What's in that egg?

I was reading the Poultry Press the other day and in one column the writer was confessing that she has NES or Next Egg Syndrome - Each egg is sort of like a little gift or surprise - you never know what might pop out - so you just keep putting them in the incubator. I have next egg syndrome too, especially since the Seramas come in an endless variety of colors and patterns- but I really have to stop collecting eggs for hatching because I can really only handle about twenty new chicks at a time. And my hens are starting to set. One after the other. I have a D'uccle hen setting on six Serama eggs in the shop. I have a wheaton Serama hen sitting on three eggs in a separate pen, and Queenie, one of my first Serama hens, just plopped herself in a nest and started sitting on one egg. I saw her there in a nest today and then I found two more eggs in a seperate nest and stuck them under her.

Thats it! so help me. I have eight hatched out so far. 15 in the incubator, and 12 under hens. I don't expect all to hatch

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I bought three new roosters this year, and two new hens. I wanted to try them out before fall just to see what they might produce. I had to throw out at least two dozen eggs that were not fertile, and I was beginning to wonder what was wrong.The new small black /silver rooster didn't produce any fertile eggs, so I gave up on him and moved him to a pen by himself. He is the only black Serama I have. I have never had a black chick so far, but the other day, SURPRISE! a small black chick, with a black bill and black legs hatched. Where did he come from? Good thing I write on each egg as I collect them- the date I pick the egg up, the parents - if I know -the date it goes in the incubator- the 18th day -the 21st day- and the slot where it is placed in the incubator. Each egg has written on it all the info I need in case it gets misplaced. And this chick hatched from the only fertile egg that this black rooster produced - I didn't even know he had a fertile egg. But his name is on it! So he can do it. So thank goodness for next egg syndrome. YEA! I was beginning to wonder. A real surprise popped out of that egg!

Do you subscribe to the poultry press? Helpful articles and nice pictures and lots of advertising in that paper. I look forward to mine every month.

Starting with Seramas

The purpose of this blog is to be encouraging and supportive to those who are just starting out in the "I think I'm going to get some chickens" mode. I read poultry blogs and get a great deal of information from them and I think it is a good way to solve some problems that eventually do come up. I have had chickens for about a year and a half and made a lot of mistakes until I set myself right and so perhaps I have some information that may help you. So this blog will be about chickens, mostly Seramas. I may have some to sell eventually on the web. Actually I have sold almost all of the cockerals and pullets that I hatched out this spring. I have two cockerals left- no hens and am keeping one rooster and one hen out of this batch for myself.

Buying Seramas. If you want to show Seramas, you want good quality good type Seramas. A lot of points are given for type, and a lot are given for temperament. so those are the two main things you should keep in mind when looking for Seramas. Perhaps you live in an area where there are a lot of good breeders. Florida? Lousiana? in that case you can just search for a pair, perhaps in the newspaper ads, or on line, and you have a chance to see them before you buy. Always the best thing to do. A fellow called me this spring wanting to start breeding and showing Seramas - he previously bred and shown dogs. So I told him the best thing to do, and this is what I would do If I could ,would be to go to the big Serama show in Lousiana in the spring, The Cajun Classic, meet all the breeders, look at all the chickens and buy a really good trio. And save yourself a lot of breeding steps along the way. But that option is not available for everyone. If you can't do that watch out - there are people who will take advantage of you. So always require a picture of the Serama, ask for age and weight. Tell the seller you don't want a wry tailed chicken and ask if the chicken has guaranteed fertility. Unless you just want a pet and then all this doesn't matter.

There is a new book out called "The Serama" By Sigrid van Dort. It is a small book and a really good one. It was available on the Serama Council of North America (SCNA)web site, but it sold out. Perhaps they will print more - I expect so. It will tell you all about the Serama and a lot of other things you should know if you are going to breed these tiny chickens.

Thats all the advice I have for this day.