Breeding project!

[Chicken poppy]

I have finally, decided to work on a breeding project! Woo!

Well, its official im going to work on one soon, but i need to think what to do first, and get my Vanilla (Silkie roo) taken care of first. The most amazing part for me, is im going to let them hatch the eggs, so this will be a very first for me whenever i decide to do it.
My birds i would like to breed
Silkie white roo, Vanilla. Believed to be mixed with a polish somewhere down the line. Not pure, but still could be fun.
Serama black hen, Darling. Vanilla is to big for her i would say, so if i do her im probably just going to get her eggs from online.
Bantam blue cochin, Emily.

POSSIBLY i would do my mix mutt girl that kinda looks like a black sex link? I would only say her because i believe she would be the best, most determined mother of them all.

@Weeg @The-White-Elephant maybe you would be interested in this?

Oh, and. Please feel free to give tips on breeding and such, i will keep this updated with current plans and updates, so feel free to follow along!
Heres some questions i do have though. I have the most questions about Darling.

1. Does anyone know where you can buy just a few serama (or serama sized) eggs? I just see dozens and i really want her just 1-3 friends, i think thats a nice flock considering she will have Vanilla to. I know 1 seems very little, but thats a great start for me right now, and she just likes to have a pal to buddy up with, i think 3 would honestly be a better number though.

2. Hatch rate of seramas? How many eggs should i get in your opinion to have the best odds of landing on 1-3 chicks? I want atleast one to hatch, so she won’t do all that work for nothing.

3. What would some cute combos be with Darling and Emily? Color or breeds.

4. Are serama roosters annoying or mean? I don’t have beautiful luck with roosters to be honest, but i would be fine with keeping a rooster if he would be nice and not to noisy.

5. Finally, would it be fine to breed offspring from them to their parent? (Mostly the hen) I know this would not matter for Darling, because they would be adopted. But for Emily or Rizo?

Thanks so much, im really not looking for all the question answers right now, but would appreciate whatever advice anyone has to offer! I know this turned out SUPER long, but i have to many questions!

 

[Weeg]

1. Does anyone know where you can buy just a few serama (or serama sized) eggs? I just see dozens and i really want her just 1-3 friends, i think thats a nice flock considering she will have Vanilla to. I know 1 seems very little, but thats a great start for me right now, and she just likes to have a pal to buddy up with, i think 3 would honestly be a better number though.

By next year I'll have some available. Do note that with shipped eggs you can expect a 50% hatch rate if your lucky. If you want 3 chicks, than get 6 eggs or more. Ebay usually has lots of options. I got Serama eggs from a seller on Etsy that I loved! Got a great hatch rate and eggs came in good condition. I'm not sure if she's selling anymore though.

3. What would some cute combos be with Darling and Emily? Color or breeds.

Depends on what your breeding for. Typically a breeding project has a goal. So you want a bird with A, B, and C, and your going to use birds 1, 2, and 3 to get that. What do you want to be your final bird? A breed that already exists, such as my project, bantam EE's, or a breed that doesn't. You could go for a Silked Cochin, or a Micro Cochin, or a Cochin with certain patterns or characteristics. You could go with a feather footed serama, or a serama with certain characteristics/patterns.

4. Are serama roosters annoying or mean? I don’t have beautiful luck with roosters to be honest, but i would be fine with keeping a rooster if he would be nice and not to noisy.

Nope! My Serama rooster is a sweetie. Of course it depends on there rooster. My Serama Birdie treats me like a hen. He's not super snuggly or anything, but he's not aggressive. He's a great little rooster. Always showing the hens this, that and the other. Its cute.
Unfortunately, most roosters are noisy. Serama's are a little quite than most standard roo's, but not much. They have high pitched squeaky crows which I find adorable. If you want a rooster, be prepared for noise.

5. Finally, would it be fine to breed offspring from them to their parent? (Mostly the hen) I know this would not matter for Darling, because they would be adopted. But for Emily or Rizo?

Yep! When working on a breeding project, typically you breed mom+dad, then then breed the offspring either back to the mom, or back to the dad. The issue would be if you tried to breed sibling to sibling. It can be fine, but you may have to do some mass culling to get rid of any issues that come up with inbreeding.

Thanks so much, im really not looking for all the question answers right now, but would appreciate whatever advice anyone has to offer! I know this turned out SUPER long, but i have to many questions!

Thanks for the tag! I'll be following! Good luck with your project!

