American serama thread!

[EZFarms]

Well this is great.my phoenix stopped sitting and someone else went it and stepped on the Serama eggs she was brooding. So no chicks for Nikki I guess.. Anyone ever have Seramas who DONT brood?? All of my hens always went broody

 

[Angie16hearts]

This may sound strange ! I have two seramas. They are a white with light brown color. Yellow, as well still chicks. Anyways, one has new plumage coming through. It's grey and white. I thought she had her permanent coloring but it caught my eye. Right down her back is silver and white. While the rest of her is the first coloring she got. Can they change color?

I had to look at her again! She definitely has grown grey and white plumage on her back. Looks like she may start new plumage on her wings as well!

 

[serama mamma]

My Serama hen hasn't wanted to brood yet. But her sister did right off the bat. But I don't have her sister they are a year old. And her sister has already brooded two times and hatched out babies two times also. LOL

 

[Skink]

Well this is great.my phoenix stopped sitting and someone else went it and stepped on the Serama eggs she was brooding. So no chicks for Nikki I guess.. Anyone ever have Seramas who DONT brood?? All of my hens always went broody

Most of my hens brood, but I just sold a hen the other day that never tried in about a year despite laying well. It just isn't for some hens, there are always exceptions to the "rules" about how a breed acts and what they do. If you really want to hatch serama eggs under a broody, please consider separating your next broody from all the other hens. It is better stress wise on the mother-to-be and will raise your success rate. Otherwise she and the nest are going to be constantly bothered.

This may sound strange ! I have two seramas. They are a white with light brown color. Yellow, as well still chicks. Anyways, one has new plumage coming through. It's grey and white. I thought she had her permanent coloring but it caught my eye. Right down her back is silver and white. While the rest of her is the first coloring she got. Can they change color?

I had to look at her again! She definitely has grown grey and white plumage on her back. Looks like she may start new plumage on her wings as well!

During their first year of age or so they can change color between molts! Some pictures might help, it is difficult to visualize what you mean. We could be of much better help if we see her. However it is likely she's just molting in to her adult plumage. I had a boy go from brown to blonde when his adult molt hit!

 

[Angie16hearts]

Most of my hens brood, but I just sold a hen the other day that never tried in about a year despite laying well. It just isn't for some hens, there are always exceptions to the "rules" about how a breed acts and what they do. If you really want to hatch serama eggs under a broody, please consider separating your next broody from all the other hens. It is better stress wise on the mother-to-be and will raise your success rate. Otherwise she and the nest are going to be constantly bothered.


During their first year of age or so they can change color between molts! Some pictures might help, it is difficult to visualize what you mean. We could be of much better help if we see her. However it is likely she's just molting in to her adult plumage. I had a boy go from brown to blonde when his adult molt hit!

It's really hard to see! Especially on my phone. I'll try. It's the feathers down the middle of her back. Right where the wings woul almost touch.

hofullly you can see the silver why I'm talking about. That's awesome, if they change colors ! Just another thing to add to my pro list. Thank you for your help

 

[Angie16hearts]

dust bathing in my towel. So cute! Would the one with the patch like coloring be a cockerel ? Or is it normal for this breed? Thanks for everyone's help !

 

[LittlePeck]

I just now came home with some Seramas; I had never heard of them before when I saw an ad in the classified that someone had them, and that they were the smallest chicken breed in the world. I also saw on an online information site about Seramas that the lower end of American Seramas cost $75 each. I paid $30 for hens (eight) and $20 for roosters (two). Does this sound reasonable?
Another concern I have is that her in Southeast Texas there's a few days during the winter that can get pretty cold. The site said that it's best to bring them indoors. Indoors definitely does not work for me. Do you all think that having a heat lamp in their little house would be acceptable? Oh, I just thought of another question. I'll be having to build some kind of coop for them, but obviously it doesn't have to be as big and fancy as what I have for my layers. Can anyone give me some clues as to what I can easily build for them?

 

[serama mamma]

My never going to go broody Serama finally went broody as soon as I posted that I don't think that she will ever go broody. She is mean when she is broody that is the only time that she has actually pecked me to hurt me. Other than that she is usually a sweet pea. So does anybody have any fertilized eggs in Alabama? Around Birmingham area? Less than that if there is anybody? Because it was so sad to see her tuck an egg that I put out there (which is not fertile by the way) underneath her. She is determined. Because before she was sitting on nothing. But if any of you have any please post. We would rather drive to go and get them, but we might do shipping for some I don't know yet. Sorry about the long post. But I think that it would be so cool to see a chick developing in the egg, and the hen would be doing all the work. So it is not like an incubator. Only looking for a couple. Please PM me or write on here whatever you prefer. Thank you so much.

~ Serama Mamma

 

[Skink]

I just now came home with some Seramas; I had never heard of them before when I saw an ad in the classified that someone had them, and that they were the smallest chicken breed in the world. I also saw on an online information site about Seramas that the lower end of American Seramas cost $75 each. I paid $30 for hens (eight) and $20 for roosters (two). Does this sound reasonable?
Another concern I have is that her in Southeast Texas there's a few days during the winter that can get pretty cold. The site said that it's best to bring them indoors. Indoors definitely does not work for me. Do you all think that having a heat lamp in their little house would be acceptable? Oh, I just thought of another question. I'll be having to build some kind of coop for them, but obviously it doesn't have to be as big and fancy as what I have for my layers. Can anyone give me some clues as to what I can easily build for them?

If you paid $30 for 8 hens, that is on par with the cost of a single well laying hen of other breeds. It is likely you took a bunch of pet quality birds off someone's hands. I doubt they're very good quality, or possibly even pure Serama, at that price. Same with the roosters, they are probably PQ and $10 is a pretty fair price for culls.. that is how much I've re-homed my excess cockerels for, just to make sure they aren't food or toys for someone's dog. I wouldn't plan to breed from those birds unless you want an uphill project based on how their breeder valued them, but obviously can't say for sure w/o seeing the birds.

You're going to get a mixed bag of answers when it comes to how to treat a serama in winter, so this is just my 2 cents: If any of them are frizzle, you're going to want to bring them indoors no matter what. They have reduced feathering and can't warm air by trapping it against their bodies. Otherwise, you might want a heat lamp if it gets down to freezing, but remember using a heat lamp in the coop is dangerous. It can cause a fire, or if it goes out, the sudden shift in temps can kill your bird. A safer alternative is a radiant heat panel used for reptiles hung above their perch, but it is expensive and carries the same freeze risk if your birds. I would really recommend making bringing them inside an option at any cost if the cold drop is sudden and intense. They won't adjust well to it.

 

[badflash]

My never going to go broody Serama finally went broody as soon as I posted that I don't think that she will ever go broody. She is mean when she is broody that is the only time that she has actually pecked me to hurt me. Other than that she is usually a sweet pea. So does anybody have any fertilized eggs in Alabama? Around Birmingham area? Less than that if there is anybody? Because it was so sad to see her tuck an egg that I put out there (which is not fertile by the way) underneath her. She is determined. Because before she was sitting on nothing. But if any of you have any please post. We would rather drive to go and get them, but we might do shipping for some I don't know yet. Sorry about the long post. But I think that it would be so cool to see a chick developing in the egg, and the hen would be doing all the work. So it is not like an incubator. Only looking for a couple. Please PM me or write on here whatever you prefer. Thank you so much.

~ Serama Mamma

My girl just started laying, but we are located in Upstate NY, 20 miles south of Albany. unfortunately I don't ship, but if anyone can pick them up, they would be free. I expect to have 6 or 7 by next week.