Feather Sexing Seramas?

[BantamNest]

Can you feather sex baby seramas?

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

No, I don't think so.

Feather sexing only works on breeds bred for that trait, and I don't think Seramas are one of those breeds (someone please correct me if I'm wrong).

You could give it a go though, keep records as they mature to see how accurate that method is for you. You've got a 50/50 shot at being right

 

[Ridgerunner]

Feather sexing at hatch does not work on breeds any more than you can make red or black sex links from the same breeds unless they are different colors/patterns. The first post in this thread explains what is required for red sex link, black sex link, and feather sexing to work.

Tadkerson’s Sex Link Thread
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=261208

For feather sexing to work, the hen has to have the dominant slow feathering gene and the rooster has to be pure for the recessive fast feathering gene. It’s possible you have both fast feathering and slow feathering genes in your Serama gene pool but it would take a real freaky coincidence for the genes to randomly align themselves perfectly so the chicks could be feather sexed. Even if by some really strange coincidence it worked one generation it would be scientifically impossible for it to work the next.

It would be fun to try and mark the ones you think may be male or female and see how they turn out but don’t count on it working. I’d absolutely wait until I could see other traits to sex them before I did anything drastic.

 

[liz26]

I have a few Seramas and I am hatching them weekly... wing sexing in these guys gave me a 100% accuracy rate so far... maybe its a fluke... but I will snap a pick of my day old's right now... as time goes on I will keep updating this, and let you know if I run into trouble! When I get a day old that looks like a boy i will update that as well! Good luck!
...



^^^^^^^#1 this one here seems to be a female, so #1F notice how the feather pins go long, short, long, short, long short?

^^^^^ #2 I am seeing female, so #2F Long short long short long short

^^^^^#1 female & #2 female, so #1F and #2F: upside down here, but this is a shot of the two 24 hour old females in my opinion... I wish I had a little male to show you at 24 hours... I will update when I do!

^^^^^^^^^^^^ #3 this one is a 48hour female in my opinion!! so #3F look at how fast her feathers are coming in.. so prominent long short long short long short.

^^^^^^^^^^#4 female & #5 male, so #4F and #5M: these are 2 8 day old seramas..I sexed the left as male right as female.... even now side by side the right ones feathers are like 3 mm longer than the left ones feathers.... when the left one was 24hours old his wing feathers went short, short, short, short.... no long ones coming through.

^^^#4 in my opinion 8 day old male.... #4M

^^^^^^^#5 in my opinion 8 day old female... #5F

 

[BabyandCotton]

So females feathers grow in quicker?? Correct me if I'm wrong
-Liv

 

[16 paws]

I am subscribing to see if your right

 

[liz26]

Quote: yep the females wing "pins" (what i call the feathers before the wax is removed) it goes long short... like this IIIIII
any male I have seen goes like this IIIIII
you can really see this if you click on pic 2, and on the 48 hr old one pic 4.... and this wasnt exclusive to my current hens and rooster, it was also with eggs I had shipped to me... once again not sure if its a fluke or what but I will update this as I get confirmation!

 

[BabyandCotton]

Would this work with old english game bantams as well?
-Liv

 

[liz26]

OK here is my second batch of seramas. I will refer to these in the future by their # sequence. I will do this real time so everyone can follow along and see how many I sex correctly. I will update as they age!


^^^^^ 24hrs #6 I sex female so I call her #6F

^^^^^^^ 24hrs #7 male #7M

^^^^^^ 24hr old #8 female so #8F

^^^^^^^^^ 24hrs old #9 male #9M

^^^^^^^ 24hrs old #10 male #10M

^^^^^^^ 24hr old #11 female or #11F

 

[liz26]

Ive sold #1F, #3F, #5F, #6F, and #8F so I will not have weekly pictures of those guys but I am in touch with the owners so if a roo starts crowing I will know about it and update. below I have updates for #2F and #4M

^^^^ #2F 8 days old too early to really tell but I will keep updating!!!

^^^^^^ #4M 15 days old

^^^^ #4M 15days old. I have noticed this ones comb is prominent, and it seems to ruffle its feathers up and peck at me when I mess with it, which are good signs that I am right so far....