I hope this is the right place to be asking this! It includes questions about both enclosure AND husbandry. I was torn between this section and the coops section, but other indoor serama threads I found through the search were posted here. My apologies if I am incorrect in my selection!
I'm determined to breed Serama. They're perfect. I'm really in love with the idea of a pet focused breed with emphasis on good temperament and manageable size on top of not having to worry about color breeding. However, reptiles are my thing. They are my passion first and foremost, and while chickens might have stolen a chunk of my affections, they could never actually push the reptiles out. We are moving soon, and when we do, I'm going to have a room just for the animals. The seramas will not be going outside! That is where my standard size layers and my tortoise pens will be.
They will be in the Reptile Room/my office! As such, I would prefer for the chicken's enclosures to match those of my reptiles, on top of keeping them in a relatively unique situation with a particular bunch of problems, and that leaves me with several questions!
Enclosure: Because they are what I will be using for my snakes and lizards, I would like to use Constrictors Northwest Pro-Stacks. Specifically, the 48 long x 25 tall x15 deep enclosures that come in stacks of 4 (as a note: these enclosures are not pictured on the site.) Reptile cages are specifically constructed to be water tight and hold heat well, but other than that, they're just fancy boxes and can be easily modified to suit the needs of other animals (all while looking sleek as heck.) They are also meant to hold humidity well too, but replacing the glass doors with hardware cloth door as I plan to do kills that feature fast. If necessary, I can drill more ventilation at the sides and/or along the back. These would be locked and predator proofed just like an outdoor coop, as reptile escapes do happen from time to time, and I don't want anyone feasting on my beautiful breeders (or conversely having a young snake or lizard get in there and get eaten by chickens!)
Maintenance: At least twice daily, but ideally there would be at least 3 checks: Morning, Noon, Night. Morning and night there would be a once-over of every chicken, litter scooping, food check and water being changed out fresh. Each check would also bring a look for eggs, though the room is also my office.. if someone lays after morning check, I'll probably become aware before the next check. Light in the room is timed to preserve photoperiod for all the animals,12 hours of light, 12 hours of dark most of the year. Breeding most reptiles requires simulating a change of seasons, which includes bringing days down to 8 hours over a slow drop period while also bringing down temps. From what I understand this should also stop the hens laying, and I'll be very happy to give them time off! Weights would be taken once a week, and enclosure deep cleaning happens once a month. Nails would be clipped whenever needed. This is all in sync with my reptile maintenance, just altered to fit the chickens, so the routine is very established. Chickens would be tended to first, and hand washing between animals is always important.
Set up: Sturdy perch (with a paper put under it at night as a small scale poop board,) nipple waterer, and a single nesting box. Substrate would be sand as I have NOT enjoyed having pine in the house, and pine is dangerous for reptile health. Sand would be scooped at least once daily, but most likely at every check. Supplemental sunlight in the form of UVB strip bulbs would be in each enclosure and changed every 6 months to maintain their effectiveness. Feed and grit will be made available at all times, and treats will only be given at most once daily to prevent obesity. They might get some extra insects while I feed the lizards if someone's being a bit picky, though
Provided oyster shells will also always be free graze, but additionally dusted in a D3 supplement powder. Toys would be provided on rotation to keep them from getting bored. Those would include things suited for birds, food puzzles, and I'd also love to grow little trays of grass to frequently give them for joyful demolition. Each cage would have a brick for whetting. Each chicken would get to spend a portion of the day out of the enclosure, and whenever the weather is nice and I have the time to spend keeping them in check, I'd gladly bring them outdoors with me to play or put them in a run while I garden.
Am I on the right track with this? Or am I completely off? I want to keep my birds happy and healthy (pets first producers second,) but finding information has been hard! I'd be glad to entertain experience so I can make sure I start off on the right foot and learn as little as possible the hard way, AKA at the expense of my birds. If there's anything you can share with me about similar undertakings or your experiences with indoor serama, I'd be eternally grateful for you taking the time!
I'm determined to breed Serama. They're perfect. I'm really in love with the idea of a pet focused breed with emphasis on good temperament and manageable size on top of not having to worry about color breeding. However, reptiles are my thing. They are my passion first and foremost, and while chickens might have stolen a chunk of my affections, they could never actually push the reptiles out. We are moving soon, and when we do, I'm going to have a room just for the animals. The seramas will not be going outside! That is where my standard size layers and my tortoise pens will be.