 

[Chicken poppy]

By next year I'll have some available. Do note that with shipped eggs you can expect a 50% hatch rate if your lucky. If you want 3 chicks, than get 6 eggs or more. Ebay usually has lots of options. I got Serama eggs from a seller on Etsy that I loved! Got a great hatch rate and eggs came in good condition. I'm not sure if she's selling anymore though.


Depends on what your breeding for. Typically a breeding project has a goal. So you want a bird with A, B, and C, and your going to use birds 1, 2, and 3 to get that. What do you want to be your final bird? A breed that already exists, such as my project, bantam EE's, or a breed that doesn't. You could go for a Silked Cochin, or a Micro Cochin, or a Cochin with certain patterns or characteristics. You could go with a feather footed serama, or a serama with certain characteristics/patterns.


Nope! My Serama rooster is a sweetie. Of course it depends on there rooster. My Serama Birdie treats me like a hen. He's not super snuggly or anything, but he's not aggressive. He's a great little rooster. Always showing the hens this, that and the other. Its cute.
Unfortunately, most roosters are noisy. Serama's are a little quite than most standard roo's, but not much. They have high pitched squeaky crows which I find adorable. If you want a rooster, be prepared for noise.


Yep! When working on a breeding project, typically you breed mom+dad, then then breed the offspring either back to the mom, or back to the dad. The issue would be if you tried to breed sibling to sibling. It can be fine, but you may have to do some mass culling to get rid of any issues that come up with inbreeding.


Thanks for the tag! I'll be following! Good luck with your project!

After all i typed i forgot to type the main thing, the goal!
This cleared my questions up, Thank you so much!

This would really just be for fun, so i don’t care about it being 100% exact. The one i really would want for Darling is a white feather footed serama. For Emily i think a silkied cochin with maybe a opposite colored head? Or some mixed color would be very cool.

 

[Chicken poppy]

Weeg, i know you love torturing me with cute chickens for sale. Do you want to help me pick some assortments or something for Darling?

(Im fine with assortments, like if its half frizzle eggs half not, when they get older its obvious what is what, so i can just breed out what i would want afterwards.)

 

[pekin queen]

i am going to follow along

 

[The-White-Elephant]

Following this little thread.... A yarn thread. Ooh, a thread of yarn

But anyways, following!

 

[Weeg]

Weeg, i know you love torturing me with cute chickens for sale. Do you want to help me pick some assortments or something for Darling?

(Im fine with assortments, like if its half frizzle eggs half not, when they get older its obvious what is what, so i can just breed out what i would want afterwards.)

Sure! I'd love to help I'll look around and see if I see anything.

 

[Chicken poppy]

Vanilla mated Darling, and im pretty sure its fertile. (Or i hope) If we get a broody i can hatch the eggs. Question, though. Darlings eggs are up to 1 OZ in weight, pretty small. Could a large or standard chicken incubate them? Wondering if the eggs or chicks could get hurt or smashed.
Probably not large, i doubt it. But maybe standard? Darling doesn’t go broody often, Rizo does. I could just keep them in the fridge til Rizo or Darling would.

 

[Weeg]

Vanilla mated Darling, and im pretty sure its fertile. (Or i hope) If we get a broody i can hatch the eggs. Question, though. Darlings eggs are up to 1 OZ in weight, pretty small. Could a large or standard chicken incubate them? Wondering if the eggs or chicks could get hurt or smashed.
Probably not large, i doubt it. But maybe standard? Darling doesn’t go broody often, Rizo does. I could just keep them in the fridge til Rizo or Darling would.

I think it would be fine. A larger bantam bird mating a Serama wont change the size of the embryo in the yolk. I'd image that the chick might grow larger than the Serama, but not while still in the egg.

Congrats! Thats exciting! If you are going to do a breeding project I do suggest you get an incubator. Way easier, and more economical for any breeding project. Waiting for broody's might not get you very far. Go for a NurtureRight360 if you do.

 

[Chicken poppy]

I think it would be fine. A larger bantam bird mating a Serama wont change the size of the embryo in the yolk. I'd image that the chick might grow larger than the Serama, but not while still in the egg.

Congrats! Thats exciting! If you are going to do a breeding project I do suggest you get an incubator. Way easier, and more economical for any breeding project. Waiting for broody's might not get you very far. Go for a NurtureRight360 if you do.

Thank you!

The main reason i wanted to do a broody is because i want her to be friends with the chick that hatches. Especially because im very confident Vanilla will either get culled or given away, and she doesn’t have any other friends, so she would be lonely. I might get a cheap incubator incase she abandons it or something, but i’ll probably have Rizo do it.
If the chicks hatch well, then i’ll start hopefully working on the project. If not, oh well. I can always just buy some birds for it later.