OEGB or Serama? I think I did not get what I paid for...

[blackred]

Hopefully both sides of this transaction have learned a lesson.
When it comes to Silkies, Seramas, Marans and anything with Lavender in its name - let the buyer beware.

Bob

 

[chicken_china_mom]

Quote:
I never said I didn't like the birds. We have grown to love them. I never expected high quality birds or SQ quality. I expected just pet quality since that's all they were going to be is pets. I did NOT see the birds before I bought them. I asked if anyone coming to our chickenstock had specific breeds that I was looking for, and she responded and said she had Seramas. She did not send me pictures of the D'Anver or the Seramas though. I sent her an e-mail asking her what colors they were, and she responded back with a description of their colors, and that was good enough for me since we weren't planning to breed them, they were just meant to be my daughter's pets. She may have sent an e-mail with pictures of them, I'm not saying she didn't, but I did not receive it for whatever reason. Who knows, my inbox could have been full at that time. All I had to go on were pictures of what Seramas should look like. I have NO experience with OEGB's and I had absolutely NO idea that the breeds were similar at all. I don't own OEGB's (well, until this boy), never wanted to own them, so I didn't even really know what one looks like to compare it to a Serama, and no one had warned me that they could look like Seramas. At chickenstock we had to move quickly to get the birds from her carrier into mine because the roo was wild, terrified, and screaming in terror, and I didn't want to traumatize the poor guy, so the best look I got at him was through the cage door as he cowered behind the two hens (they're braver than he is). And I was doing my own selling that day, and in a lot of pain (was in a car accident in June, have a herniated disc in my lower back), so staring hard at a bird was not high on my list. I trusted that I had a trio of Seramas, and I took them home. I, like many others, am still learning about all the different breeds and colors, and I primarily deal with Bantam Cochins and Silkies. I can spot those from a mile away. But Seramas? Unless someone would have told me that they can look similar to OEGB's, it never would have crossed my mind. But it's over and done with now. I don't have a trio, and I don't know exactly what to do with the little roo (NOT getting rid of him). Do I keep him with these two girls, or do I get him a couple of OEGB ladies, do I now introduce him to the main flock, or leave him separated and put his ladies with the flock. It's a lot to consider. The other birds will eventually get moved into the main flock, but those 3, I may continue to keep them separated. Looks like I'll be getting into OEGB's after all. I just don't want them getting hurt by my Cochins or my Silkie roo as they are all smaller than my other birds. Are OEGB's even as temperature sensitive as Seramas? I was planning to keep the birds inside through the winter, but if I don't have to, I won't.

It's ok though, my daughter is happy with having these 3 birds for now. Next year when I have more money I'll have to see about getting her some Seramas. And this time I'll go through Jerry. His birds look really good and my daughter looked through the pictures on his website and was excited when I told her we might get a pair through him.

I also know that if I am just getting into a breed, I tell customers as such. I tell them that it's my first year with that breed, and I tell them where I get my birds from. For instance, my Marans came from private breeders, one in Kansas, one in Florida, and I told everyone that I sold my extra birds to exactly that. I don't recall her ever telling me that this was her first year with birds, nor do I recall her saying these were her first Seramas. I had no idea that I was getting the 3 birds I bought sort of "3rd hand". I've tried to deal exclusively with breeders since I had poor experiences with hatcheries and wanted decent birds. Maybe I misunderstood her, but I swore she told me she had hatched them out. I do know that I wasn't told that she had just purchased them in June. I don't go around making up stories about people. I only repeated what I was told, and with the 6 other people I was at chickenstock with standing there with me, I know I'm not losing my mind. I'm done with the whole situation. I don't dislike the birds we ended up with. The little roo has the cutest crow I've ever heard. He sounds like a little squeak toy. My daughter hasn't given up working with them to tame them, and so long as she's happy, I'm happy. So I guess now we own OEGB's. I sure hope they turn out to be the sweet little birds that people on here have said they are.

 

[SilverPhoenix]

Unfortunate that there were misunderstandings on both sides. I think it goes to show, we all should do our research before buying or selling birds. Know what to look for, what the breed is supposed to look like, what colors it comes in, ask to see the parent birds if possible and if there has been any chance that the offspring are not purebred. Where did the owner get their original stock from? Do they know about the standard and how the birds are supposed to look? And so on.

OEGBs are not as temperature sensitive as seramas are said to be. I live in northern California and it doesn't get colder than around 15 degrees here (with and without snow), but in about twelve years of keeping OEGBs I've never had a problem with them in the cold. OEGBs really are a friendly and pleasant breed if handled a fair amount, if you choose to breed the ones you have (I'm pretty sure the pullet is also an OEGB) and have your daughter hand raise the babies you'll see how outgoing and friendly they can be.

I keep my OEGBs (as well as my seramas) for a purely pet purpose, so if they were wild things that weren't good for handling they wouldn't be one of my two favorite breeds. Of course it's a lot harder when the birds have been feral because that's what they're used to, but they'll hopefully still tame down at least somewhat. Maybe have your daughter do some reading on OEGBs, they come in quite a few different colors and they're quite intelligent and energetic. They make popular show birds because of their great personalities, all the color varieties, and how pretty and small they are. There are some great threads on BYC about them of course!

I'm sure you'll be pleased with seramas from Jerry whenever you get a chance to order from him.

Good luck, I hope the best for you.

 

[beckt]

Chris, Peggy and I just looked at your pics and she says the hens are Serama, but the roo is OEGB. Look at the way the hens carry their wings the roo should hold his wings the same way and he does not. Also the hens have the U shape and the roo does not. Peg says the hens are nice looking. She says if you want a roo come spring for breeding your hens she would let you use her rooster.

 

[BluegrassSeramas]

Here are my two cents! lol
Im sorry for the misunderstanding on both sides, but Like Catwalk and SilverPhoenix I agree that it should be up to the buyer to research the breed, familiarize themselves to the standard or find a reputable breeder of seramas who is willing to educate you on the breed what it should look like and what you should look for in quality birds. (Even Pet quality, and what makes them pet quality. No FT serama breeder will want you to breed these.)

The roo does not look like a serama at all to me, and if the hens ARE serama, they are very poor. Please do not breed them. These IMHO are not even pet quality, the original breeder should have culled them or sold them as mixed pet bantams and never even said 'serama' to either of you.

If you have any questions again about Seramas feel free to ask any breeder that loves the breed and goes to shows. They are more likely to be informed about the standard and what to look for in a Serama since they have spent a long time looking at good birds.

Here are a few pictures for you to use in comparison in the future. I took them earlier this year. I did keep Mighty Mouse, but the whites are for sale, sold the one roo to Danny etc so these are not my very best birds by any means. I have been selling all birds for 35-45 bucks this year to reduce stock. For a quality serama from my line, that is a pretty reasonable price (I t hink) , but I take the time to talk the buyer to death about the things to look for in birds and offspring. lol---They get that for free!


Young roo-Little Brother

White cockerel

White young hen

Young roo (Danny)

Mighty Mouse and one of his frizzled girls

Pullet

My offer still stands though, if you are in the area, or want to pay shipping I can send you a true serama hen or pullet. Might be able to do a pair later, but am short on boys! Surely you can find a good roo somewhere.. Try juliette2009 (Pixie Chick) I think she had extra roos...