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Housing
Housing your serama is a matter of prefrence. some people prefer to keep their
birds perminently outside, some perminently indoors and others use a combination approach of summer grass runs with birds
housed indoors with lighting in winter to maintain some egg production
Rabbit housing works very well for serama. An indoor hutch is idea for
a small pair, growers or chicks. hutches with incorporated runs work nicely for pairs and trios. Standard poultry housing
is usually far too big. it is not a good idea to have giant sleeping quarters for tiny birds as it makes it cold for them-rabbit
sized sleeping area is far easier for a trio to keep warm with body heat.
runs are best sited on concrete slabs to prevent preditors digging in-you lay down woodchip/straw for the birds to scratch
in. wire on the runs must be strong small holed weld mesh. must be close wire as rats can get through tiny gaps and will kill
serama if they get in
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| cages make good housing for young chicks or a pair of serama |
Dangers For Indoor Housepet Serama
Serama are small enough to keep as housepets which some people prefer there are however a few
dangers to them you must consider.
all serama must have a secure pen for when you are not in attendance. it is too easy for
a serama to start pecking at electricals arround the home if you are not watching with possibly disasterous results.
windows should be shut unless you are watching. it is not so much that the birds will escape
as much as there is a danger of a neighbours pet cat hopping though and snacking on your pets!
the majority of houseplants are not a good idea to eat and some are lethal. if in doubt do not
let them eat.
beware of floor treatments if your birds are allowed floor running-some perfuming powders etc
are not pet friendly.
all birds enjoy tipbits. however not all are safe. for example avocado can be lethal to birds.
likewise salt in any quantity is very toxic. if in doubt do not allow.
Another unexpected danger which has killed many birds is overheated none stick cookware such
as frying pans. the funes given off by these pans can kill in minutes as birds are very sensetive to them. always ensure
kitchens are very well ventilated and exclude birds from these areas.
Free range serama?
Many people do free range their serama
in their gardens however there are very real risks in doing so. Because serama are so very
tiny it is not just the traditional enemy of the chicken -the fox-that may take them but also creatures
such as cats, magpies, crows. Free range should be considered with extreme caution.
a less risky version is to let your birds out when you are sat out enjoying the sun and can keep
a sharp eye on them.
About Winter....
Serama are not the delicate little
hot house flowers people first believed when they came into the uk but neither are they as tough
as say a rhode island red bantam. treat them in same way you would other small bantams such as mini silkie or polish. give them a sheltered coop with roof not in a wind tunnel, a smallish house with plenty of straw
and all except the tiniest will be fine outside. (unless you live in exceptionally cold region
such as some of the wilder parts of Scotland) A group will keep warmer then just a pair and some
keepers have found adding a small bantam hen such as a gentle mini silkie or pekin for extra warmth
in winter works well.(just make sure you can tell the eggs apart!)
very tiny smaller then average A birds
it is wisest to bring in for winter or supply a heat source-for example I have a 260g cockerel
who is I think just too small to take extremes of weather so he will overwinter in a pen in shed with a low watt heat
bulb on during colder spells. likewise do not put little serama chicks /growers outside
for first time in winter! keep them with a bit of warmth until weather improves.. just common sense
really.
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Feeding the Serama
baby serama need their chick crumb ground fine as they cannot manage
full sized crumb. they also need pebbles in the rim of their drinker to prevent them falling in and drowning
feed older serama like any other chicken-(good quality layers or breeders
pellets or chicken mash) just make sure the pellet size is small so they can manage.
like other chickens they can have greens such as cababge, dandylion,
broccoli also in small quantities treats of corn.(note in winter feed extra corn in afternoons as it is very warming
Mixed cage bird grit should be offered to serama. they are too small
to manage conventional poultry grit
Health
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Serama are on the whole healthy strong little birds but like all livestock they can have problems. as their owner you are
legally responsible to prevent suffering and quite rightly can be prosecuted if you allow your birds to suffer untreated.
If a bird is mortally wounded likewise it is your legal responsibilty to have it humanely destroyed quickly. being left to
die is not acceptable
here are a few breed specific issues-these common in all poultry but are particualy damaging to serama |
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Incorrect diet
excessive feeding of incorrect foods such as bread, corn, meal worms, parrot treats
etc will make your serama extremely fat. these foods are all safe useful treats in moderation but if fed too much your birds
will have problems. a fat serama is likely to be infertile, prone to joint problems and if a hen more inclined to a usually
fatal condition known as prolapse where in the act of laying an egg her insides come out along with the egg and she normally
has to be destroyed. the main part of a seramas diet should be fresh good quality layers pellets/layers mash and greens.
