Serama Chick Care, Am I Doing It Right?

[MageofMist]

Meet Boo and Betty

 

[MageofMist]

 

[MageofMist]

I was warned that Betty (white hen) needed more handling can she is prone to biting and is rather skittish...

 

[MageofMist]

 

[MageofMist]

 

[MageofMist]

The Flock:

Betty

Boo

Snowbell

Dolly

Jeremy

Update on the chooks.​

Dolly still bullies the new girls, but they can co-exist for cuddles.

​

Boo still beats me up, but I am working on taming her.

She likes standing on my head
​

Snowbell is very happy chilling with his new hens, and has been taking good care of them.

​

Jeremy and Dolly are inseparable and go everywhere together.

 

[- Serama Mama -]

I got three Serama chicks at 4 weeks of age, though the black one is 3 week old. They were being given away free to a good home so I quickly jumped into getting them.

View attachment 2637584View attachment 2637585View attachment 2637586View attachment 2637587View attachment 2637588​

Just clearing up that I got everything covered for them care wise, as Seramas are fragile critters.

• Quarantined from current birds.
• Had a general health check, no sign of disease or parasites, though one has a bit of a head injury due to being rejected by the mother. Injured chick is active and shows no sign of severe damage.
• Secure enclosure.
• No predators.
• Draft free environment in a warm area.
• 20% protein feed until thry reach 16 weeks of age.
• Little to no corn, that'll make them fat. They have a little corn right now as a treat.
• 24 access to fresh water (currently in a bowl, regularly changed.)
• Daily handling, cooing at and smothering.

View attachment 2637591View attachment 2637592​

View attachment 2637594View attachment 2637596View attachment 2637598

It amazes me how athletic they are! They run up my arm flapping their wings to reach my shoulder. XD

I got three Serama chicks at 4 weeks of age, though the black one is 3 week old. They were being given away free to a good home so I quickly jumped into getting them.
View attachment 2637584View attachment 2637585View attachment 2637586View attachment 2637587View attachment 2637588

Just clearing up that I got everything covered for them care wise, as Seramas are fragile critters.

• Quarantined from current birds.
• Had a general health check, no sign of disease or parasites, though one has a bit of a head injury due to being rejected by the mother. Injured chick is active and shows no sign of severe damage.
• Secure enclosure.
• No predators.
• Draft free environment in a warm area.
• 20% protein feed until thry reach 16 weeks of age.
• Little to no corn, that'll make them fat. They have a little corn right now as a treat.
• 24 access to fresh water (currently in a bowl, regularly changed.)
• Daily handling, cooing at and smothering.

View attachment 2637591View attachment 2637592
View attachment 2637594View attachment 2637596View attachment 2637598

It amazes me how athletic they are! They run up my arm flapping their wings to reach my shoulder. XD

Looks like you're doing everything right so far! Cherish those moments when they're tiny cuz they become sex mature VERY fast. Mine successfully hatched their first clutch at 5 months old Looks like you've got some interesting colors in there too! I have a lot of weird light colored ones this year that I've never seen before. Elsa (down below) had a lemon blue mom but she looks like she has almost a lemon colored neck and head and then an almost lavender colored body; her mom was more of the bluish dun color.

They're an amazing breed though and just so much fun to have around. Glad to see more Serama folks these days I'm on my 3rd and 4th generation of breeding and coming up with some really beautiful results. Just try not to get addicted to hatching cuz omg, once you do, you'll never stop Thank Odin I've got a friend around here who takes my cast offs to his farm otherwise I'd have hundreds by now.

This is my main breeding rooster right now, Blue. I've got a beautiful silkied roo coming up on maturity here really soon and he's getting paired with my frizzle girls so I can get some sizzles and other wild mixes.

(*He had a REALLY bad molt between his juvenile and adult feathers. I almost thought he was a frazzle but he's filled in a LOT since then. I've long suspected he's a Sizzle himself because he's got a poofy tail and underside that's more like silkie feathering and his main frizzled feathers are a lot more shredded than I've ever noticed on any of my other frizzle chickens...without getting an up close inspection with Sigrid van Dort I doubt I'll ever know for sure, haha, but he's gorgeous. He was my little ugly duckling that turned into a beautiful swan!)

