American serama thread!

[bigb-71]

well i guess my plan was to built a second story on top one day and make double the cages . thats why so short .
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[RedRoosterFarm]

A fan? Holy crap are your birds spoiled or what? Do I need a fan? We are lucky if we get 10 days of 85 degree heat.
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they all have a light and a fan and i cover them in the winter for sure i have a pop up car port i put them in in the winter .

 

[smoothmule]

I've seen a lot of pens like yours Bigb and they all seem to be low to the ground. Is there a reason for this? My cages were originally grow out pens for chukars and pheasants. They are 3 foot wide and 6 foot deep. The floors are small wire and my birds have never stayed cleaner. They all have baby saver wire so I can put even chicks in them. For me, the best thing is the size. I can easily fit a small flock in them with lots of space or use then to as grow out pens. The wire allows them all some sunning time but they are able to stay back on the opposite end in the shade so they choose what is comfortable. They definitely get a lot of fresh air and sunshine though. Mine are a good 4 foot off the ground so I don't have to bend over to put fresh feed/water etc and room for nest boxes and tall enough for the roosts to be well above allowing more floor space. The downside to this is that I can't reach in so easily to catch them but the good thing is that they have all been taught to come running to me for treats and the roost is close to the front so I can easily pick them up when it's bedtime. I use a broom occasionally to brush off any poop that sticks to the wire when it's dry but that's rare.

I think if I got more pens, they would be like yours but wire floors and higher off the ground. I love the dimensions you have for breeding pairs too so I think if anything, for me, I would want them just like yours but with plastic coated wire floors and taller legs. Another thing you could add is a door between the cages, hinged at the top with a snap lock to hold it open should you need a larger area for a rooster with 2 or 3 hens. All that said, I love the design and look of your cages, nice clean lines, simple and effective. Mine are totally wire with a metal roof and I have shade cloth on the back, it's the west side to keep from frying them. I don't need to worry with cold because I bring them in when it's freezing anyway.

It got to 13 below last winter here. We have had some really nice winters here that they could be outside with a light over the roost but we're also prone to terrible cold without a lot of warning so I figure I will always need to have them inside in the winter and out in the summer, period and trying to hope for a mild winter is futile. I've found that planning ahead that way has been better in the long run than suddenly having to find enough cages and space in the garage to bring them inside.


If I get lucky and get the portable building my husband is trying to buy, I want some outside runs but haven't decided yet if they will be on the ground or wire runs attached to the outside walls. I kind of figure they will be off the ground though. I figure they will be for chicks since I will bring the adults out to the larger pen in the summer. That way, the chicks will have the inside/outside option when they get a little older.

After I have all that set up, my next goal is to find a smallish, old greenhouse frame to cover with welded half inch by 1 inch wire, a section of shade cloth and use as a chicken tractor to give each breeding group a few hours out on the grass when I'm home. I may even set it up on a short wall of concrete blocks and fill in with good dirt, plant with beneficial grasses/plants for them to nibble and an edible vine on one end for wind break, a large flat pan of sand and DE and things to fly up on for fun......and a ornamental concrete park bench to set on to watch them safely play and give them treats......I say Dream Big

edited to add: Mine all had fans on them this summer. It wasn't a luxury, it was necessity

 

[bigb-71]

no if you don't have heat there in the summer months i would not worry about it . i get a few weeks here in the 100s thats when the fans kick on . to move the air around . these little guys are my world i just want them safe and confee !
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they all have a light and a fan and i cover them in the winter for sure i have a pop up car port i put them in in the winter .

 

[bigb-71]

i don't like wire floors for a few reasons frist is coon's will pull them right through the wire floor and second is feathers get shreed on wire and im getting ready to change to sand and wire won't hold sand lol and they are short because in the future i plan on building a second story of cages on top .
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[Chicklette 1]

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I would love to see photos of your set-up. I am just starting to think through some ideas to separate the roos so I know who is breeding to who.

 

[chickan dippaaaaz]

question.... Ive done a bit of reading but havent gottne a difinitive answer... which colors are accepted? Ive seen a bunch here in SoCal recently that are pretty pathetic.Id rather not invest into a bunch of mutts that I'll never be able to show.

 

[gumbii]

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lol...



then get another breed of chicken... HAHAHA... just white is accepted and soon black will... but that's APA... for table top serama shows like the one coming up, it really doesn't matter what color the bird is...

if you want to just "invest" in a good pair of birds and win shows with them get something else... but if you really want to breed and win with your own birds, get seramas...

 

[bigb-71]

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lol...



then get another breed of chicken... HAHAHA... just white is accepted and soon black will... but that's APA... for table top serama shows like the one coming up, it really doesn't matter what color the bird is...

if you want to just "invest" in a good pair of birds and win shows with them get something else... but if you really want to breed and win with your own birds, get seramas...

very well said my friend ! perfect .

 

[smoothmule]

chickan dippaaaaz,
Gumbii is right on. This breed is different and special compared to other breeds. It can be hard to take for people who prefer the cookie cutter breeds. Not many poultry breeds are essentially just for exhibition rather than dual purpose. For that reason, it's been really hard to get the first APA and ABA approval since they don't always fit what they are looking for as far as poultry in general (ie, lines that are already set for color). As far as exhibition birds, I think they would be very difficult to top. Not many breed characteristics include a temperament like the Serama and the table top judging is a testament to their ability to show well and wow the crowds much more like a pet than livestock. They are pure enjoyment, pets for some and other eat their culls and you obviously can eat their eggs.....emphasis on the 's part since it would take a few for a meal,

They may not be the right breed for some but that's why there are so many different breeds, to each their own. They are ideal for kids to show, small, flashy, showy little guys that are easy to handle, cheap to feed and house if the pocket book is tight (although some of us put quite a lot into it, more than needed but that's part of the love we have for them). They make great 4H and FFA projects for the kids who don't live on a farm. They can still have the experience without the farm. I've donated 2 trio's and others to kids already this year. You can always show AOV now and there will likely be more colors approved later but for now, I love seeing visitors faces when they see the array of colors that are possible and acceptable for this breed. You can't get a wrong color or pattern, they're all cool and you have choices to breed toward the standard for color (leg as well as feather) but you can still show them at the all Serama shows, type and character is paramount to anything else to many breeders.



Chicklette 1,
I'll take a couple of photo's for you later, I'm waiting for the guy to call back to go pick up the stack cages. They're nothing fancy, here is the cage when we brought it home. I'm still considering splitting the sections in half for 3 foot square pens. All I would need would be a wall between them and doors on the opposite side. I just think I'm liking them as large pens so I haven't bothered. If I need more pens, I'll just buy more or build them and if I did, I'd make them like Bigb's only the wire bottom and tall legs. I don't have a raccoon problem with my dogs. They don't bother anything when they're dead.

Cathy