and interesting places to go, so I'm pretty sure they're not stressed

 

[Lunar]

@Pinx - Congratz on your eggs. I hope you have a great hatch.

@Cluck-Cluck - Looks like jockeying is going on for top bird.

I got "Uno" a buddy today. Since he was a singleton in his hatch, I was worried he would be lonely....well.....He noticed the new baby, led it to the warm spot under the heater (Brinsea EcoGlow), he shares his food, his water, and even his little toy we gave him to snuggle with....great, right?? HOWEVER, do not think he will share that big human hand that reaches in to hold him. If she even thinks of getting in my hand...It Is WAR.

Take the hand out...he goes right back to the loving roomie he was. I guess maybe I spoiled him waiting for a buddy. But then again, that's what they are for. Right?

When I talk to him he runs to the front of the brooder to see me. He chatters back/forth with me, and runs right into my hand if I reach in to do anything. So this little one is a keeper. He is on the right and almost a week old and his new BFF on the left is only 2 days and fresh out of the hatcher. She is slightly rounder than he is, but almost the same size for now. Can you say..."Hooked"

 

[Brookhavens]

@Pinx - Congratz on your eggs. I hope you have a great hatch.

@Cluck-Cluck - Looks like jockeying is going on for top bird.

I got "Uno" a buddy today. Since he was a singleton in his hatch, I was worried he would be lonely....well.....He noticed the new baby, led it to the warm spot under the heater (Brinsea EcoGlow), he shares his food, his water, and even his little toy we gave him to snuggle with....great, right?? HOWEVER, do not think he will share that big human hand that reaches in to hold him. If she even thinks of getting in my hand...It Is WAR.

Take the hand out...he goes right back to the loving roomie he was. I guess maybe I spoiled him waiting for a buddy. But then again, that's what they are for. Right?

When I talk to him he runs to the front of the brooder to see me. He chatters back/forth with me, and runs right into my hand if I reach in to do anything. So this little one is a keeper. He is on the right and almost a week old and his new BFF on the left is only 2 days and fresh out of the hatcher. She is slightly rounder than he is, but almost the same size for now. Can you say..."Hooked"

How sweet they are. So glad you found a buddy for UNO. You should name her Dos.