American serama thread!

[Nimueh Alene]

It's Cajun and Sabine that this is happening to. You think it's Sabine ? I tease her for her long wings.. Maybe it's her short legs.
Faraday40 my hens and roosters are March and April hatches . I rushed them?

 

[FishMtFarm]

Oh I love your rooster!

 

[Nimueh Alene]

FishMtFarm .
He's a character his crow sounds just like someone saying "You Forgot Me! "

 

[Faraday40]

Faraday40 my hens and roosters are March and April hatches . I rushed them? View attachment 1554955 View attachment 1554949

I know next to nothing about the specifics of breeding seramas. March was my 1st experience hatching them, so this current hatch was a simple test using my own birds' eggs. I don't plan to breed & sell them.... just wanted a few "useless chickens" for my kids to play with. My seramas were 6 mo when I collected the eggs. 2 out of 6 is not a good hatch. (Perhaps 2 deaths could have been avoided if I had intervened to assist hatch & didn't try to give a chick to my broody.)

Most of my experience is with my orpingtons. They take a long, long time to mature. Many say to only hatch hens' eggs. My giant orps take 6-9 mo before getting that 1st egg (depends on the season of course), and they continue to mature for 18 months. I hatched eggs from a 7 mo old pullet in spring without any trouble. I did the same thing in October & it was a disaster. A friend wanted some of my chicks and I was impatient to see what the breeding pair would make. They seemed fine for the 1st month. They began dying on her in Nov-Jan. I hatched more for my friend (from the same birds) the next spring & all lived. I think it was a combo of pullet eggs, smaller chicks, & harsh winter conditions (no free ranging & stuck inside a coop). I never had any troubles when breeding hens or pullets 9-12 months old. Healthy, hardy chicks is a must when selling, so I just prefer to wait until the birds have been laying for a couple months before incubating. That way the possible heartaches can be avoided.

 

[Faraday40]

I love this little face!

 

[Nimueh Alene]

OK, my cousin just won a bid of 13+ Serama eggs and she wants me to hatch them... My confidence is shaken.. Since my hatch rates are so low. Can you tell me step by step instructions on how you hatch your Serama, please.
Do you disinfect your eggs? Linda (cousin) says she read to spray with peroxide than let dry before putting in the incubator. I read 15 minute turn intervals increase hatch rate. Please help. Feel terrible she didn't want me to hatch out from my eggs...

 

[WVduckchick]

Seramas do have the lethal creeper gene in their backgrounds. I have a couple silkied girls with very short legs. I won’t ever put them with a short-legged rooster.

@Chichero I do not disinfect eggs before setting them. I don’t wash either. I have wiped eggs with a damp paper towel if poopied or dirty. Otherwise I try to avoid any dirty/poopie ones.

Seramas are also one of my breeds that I will assist fairly quickly. Once I see a zip start, I watch it like a hawk. If progression slows, I’ll break the cap off for it.

Free eggs? Heck yea, you got this! Just do it!

Edit Sorry, I read “won” not “won a bid”... but you still got this!

 

[FishMtFarm]

I have pretty good hatch rates with mine. At first they weren’t doing well but I called out some birds and things got better. I usually get a couple that are fully developed but never hatch. Will see how next year goes. I’m so new to the breed I didn’t realize there was a lethal gene.

 

[Faraday40]

OK, my cousin just won a bid of 13+ Serama eggs and she wants me to hatch them... My confidence is shaken.. Since my hatch rates are so low. Can you tell me step by step instructions on how you hatch your Serama, please.
Do you disinfect your eggs? Linda (cousin) says she read to spray with peroxide than let dry before putting in the incubator. I read 15 minute turn intervals increase hatch rate. Please help. Feel terrible she didn't want me to hatch out from my eggs...

I also say to go for it. You can also add some of your eggs in as well. More eggs in = more chicks out.

I try to set only good, clean eggs. I will rinse with warm water if I must set an egg that's poopy or muddy. We did an experiment: washed eggs (warm water only) vs unwashed eggs. I was surprised that when all 3 trials were averaged, they were equal. Those were our own backyard eggs, so washing didn't seem to matter. The shipping, storage conditions & age are what really affects the hatch rate. There are a few things you can do to help increase your odds.



and here are my babies:

The white one was peeping in panic (unless being held). It got old really quick! I asked the kids to donate a stuffed animal they no longer wanted to the chicks.
Here's their new mama: a rainbow tiger.
We were making all kinds of predator prey jokes about it, but by the end of the night, they eventually fell asleep with the help of this cheap carnival toy.

 

[Faraday40]

@WVduckchick
BTW- do you ever have slightly fuzzy legs on seramas? My white one has a touch of fuzz on his shanks. I'm not seeing any other silkie traits, so I think it's full serama. What do you think?