Serama Bantam Tips

[TheCookyChickenLady]

Hey! I have a few Seramas and was wondering if y’all have any tips for care for them or bantams as a whole! I love learning new things to help my chickens! Thanks!
(p.s. I attached a pic of one of my Serama’s, Penelope exploring an old rabbit pen!)

 

[cavemanrich]

Beautiful chickens. I have 3 Seramas, and 3 other bantams. They are not very cold hardy breed.
No location in your profile, so not sure if winter hardiness is of concern for you??
What specific questions may you have.?
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and

 

[TheCookyChickenLady]

Beautiful chickens. I have 3 Seramas, and 3 other bantams. They are not very cold hardy breed.
No location in your profile, so not sure if winter hardiness is of concern for you??
What specific questions may you have.?
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and

Thank you for your response! I am located in central Texas so cold isn’t a giant issue, we do have some nights it winter that it can get below freezing but the coop is pretty well insulated with ventilation on the top of the of one of the sides. The coop has a pretty large run attached and the roost+nest boxes are elevated with a siding door that can be shut all the way during especially cold winter nights. What things do you use to winterize your coop? I have heard of some people putting petroleum jelly of the combs and wattles of especially big combed breeds on really cold winter nights, could something like that be used for them? Maybe for temps below what we get? Besides this I don’t really have any specific questions just looking for unique things you do for your Seramas/Bantams as a whole that help them, Thanks!

 

[cavemanrich]

In Texas, you don't have any need to worry about frost bite on combs. Just a dip below freezing is not going to cause frostbite. You need real cold to do that. I live up north in zone 5.
I have separate winter housing for my chickens. It is inside my garage loft. There is also Electric light on timer for them. I will probably place them there in middle of December. It daytime temps are below normal for us this year, (snow, and early cold daytime temps) I may do it around Thanksgiving. End of February, and they go back outside into their regular coop.
During extreme colds, like 10°F or colder, I do heat the garage to about 32°F.
Their water is in heated containers to keep from freezing.

 

[Croamagna]

We raise serama in Central Texas. Those few days it gets into the teens at night they can get frostbite on the tips especially one with a larger comb like yours. If they have an insulated fully enclosed coop though it shouldn't be a problem. Our serama do just fine in the cold but some that we got that were raised in climate controlled conditions were not as hardy when weather extremes hit and needed some extra help. Keep them dry and with fresh air is the biggest thing to worry about.

 

[TheCookyChickenLady]

We raise serama in Central Texas. Those few days it gets into the teens at night they can get frostbite on the tips especially one with a larger comb like yours. If they have an insulated fully enclosed coop though it shouldn't be a problem. Our serama do just fine in the cold but some that we got that were raised in climate controlled conditions were not as hardy when weather extremes hit and needed some extra help. Keep them dry and with fresh air is the biggest thing to worry about.

Thanks for your response! I do have the ability to put a heat lamp in the coop on espically cold nights. Would this be useful for them? I am little worried because the roost and nesting box area is quite large and I don’t have a giant flock. I have heard some rub petroleum on the combs and wattles of larger Combed breeds on cold nights to help with potential frostbite, would this be beneficial to them? We got our Seramas from a friend that has and breeds small clutches near us as so I they probably pretty used to our climate. Thanks!

 

[Croamagna]

A closed in coop with a lamp is plenty. We have had one get frostbite but that was because he refused to go in at night no matter the temperature. In the end it makes the comb look a little funky but doesn't hurt them overall if it does happen.

 

[TheCookyChickenLady]

In Texas, you don't have any need to worry about frost bite on combs. Just a dip below freezing is not going to cause frostbite. You need real cold to do that. I live up north in zone 5.
I have separate winter housing for my chickens. It is inside my garage loft. There is also Electric light on timer for them. I will probably place them there in middle of December. It daytime temps are below normal for us this year, (snow, and early cold daytime temps) I may do it around Thanksgiving. End of February, and they go back outside into their regular coop.
During extreme colds, like 10°F or colder, I do heat the garage to about 32°F.
Their water is in heated containers to keep from freezing.

Thanks for your response! While it doesn’t go on for that long( no more than a week at a time) we do have some nights it does get in the 20’s to teens. It normally warms up significantly(into 30’s or higher) during the day though. Is there anything I should do for this? I do have a heat lamb that I could put out there on especially cold nights. Thanks!

 

[TheCookyChickenLady]

A closed in coop with a lamp is plenty. We have had one get frostbite but that was because he refused to go in at night no matter the temperature. In the end it makes the comb look a little funky but doesn't hurt them overall if it does happen.

Great! Thanks for your help! What should I heat the inside of the coop to with the heat lamp?

 

[cavemanrich]

If you will use a heatlamp on those cold nights, I suggest one of these. Much safer from fire than regular lamps.