His main girl, Elsa

And these are the Silkied ones when they first hatched

The little brown guy wound up being silkied and the only rooster and the black and white one next to him is also Silkied (though the other 2 carry the gene and have come out with beautiful mottling so far!)

I was lucky that my mom got me 2 new coops from TSC for Christmas so I finally got them set up. Blue and his girls are in this one and then once the Silkied guys and the newly hatched chicks from Blue's last 2 clutches get their juvenile feathers in, they're going into the same type of coop on the opposite side of the room, lol. They were on sale at the time for $200/piece so she got both for $400 which is NOT BAD AT ALL!

We have a big shed (well more like a portable classroom since it's outfitted with electricity and lighting) out back that the previous owner of the home used for musket building that I kept them in last winter but when the snow hit it was so hard to get out there and change water kettles, sweep bedding, dust everything off, etc. in 8" of snow, especially when I caught COVID in January...so my husband said I could have the basement if I give him the shed I still take them out back where I pen them up in the yard but I like having them indoors with me, it's a lot easier to get access to them whenever I want to hold them or socialize them. I love how you've got little toy dollhouses and stuff in there for them! I did the same thing! My son and I went through his toys looking for stuff they could hide under or climb on and we set up a whole Thomas the Tank Engine village in the brooder box

If you ever want some eggs with frizzle and silkie genes, feel free to PM me! At this point, I can't keep hatching and I'd rather give them away than toss them out

Congrats on your Serama babies! How awesome you got them for free! We hatched ours last year at the beginning of the pandemic cuz my son's class didn't get to hatch chickens in class; it wound up being one of the best and most satisfying decisions of my life! They bring so much joy to our home and when we take them out and about to the local parks, people are always astounded to see how affectionate and cuddly they are. I consider myself a "brand ambassador" for Seramas and have been seeding the Pittsburgh area with plenty of Seramas that I couldn't keep due to lack of space. It's amazing what a difference a year makes in terms of how much more available they are and how many more people have them...I only wish I'd done it sooner!

Also, it's likely worth buying a membership to the Serama Council of North America (SCNA). A family membership is only $20/year and you can add as many people on as you want plus it gives you access to so many learning resources as well as virtual shows and show schedules and a whole lot more. Hope to see you around the Facebook Serama groups

 

[MageofMist]

Looks like you're doing everything right so far! Cherish those moments when they're tiny cuz they become sex mature VERY fast. Mine successfully hatched their first clutch at 5 months old Looks like you've got some interesting colors in there too! I have a lot of weird light colored ones this year that I've never seen before. Elsa (down below) had a lemon blue mom but she looks like she has almost a lemon colored neck and head and then an almost lavender colored body; her mom was more of the bluish dun color.

They're an amazing breed though and just so much fun to have around. Glad to see more Serama folks these days I'm on my 3rd and 4th generation of breeding and coming up with some really beautiful results. Just try not to get addicted to hatching cuz omg, once you do, you'll never stop Thank Odin I've got a friend around here who takes my cast offs to his farm otherwise I'd have hundreds by now.

This is my main breeding rooster right now, Blue. I've got a beautiful silkied roo coming up on maturity here really soon and he's getting paired with my frizzle girls so I can get some sizzles and other wild mixes.

View attachment 2744314
(*He had a REALLY bad molt between his juvenile and adult feathers. I almost thought he was a frazzle but he's filled in a LOT since then. I've long suspected he's a Sizzle himself because he's got a poofy tail and underside that's more like silkie feathering and his main frizzled feathers are a lot more shredded than I've ever noticed on any of my other frizzle chickens...without getting an up close inspection with Sigrid van Dort I doubt I'll ever know for sure, haha, but he's gorgeous. He was my little ugly duckling that turned into a beautiful swan!)

His main girl, Elsa
View attachment 2744315

And these are the Silkied ones when they first hatched
View attachment 2744316
The little brown guy wound up being silkied and the only rooster and the black and white one next to him is also Silkied (though the other 2 carry the gene and have come out with beautiful mottling so far!)