Lack of natural sunlight
if your serama are housed indoors full time they can end up deficient in vitamins. it pays to suppliment indoor birds with
poultry vitamins easily available from good suppliers. birds lacking in vitamins lay badly, breed badly and are more inclined
to get sick
Red mite
red mite is a terrible killer of all kinds of poultry. this unpleasent parasite emerges
at night from houseing and drinks the birds blood. as serama are tiny they are very vulnerable if mites are not brought under
control rapidly and deaths can occur. even a minor outbreak weakens birds and makes them more likely to become sick with other
ailments.
buy red mite killer-not repellent from your poultry supply shop and treat houseing
frequently whether you see any or not. there are also spot on treatments for the birds available via vet. in order to treat
houseing effectly all bedding must be removed , house scrubbed out before treatment applied
signs of red mite are birds looking pale, looking weak, 'dust' on eggs, and when
inspected at night with a torch the tiny parasites can then be seen if a sleeping bird is inspected-look arround vent., tail
area and tiny bugs are there. during day time little clusters of red bugs can be found hiding in crevises , under perches
if one looks very carefully
worms
all animals are suseptable to worms. the legal correct treatment in the UK is the
wormer flubenvet . its easily available from vet, cheap,safe-no egg withdrawal period and is just mixed in feed as per instructions
on packet. one packet will last years. treat every 6 months..
worms left untreated make birds weak, open to disease, poor layers and poor breeders | |
Preventing sickness in your birds
many poultry diseases can be prevented by having fit strong birds. You get fit strong birds by keeping them in a stress
free envirament(don't keep swapping them round!-don't let kids, dogs etc harass) and in clean envirament. Pens should be cleaned
at least weekly-more if they need more. cleaning involves removeing ALL bedding, sweeping away dust and cobwebs, applying
red mite treatment and scrubbing out drinkers and feeders. houseing should be dry and free of drafts, but well ventilated
above head height. runs must not be allowed to become mud baths. put slabs down in runs if mud is an issue .Dirty poultry
houseing is a major cause of disease . a dirty poultry house provides ideal conditions for parasites and pathogens to multiply.
a chicken house should never smell of amonia (urine type smell). if it does then the delicate membranes of your birds lungs
will be being damaged and breathing problems will be the result-this in turn can lead to other disease taking root in the
weakened bird.
New Birds/showing
when you buy a new bird isolate it away from your existing birds. moving house is a stressful time that lays a bird open
to infection and it needs time to settle before being harassed by strange birds. a fortnight isolation is sensible. if you
show your birds isolate them for 2 weeks after the show so if they have picked up germs at the show they don't get chance
to pass them on to their mates!
Sick birds
if one of your birds is unwell remove it from the flock and isolate. that way if it is anything contagious you may well
prevent the others catching it. buy a small rabbit hutch specifically for this purpose-they can be picked up for as little
as £5 on ebay and scrubed out well provide excellent isolation quarters. If you do not know how to treat the sick bird you
must take it to the vet for treatment or humanely destroy it. it is illegal to allow a bird you own to suffer.
practice good bio security.
wash your hands and change shoes after seeing to different groups of
birds that way if one group is brewing something nasty you won't be carrying it to another. do not encourage wild birds near
to your birds as wild birds often carry a host of nasty ailments.
do not allow wild birds or rodents to share your birds food and water.
you have a legal responsibility to not encourage vermin so if necessary lay pet/bird safe traps and poison to remove them
don't allow other poultry keepers near your birds if they have anything sick, if just normal visit then make sure they
at least wash their hands before touching your birds-if not cleaning/changing their footwear then don't let them walk in your
runs
Hygiene & human health
its very hard to catch anything off a chicken but use some common sense!
for example children love chickens but like all living creatures they
can carry germs so make sure children and adults wash hands before and after contact. same as you would with cat or dog. keep
kids away from any sick bird-apart from any germ risk its not fair to chicken to be harassed when ill!
likewise with eggs -don't use filthy eggs for cooking. discard them and improve cleanliness of laying areas. eggs should
be thoughily cooked particulary if cooking for more vulnerable groups such as children,pregnant or elderly people
recommended reading
the issues I have mentioned above are the most common but unfortuanly there can be others so for all poultry keepers-not
just serama keepers I strongly recommend Victoria Roberts book. 'Diseases Of Free Range Poultry'. this book is written by
a poultry keeping vet and gives guidence on best practice keeping as well as how to identify diseases from symptoms and what
is appropriate treatment
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