Questions about Bantams....Pics added

[SunAngel]

This might be a really dumb question, but how can you tell the difference between Old English Game Bantams, Sebrights and Seramas? Is it just the size and coloring, or do they all really have a different stance?

When I look at pics of them, they all show pics where the stances are similar, not much difference in size, but the Sebrights don't seem to come in too many colors.

I have four 3-4 month old bantams and 13 one month old ones. The 13 must be mixed because a couple have gray/green feet and beaks, a couple have foot feathering and there is a wide variety of colors. Thanks to another BYCer I found out I have 1 Silver Sebright but I am not sure what the other 3 are.

I will try to get some pics posted in an hour or so. Have to get my youngest son on the bus first.

Here are the 3 bantams in question. I am guessing they are some sort of OEGB? Sorry the pics aren't clearer, they don't like to hold still for long.

Jasper

Opal

Amber

Some of the 1 month olds

 

[()relics]

You could buy/borrow a copy of American Standard of Perfection and compare your birds to the pictures and descriptions. Sometimes the smallest thing, it may seem to you and me, is exactly the characteristic that set that specific breed apart from some other breed eg: weight,leg color,ear lobe color,tail angle, etc... If nothing else you will learn to look very closely at your birds...surprisingly you may see something that you had not seen before.
The local library here has a copy...probably available now but during 4H season its always out.

 

[therealsilkiechick]

sebrights males and females look alike the males have hen feathers and they r oops rose combed sorry and only come in certain colors.

oegb's r single combed unless dubbed(comb cut off smooth), they come in about every variety possible, bigger than the other 2 breeds, wings mabe down a bit but not straight down.

a true serama does not come in the color blue but has 2500+ color varieties, has wing possition straight down, has yellow legs, comb is single but pointier. when in pose it's eyes, wings and legs should all line up in a 90 degree angle from the ground, the other 2 breeds don't pose as much as they do. seramas come in silkied others don't.

oegb's and sebrights r excepted breeds of aba but seramas r not however they r showable and many of us r working on it.
silkie

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

To me the three breeds mentioned look nothing alike, but eight years ago I could not have said that--heck, every day it seems I learn more and can recognise more.

SunAngel, it sounds like you are new to chickens. There are many breeds of bantams, OEGB, sebrights and serama are only three. Feathersite has photos of hundreds of breeds of chickens.

Feathered feet narrows the breed possibilities down quite a lot. Leg, foot & beak colour do also. Feather colour and patterns are not of much help--most plumage colours and patterns are available on many breeds, and most breeds have more than one (often many) colours and patterns.

It is sometimes difficult to tell from the down colour/pattern what the mature plumage will be, especially to someone new to raising chickens.

 

[SunAngel]

Thanks I will look for that book.

Yep I am new to chickens. Even moreso to bantams because I spent most of my time researching standard breeds and Silkies. I had bantam Cochins, but figured those were much like the standards so I didn't think to explore much of the bantam world.

Apparently there are a lot of bantam breeders that bring their chicks to the local auction, which is where I have gotten all my bantams as very young chicks. I am sure they all just refer to them as bantam chickens and don't worry about breeds.

 

[therealsilkiechick]

feathersite is a website- feathersite.com. let me see if i got some youngster pics to try to help. since they came from an auction they could be pures or mixed. there is many bantam breeds. r any of them feather footed in the group shots?

seramas

this is same roo a little older

still looking.... look on my website for alot of serama pics they r not in my photobucket only a few r the other pics r on my comp that crashed not my new one i'm useing now. i can't find the oegb's and the silver sebrights but mabe someone else will have some pics of them or feathersite definately should. by look of them they look oegb or oegb cross to me. we'll see what others think. that 3rd one kinda resembles a nankin to me but i don't know that breed very well so it may not be.

 

[SunAngel]

Most were all white as chicks. 3 or 4 have rose combs, the rest have single combs.


Here are the 3 feather footed ones...

3 with dark legs

The one that looked like a little chipmunk as a day old. This is the only one with color down the fronts of its legs and has a single comb.

A couple of the ones with white/yellow legs

Guess there are 3 that I missed getting pics of. One is all white, one is gray/black/white and one is buff/rust/white. They were all the same age and the mom was a buff bantam with whitish yellow legs. So I am guessing maybe there was several dads?

 

[lockedhearts]

I bought the Black & White version of the APA Standard book for about $20.
Even though not in color it helps tremendously.

 

[Teach97]

I think you have a fine collection of mutts...any with feathers on the legs are not OEGB...

 

[SunAngel]

I noticed all the ones with feathers on their legs have the white/yellow legs, so maybe some d'Uccle mixed in to get the feathered feet?

Do you think the first 3 are mutts also? When I check out feathersites pics of OEGB....the dark one sort of looks like a Black Breasted Red and the buff one maybe a Red Pyle. I dont know if the greyish white one might be a Porcelain? Awww crud, I just noticed that Dutch Bantams look similar too.

I give up!!! lol

Guess I am just gonna have to be like the old farmers...Got me some might purdy Bantam chick'ns!