Are sebright chicks really hard to raise?

[greenfamilyfarms]

They must just "seem" harder to raise because they are smaller than standard size chicks, or that the author of the book just got ahold of some chicks with inferior genetics that predisposed them to weakness.

 

[sebright guy]

Ive been told sebrights are hard to breed because they get merecks desease more easily then other chickens. i did actually have merecks this year but only in my sebrights. theres a vaccination wich i am goin to use this year to help me.

they also are not easy to breed with because of there size and since there tail feathers are all the same(Hens and roos). this is just what ive heard.

 

[jdodd]

I just got some on Saturday. They seem a little more skittish and man can they fly. They were already 4 or 5 month old and I am not the one that has been around them so it might be just a matter of getting use to me. They are fun to look at and watch run around with my two year old RIR and Golden Buff.

 

[chickendome]

My little seabright Eleanor just died. She was so small and had the sniffles a lot. I was always bringing her in the house to hang out...I tried everything but lost her on thursday. She was wonderful and very smart.

 

[Country Living Farm]

I have hatched out about 10 sebrights froma silver roo and gold hen. All but 1 died. They all live for about two weeks then ........... I have no idea why...One day running around eating and drink and playing. I wake up in the morning and dead...So in my opinion yes hard to raise....

 

[Kovalciks Chickens]

i had 6 golden sebrights and they were one of the easiest birds i have ever raised.

 

[Year of the Rooster]

I ordered 6 from Ideal last Fall. I ended up with 3 pairs. All lived happy and healthy. IMHO, I think it depends on who/where you get them from. Like someone else suggested, the author could have gotten their birds with "bad" genetics. It is also true that they are susceptible to Mareks, especially when young. No idea why this is. The fact that they are a small breed is also a possibility as they may be too small to get out of the egg. A note on the fertility: The reason the author of the book says they have poor fertility is because of the rose comb combined with the hen-feathering. Both traits can inhibit fertility in birds which is often why you can receive single combed individuals from hatcheries as they go for quantity rather than quality. Same thing with the hen-feathering. They may use roosters that do not show hen-feathering as they will produce more.

Though, as several of you have shown from your own experiences, not all of these are 100% true, but they can happen.

For those asking about the Silver x Golden crosses:

Golden cock x Silver hen = Golden pullets
Silver cock x Golden hen = Silver pullets

Cockerels from both crosses will be a mix of gold and silver (more like a yellow-ish or silver leaking gold, etc. etc., you get the idea).

 

[madornato]

Hi. I am thinking of buying a set of 5 silver sebrights from someone--4 hens and 1 rooster. They are not yet laying--should be in about 2 months. How many eggs a week do they lay, and if I hatch out some chicks, how much should I sell them for?

Thanks.

 

[Akane]

The eggs don't seem to ship quite as well as some other breeds. Twice now I've ordered them from people along with other breeds and had none of them hatch while the other breed or breeds I ordered did ok. I then bought 5 chicks from a guy and they've all done well. I even moved them outside in quite cool temps and they handled it fine. The chicks don't seem at all hard to raise.

 

[that_crazy_lady]

I only had a pair befor and no full blood chicks cuz the roo thought he was a duck

but the hen if I rember right, layed about every other day. but that was like 5 years ago, and I had a lot of other birds. I'm thinking about getting my self some for christmas instead of holding off until spring, but who knows.