They will be in the Reptile Room/my office! As such, I would prefer for the chicken's enclosures to match those of my reptiles, on top of keeping them in a relatively unique situation with a particular bunch of problems, and that leaves me with several questions!
- Would a 48x23x15 enclosure be sufficient for a single pair or trio of B or C class Serama? If not, how big should I look for? If I have room to spare, how many more could I add? I'm not sure how many nests I want to be keeping yet, as the set ups aren't exactly cheap.
- Is there a minimal temperature they must be kept at? I've seen several people include heat in their indoor Serama enclosures. However, the reptile room will already be kept at a higher ambient temperature than most rooms in a house would be, so if it is necessary in most homes, it might not be in mine!
- Supplemental UVB lighting? I've seen coiled UVB used for parrots before. Does anyone do this with your chickens? Why, and did it give you the intended resilts?
- Non-lighting supplements? I hear a lot about people adding vitamins to water to supplement indoor or cooped chickens, but I've heard many different opinions on the stability of the vitamins provided in this way.. mostly bad things until I came to the chicken world. Does anyone have any studies I could look to? Does anyone have any dry supplement suggestions?
- How much ventilation is necessary? For the enclosures, not the room. I plan to replace the glass doors of my chosen enclosures with hardware cloth doors. The other four walls, however, would be solid.
Here's the plan so far, any input is greatly appreciated!
Enclosure: Because they are what I will be using for my snakes and lizards, I would like to use Constrictors Northwest Pro-Stacks. Specifically, the 48 long x 25 tall x15 deep enclosures that come in stacks of 4 (as a note: these enclosures are not pictured on the site.) Reptile cages are specifically constructed to be water tight and hold heat well, but other than that, they're just fancy boxes and can be easily modified to suit the needs of other animals (all while looking sleek as heck.) They are also meant to hold humidity well too, but replacing the glass doors with hardware cloth door as I plan to do kills that feature fast. If necessary, I can drill more ventilation at the sides and/or along the back. These would be locked and predator proofed just like an outdoor coop, as reptile escapes do happen from time to time, and I don't want anyone feasting on my beautiful breeders (or conversely having a young snake or lizard get in there and get eaten by chickens!)
Maintenance: At least twice daily, but ideally there would be at least 3 checks: Morning, Noon, Night. Morning and night there would be a once-over of every chicken, litter scooping, food check and water being changed out fresh. Each check would also bring a look for eggs, though the room is also my office.. if someone lays after morning check, I'll probably become aware before the next check. Light in the room is timed to preserve photoperiod for all the animals,12 hours of light, 12 hours of dark most of the year. Breeding most reptiles requires simulating a change of seasons, which includes bringing days down to 8 hours over a slow drop period while also bringing down temps. From what I understand this should also stop the hens laying, and I'll be very happy to give them time off! Weights would be taken once a week, and enclosure deep cleaning happens once a month. Nails would be clipped whenever needed. This is all in sync with my reptile maintenance, just altered to fit the chickens, so the routine is very established. Chickens would be tended to first, and hand washing between animals is always important.
Set up: Sturdy perch (with a paper put under it at night as a small scale poop board,) nipple waterer, and a single nesting box. Substrate would be sand as I have NOT enjoyed having pine in the house, and pine is dangerous for reptile health. Sand would be scooped at least once daily, but most likely at every check. Supplemental sunlight in the form of UVB strip bulbs would be in each enclosure and changed every 6 months to maintain their effectiveness. Feed and grit will be made available at all times, and treats will only be given at most once daily to prevent obesity. They might get some extra insects while I feed the lizards if someone's being a bit picky, though
Provided oyster shells will also always be free graze, but additionally dusted in a D3 supplement powder. Toys would be provided on rotation to keep them from getting bored. Those would include things suited for birds, food puzzles, and I'd also love to grow little trays of grass to frequently give them for joyful demolition. Each cage would have a brick for whetting. Each chicken would get to spend a portion of the day out of the enclosure, and whenever the weather is nice and I have the time to spend keeping them in check, I'd gladly bring them outdoors with me to play or put them in a run while I garden.Am I on the right track with this? Or am I completely off? I want to keep my birds happy and healthy (pets first producers second,) but finding information has been hard! I'd be glad to entertain experience so I can make sure I start off on the right foot and learn as little as possible the hard way, AKA at the expense of my birds. If there's anything you can share with me about similar undertakings or your experiences with indoor serama, I'd be eternally grateful for you taking the time!
