Im looking at Seramas & Silkies 2morrow any tips on picking good ones?

[AkTomboy]

So I have read what all my books say about them. What the breed standards are and such but any tips from those of you who have them.

Both are going to range in age from two weeks to adults. Anywhos any tips and pics would be great. All the books seem to show just hatched or adults.

An added pluss is that I might be able to get a friend for my lone chick. Thanks again Ill be sure to post pics of my findings

 

[SeramaLife]

When looking for seramas, carry the SCNA Ideal male and ideal female brochures (http://scnaonline.org/forms_and_brochures.php) around and compare the chickens in the pictures to the ones your looking at. Remember (for the adults), if they aren't posing and good now, they won't ever. Don't expect them to pose any better than they are. Watch out for long backs in chicks!

If you read the book "Storeys Illustrated guide to poultry breeds" disregard that it said seramas aren't broody. They are the broodiest breed I have ever owned.

 

[AkTomboy]

Thank you for the very fast reply. I have joined the SCNA and have read the info and even ordered the book its just not here yet. Thanks again for the super fast reply and the great tips.

ETA Im was starting to see that on here about the seramas going broody ~ Still great to get it from a first hand person Thanks!

 

[BluegrassSeramas]

I look for traits in this order:
---Short backs or NO backs preferably
----round chests (the rounder the better, make sure you are not looking at a full crop from one side)
----vertical wings (want wings to come straight down from the eye and just show the feet, dont want to see too much leg or have wings drag ground) This is harder to see on hens, I like to put hens with a new one to get them to pose.
---------Vertical tail...best to have hard stiff feathers, instead of softer curving ones
--------Comb....look for nice smooth regular single combs...5 points is best, but I have found if you dont look, irregular/inverted combs can pop up and you dont want that.
-------- Size..... nothing over lower C class for me, and even then it has to be SQ. (its sometimes hard to tell weight, but I take food scales with me and a little box to zero out if they are too flighty to stand on it)
------ Spurs/earlobes Some serama are spurless, and I prefer red earlobes, you might want to look for that
-----Personality...I have never met a mean serama roo, but I wouldnt buy one. I like my birds docile. Even if they have not been handled much they should sit calmly when you catch them. If you have a scared and crazy one with great type, I'd get it. Sometimes they just need a day or two of gentle handling.

Good luck! Cant wait to see pics!

 

[catwalk]

Let's give her some examples! I know that when I see a big barn of birds that the cute factor overwhelms me, and I buy whatever I'm told to buy. It's hard to tell the quality of chicks so ask to see parents. Ignore color in Seramas. Ask them to tell you about good and weak points. Don't use the word "bad" or they might get defensive! If I were trying to sell you my birds, this is what I would say about them:

They are all 9 weeks old and unrelated. This is my best cockerel. Cannonball has a nice big chest and an upright tail. His back could be a little shorter, but that's a common fault. His wings are fairly upright, but not as verticle as when he's posed. Oh, that's another thing. Don't be taken in by a bird that walks around all day looking like this. There may be nicer birds just chillin' and not showing off all the time.

The pullet in the back here is pretty nice, too. Good tail carriage and stance, but she's on the slim side. Freznel's wings are close to verticle, but she could use a shorter back and bigger chest. The cockerel in front of her is the least typey of the three. He normally does carry his tail better, but it's never as verticle as Cannonball's. He recently lost a sparring match with a Cochin, and his pride won't let him display himself the way he normally does. Like the pullet, Jester is slim in the chest. He carries his wings horizonally when relaxed, and they improve a lot when posed. I will need a REALLY nice hen to pair with him. That said, he may fill out with maturity, but his back will never get shorter.
Good luck in your venture, and post pics of what you get!

 

[BluegrassSeramas]

sorry to get OT, but.....
That was nice of you Catwalk! I like your pen..the baseboard trim stuff is a great idea to keep in the shavings....Im going to seal your idea!

 

[catwalk]

You should see the whole pen! I put queen anne legs on the bottom and fancy crown molding in the top; it's my little Serama Showcase!

 

[AkTomboy]

Okay Thanks all for the info and it did help loads. So today was well rushed and interesting. First thing this morning I get a spot "help" message so the excitement over what that might bring was enough to get me going. I called the pilot and asked if he thought they could get into my husband and what not all seemed well so that was well.

Off 100 miles I head to go look at these birds. I find the place with ease and the young man who had the birds was very nice. He shows me around the place and boy did they have an awesome set up. He showed me 5 pairs of Impeyan Pheasants talk about wow!!! And lots of babies of them. Along with Silver Pheasants again wow!

He had a ton of Seramas all sorts of colors. Great set up of three per pen and I would say a good 40 adult birds all together. Then another good 25 or so chicks different ages. Lucky for my lone chick they had some that were some that were ten days old and still smaller than my lil guy. So that was an easy pick.

As for the older chicks and adults there was some that looked great and some that had very long backs and a few that were HUGE. A few were very good looking as far as the pics and such of the ideal Serama. But none were friendly and I am talking about none. We ended up chasing just about every one that I tried to look over better. Even my lil babies were hard to catch and can fly like the dickens!!! The young man said that most of his adults were friendly untill he started breeding them. Is that true?

Okay So then the silkies trio they were supposed to be Buff but where a chocolate color. Also the roo was not nice. To the point I was even worried about the young man who was trying to get them for me to look at. The hens were running around from the roo and just not a fun deal. So I know Im new to silkies but is chocolate a rare color or am I just a bit slow?

Then shortly after pulling out with the three lil guys for my loner I get my first phone call from my hubby in 11 days. The pilot was able to get him and his Dall Sheep out whoo hooo!!! Im so proud of him. Anywhos I get the lil ones home and try and put them in the brooder. Yea not so much! I got the first one fine. But the other two made a break for it and I spent a good hour searching till I gave in and had my Golden find them for me. What a good boy both caught in less than five mins.

So I have a question why are they SOOOOOOOOOO LOUD! They have not shut up since putting them in the brooder. My loner was sooo happy to see another chick. And those lil suckers keep trying to fly out of the brooder over and over and over. My brooder is not even joking 3x the size than that of what I got them out of.

So any tips of how to help these lil guys calm down? I am hoping to get them calm enough that my crib midget can have his "own" chickens. Anywhos thanks everyone

I will post pics in the morning. I have to finish

Just added ~ Right as I am about to hit post I notice a lil movement out of the corner of my eye and can you guess yea 2 of the new babies were sitting on top of the double lids on the brooder. Again my Golden fixed the problem for me. Now if they will just go to sleep for the night and not excape we will be set!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Can you post photos of the silkies? yes, chocolate is rare, very. Several of us are working on it.

 

[SeramaLife]

Can you post serama pictures please?