They are all nice pet quality. They appear to be 2 or 3 generations from being crossed with Japanese bantams. Most serama breeders cross breed with birds that they want them to look like--stealing many years of someone else's work instead of picking the best and breeding for the standard, culling out all but the best or closest to what they should look like and developing birds that are the results of their own work.

#10 looks promising, breed it back to it's parent. Research how to line-breeding. Learn by heart the Serama Standard. Look at the pictures of winners that have be posted online at the different Serama Clubs. It is not an over night process--it usually takes years.

I like the little silky!

Here is a link that might be useful: Standards for Seramas

Ack...can't...get...past...cuteness....! :)

Seriously, those birds are beauties, and what a large variety of colors! I'm especially interested in #6, at about the 3 minute mark. Did her Silkie feathering just appear as a sport, or do her parents also have it in their genes?

Wish I could offer some insight into the breeding aspect, but that's not my area, Seramas knows best. :) I would suggest placing the birds for photo/videos in a three-sided black or white box for photo shots, like you see in professional pictures. It might be easier to see their conformation and make their colors 'pop'.

Keep us updated with pics of the little guys (and gals)!

Velvet ~:>

I am a color breeder and pay close attention to color and patterns. Selections for breeding are first made by color/patter and then by body shape. Once the colors/patterns breed true then body shape will be a bigger issue.

As you can see the majority of the hens hold their tails up even when forging for food. They will display even more erect, with their wing held perpendicular to the floor, when in a strange place around strange people.

The Roos for the most part are close to serama standards. Another 6 or 7 generations the majority of the flock will be serama show standards. Not one or two birds like most breeders have. All without stealing someone else's work (Crossing with other breeds or buying someone else's 'Show quality' birds.).

Here are two short videos of some of seramas. They are currently on a 6 month rest period after 3 months breeding:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hqMbvMFsO4&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5pSPGIL1mk&feature=channel

Work with what you have and learn all you can on selective breeding techniques, linebreeding and inbreeding.

Good luck.

Thanks, everyone, for your critique!

Velvet_Sparrow- The silkie was a surprise, from 2 smooth feathered seramas, I guess both parents carry the gene for it.

Seramas-All the chicks were from 4 sets of parents, and I have them all color coded, so I know who came from whom. The parents came from a breeder (from her 'breeder stock'), but I am disappointed in the fact that the backs of the birds look awfully 'long' to me. Also, it has been pointed out to me that their wings are not vertical enough...I will wait another few weeks, then photograph them again, but singly this time. I've been studying (a lot!) the 4 mother-birds, and I can see where that trait is coming from, as the roos all have vertical wings. My question is, where do I go from here? Would you suggest breeding back to the parents, for the chicks that have "possibilities"? Would it be prudent to find better hens to mate with? Some of the chicks are larger than others-should they be banned from any breeding program, regardless of their coloring? Several of the chicks have an interesting blue-grey-lavender cast to them, at least for the moment...should they be bred back to their parents? Again, is size really an issue at this point? I am quite confused...I don't really know what the guidelines are...Help, please!! Also, regarding my little silkie...Do I breed her back to the father, or do I buy a silkied roo for her, to produce more silkieds?

I know these are complicated questions, but I really do appreciate any and all help! Thank you Seramas, for your time and expertise! I have gone through many of your prior posts, and am in awe of your knowledge and expertise! Oh, by the way - how do you manage to keep your roosters together without killing one another???

Juliette

The backs are too long but that can be breed out. Breed your hens back to their fathers. KEEP GOOD BREEDING RECORDS. If you can afford it buy some pipettes to store blood samples from each breeder you have in you bloodline. It will be soon that DNA testing will advance to a point you can test each bird for $5. This way you can prove your bloodline and have among the first pedigreed flock (10 generations). When you start to show and win you will be able to sell the pedigreed off-springs for a good price.

Breed what you have, each time new birds are added to a bloodline you introduce unknown traits. Keep breeding your young hens back to the Fathers. You should be able to breed your original Roos to their 6-great-grand-daughters. Eventually the hens will develop the 'Serama Stand'.

I would forget about the original hens for breeding and focus on the Roo to hens he fathered.

Try breeding only the Mid size Roos to Mid size hens this should give you all three sizes of bird. Pay close attention to leg length. Do not breed any long legged birds. Never breed two short legged birds this seems to cause embryo death in the first 10 days of incubation, something to do with a lethal gene.

Don't worry about color at this point. Seramas are notorious for two whites will make a brown bird (meaning they do not breed true when it comes to colors). Color breeding is a whole 'nother can of worms'.

Silkie back to father and a Roo from this pairing should be crossed back to his mother's mother (beginning to sound like a soap-opera).

I stand over them with a 4' bamboo plant stake and every time they get aggressive I give them a light tap on the tail feathers. Don't take long before they know what's expected of them.

All your cast-offs should be breed in a community cage--you never know if by chance you get a winner. Once your numbers get up to your comfort level you can sell the surplus off as Pets to pay the feed bill.

Good Luck