Seramas?

[Buck Creek Chickens]

a broody works great but you need a small hen to do it

this is a serama hen, she's in a tidy cat litter bucket

 

[The Chickens' Maid]

Oh good! I know full grown seramas are smaller than a normal bantam. Would a silkie be the right size? We have a silkie and her daughter who is half BO. Her daughter's a little bigger, but she's mostly feathers, legs, and vocal cords.

 

[matthewschickens]

Hello,

I am learning about Seramas too and here is some of what I have learned so far:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=280014&p=1

 

[The Chickens' Maid]

Thanks!

 

[The Chickens' Maid]

If I got, say, six serama eggs, how many would be likely to hatch with a broody on them?

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

in that way they are like any other chicken 50% or more, but it will depend on age of eggs, size of parents, the same as any other eggs. hatching is alway a crap shoot you never know

 

[dlfridie]

The Chickens' Maid :

How hard is it to hatch serama eggs?

My hen laid 2 fertile eggs the week I got her.
I refrigerated the first egg (I don't know why I did that).
I gave the 2 eggs back to the breeder that week. Both hatched!
A male and a female.

Here is sweet little Shortcake.

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

One thing to know is Seramas do not do well in cold weather. I have mine in a warm area. I will have eggs to hatch after my broody gets done being broody

She is under a lb and she is SO sweet. Seramas are very adorable chickens and once they get used to you they are very friendly too

Right now mine stay in about 55-65 degree heated coops. I would never put them out in this WI weather without heat.

 

[walkswithdog]

Mine have access to heated areas in their pens and free range access. They choose where they go. It's been between the teens and forty for weeks now, snow, an ice storm, hard freezes, they're fine. As long as they have a warm place to sleep the actual temps don't seem to matter.

 

[Akane]

Mine are in a small coop with a single heat lamp that they don't roost near and can't be raising the air temp more than a degree or 2. It's gotten to -20F here so far this year. All seramas are alive and running about.

The eggs aren't technically any harder to hatch. They don't ship well though and many of the smaller seramas are infertile. Also many sellers add problems. There are lots with only a pair or 2 of seramas that then store eggs for a week before shipping in order to get enough, collect from pullets, etc... Hatching your own serama eggs isn't much different from hatching any other chicken. Hatching shipped serama eggs is more of a gamble than usual. The only real difference with seramas if you get good eggs is to stop turning them and raise humidity a day or 2 early because they sometimes (not always) hatch a bit early.