I was lucky that my mom got me 2 new coops from TSC for Christmas so I finally got them set up. Blue and his girls are in this one and then once the Silkied guys and the newly hatched chicks from Blue's last 2 clutches get their juvenile feathers in, they're going into the same type of coop on the opposite side of the room, lol. They were on sale at the time for $200/piece so she got both for $400 which is NOT BAD AT ALL!
View attachment 2744317
View attachment 2744318
View attachment 2744319

We have a big shed (well more like a portable classroom since it's outfitted with electricity and lighting) out back that the previous owner of the home used for musket building that I kept them in last winter but when the snow hit it was so hard to get out there and change water kettles, sweep bedding, dust everything off, etc. in 8" of snow, especially when I caught COVID in January...so my husband said I could have the basement if I give him the shed I still take them out back where I pen them up in the yard but I like having them indoors with me, it's a lot easier to get access to them whenever I want to hold them or socialize them. I love how you've got little toy dollhouses and stuff in there for them! I did the same thing! My son and I went through his toys looking for stuff they could hide under or climb on and we set up a whole Thomas the Tank Engine village in the brooder box

If you ever want some eggs with frizzle and silkie genes, feel free to PM me! At this point, I can't keep hatching and I'd rather give them away than toss them out

Congrats on your Serama babies! How awesome you got them for free! We hatched ours last year at the beginning of the pandemic cuz my son's class didn't get to hatch chickens in class; it wound up being one of the best and most satisfying decisions of my life! They bring so much joy to our home and when we take them out and about to the local parks, people are always astounded to see how affectionate and cuddly they are. I consider myself a "brand ambassador" for Seramas and have been seeding the Pittsburgh area with plenty of Seramas that I couldn't keep due to lack of space. It's amazing what a difference a year makes in terms of how much more available they are and how many more people have them...I only wish I'd done it sooner!

Also, it's likely worth buying a membership to the Serama Council of North America (SCNA). A family membership is only $20/year and you can add as many people on as you want plus it gives you access to so many learning resources as well as virtual shows and show schedules and a whole lot more. Hope to see you around the Facebook Serama groups

He is certainly a unique looking roo! And Elsa is gorgeous! Sadly I live all the way in the UK, but I think there are Serama groups over here, but I am a tad shy about joining new groups.

I already have a couple people interested in future chicks though, including the people who sold me Betty and Boo. They sold the hens as they were skittish and wouldn’t let anyone near them, which they were at first. But I had them calm around me within a day of handling and bribery, so they specifically want chicks from me as they know they’ll be tame if I can do that with ‘feral’ chickens.

I love Seramas due to how unpredictable they are. You think you got a solid black hen? Well, Dolly has a few white speckles on her head in one spot, one white tipped feather on each wing, strange golden feather stems on her chest and belly, and a beetle-green sheen to her black feathers. Also Dolly, Snowbell and Jeremy’s mum is the same colour as Boo, though the dad is unknown.
Also Betty is literally a toasted marshmallow, and I have no clue on Betty and Boo’s parentage. Bad if you want to breed for a specific colour and such, but fun for a hobby breeder like me.

I got Snowbell, Jeremy and Dolly for free as they were rejected by their mum and they thought all of the three were male, and spent £25 on Betty and Boo. I heard the green legs is seen as a bad trait on Seramas in America, as bright orange legs are in the standard, but I love Boo’s little dark olive legs as they contrast so well with her feathers, making them pop out even more.

Mine love perching on the dollhouse and chilling in it, though the house is often occupied by my guinea pigs when out... Gentle giants, but still intimidating for such smol chickens.
We have some sheds on the back yard as well, but if I were to use one, it’ll be a lot of work clearing out the space! Though clearing the yard of brambles, building the run and refurbishing the old rabbit hutch was a blast, and I look forwards to doing more of that. Saves on money too when using old lumber, wire mesh, fire guards and other stuff laying around the yard.

 

[MageofMist]

Boo: “You may hold me”

Boo: “Though you shall not pet!”

Boo: “Does this look like the face of mercy?”

​

 

[MageofMist]

Jealous