Tuesday, 29 November 2011

serama


~*Some brief information*~

The serama has been developed within the last 15 years or so and is therefore a very new breed which is still in it's infancy.

The entire ancestry of the Serama bantam is not clear. However, it is believed, the Ayam Kapan, the silkie bantam and the Japanese Bantam contributed in it's creation.

Serama become sexually mature at 16-18 weeks however many strains are slow to develop physically and may not be at full adult maturity until 18 months of age.

The Incubation period for Serama eggs is 17-21 days although cases of eggs hatching as early as 15 days have been reported in the case of very tiny parent birds.

Some Serama carry a lethal gene which is from their Japanese Bantam Ancestry. It is believed that this is due to the birds having extremely short legs and being unable to turn within the egg to hatch.

Serama do not breed true to colour. It is not uncommon to hatch as many different colored chicks as there are eggs that hatch. Although there are many breeders, more so in the USA dedicated to breeding strains of pure colour breeding birds. 

Serama do not breed true to size and any sized parent bird can produce all  tiny, small, medium and large chicks. Again there are strains, mine for one who have never produced large chicks, and others wo struggle to produce small chicks. 

The colour of Serama eggs range from white to dark brown, with many  shades in between, even full sisters may lay completely different shades of coloured eggs.

Despite claims that serama don't crow or have quiet crows, the fact is that serama DO CROW and some males can be very vocal and persistant, while others may have a more quiet crow. Some breeders claim to breed for quiet crows, however this attribute should not be a selection over the type of the bird. Breeding solely for this purpose defeats the object of serama being chickens as crowing is a natural characteristic of the chicken which is not shared by anyother poultry variety.

It takes approx. 5 Serama eggs to equal the volume of one Grade ‘A’ Large egg, so from a single female you can expect to wait a long while for your omlette!

Serama lay all year round and have no particular laying season. Many breeders claim that they experience peak fertility and egg production between  the months of November and February. Personally with my own flock I find summer months the most productive.

There are claims that Serama are in a continuous molt, and drop a few feathers each day, perhaps there is an element of truth to this claim in warmer climates, however my own flock seem to moult in much the same way as any of my other bantam breeds do.

Serama are tropical birds and small specimens need to be protected from cold temperatures.

The Serama is an extremely popular pet in Malaysia outnumbering both,  cats and dogs as house pets. 

In Malaysia , serama beauty contests are held every weekend and average 300-400 entries.
 

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