History
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| Serama Chiken |
They are relatively new outside Malaysia, having been recently imported to North America by Kim Theodore in 2001. He brought over a small number for personal use, then soon after, in that same year, Jerry Schexnayder improted a large number capable of establishing them in North America. This second importation consisted of 35 males and 100 females totaling to be 135 Seramas. Their for all other non-imported Seramas are direct descendants of these original imports. The Serama was then promoted by an organization founded by Jerry Schexnayder, known as The Serama Council of North America. This council first introduced the Serama to North America in various National Poultry shows. In the spring of 2004 the Serama had reached a milestone in which it had its own Serama only-show known as the Cajun Classic in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. At this point the Serama is still in a critical point of establishment. Now with the Serama population slowly rising, it is just starting to make a reputation for itself.
General characteristics
They are the lightest chicken in the world. The Serama are characterized by their vertical tail feathers, near-vertical wings, full breast, and short legs. Seramas are not yet recognized as a breed by the American Poultry Association or the American Bantam Association due to its lack of set standards, such as color, size, and/or personality, but enthusiasts are working on making this so. Seramas in the U.S. have been the subject of controversy with regard to what ideal type or standard should be pursued. As a result two schools of thought have emerged, the original Malaysian standard proposed by the U.S. Serama Club, and the American standard proposed by the Serama Council of North America. But overall, most Serama enthusiasts would agree that, “the Serama makes a beautiful pet indoors or outdoors.”
Breeding
Overall Serama’s aren’t an easy bird to breed. Their eggs have a low chance of hatching and then when they have hatched have an equally low chance of surviving their first night. This information adds on to the reason why they are so rare. After laying an egg it takes approximately 19–20 days for the chicks to develop and hatch. After hatching it takes about 16–18 weeks for the chicks to mature and reach the point at which they themselves can begin laying eggs. These eggs do not come in any set color which adds on to the fact of why they can’t be accepted as an actual breed until the gene pool is narowed down. They can range from white to the darkest of brown. The general size of the egg is not very large, in fact it takes about 5 Serama eggs to equal the size and density of 1 standard size chicken egg.
