4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[ValerieR]

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Sorry for the long rambling post ..

 

Got 2 pekin bantams and a serama bantam on Sunday. Have no clue about chickens and took what was recommended by the breeder. They are all beautiful especially the serama who is coffee-cream coloured with some creamy coloured feathers around her neck.

 

I now have a few problems and am thinking I may have to take the serama back or try to re-home her.

 

She is really tiny - smaller than the pekins by quite a bit. I have done research and spoken to knowledgeable people who keep seramas and apparently they can't get too cold! I am in a cold windy spot in Scotland and worry about that - I am faced with having to keep her indoors in cold weather of provide some sort of heating. The three of them hardly take up any space in the eglu - there is room for about 2 dozen seramas in there I think! (Slight exagerration...) So cuddling up together is not going to make a huge difference to the temperature ... I imagine! I didn't want a really tender bird if you know what I mean ..... the breeder said it would be fine but I no longer believe him.

 

Also the pekins act like they hate the serama - they both bully her and try to keep her out of the eglu and pinch treats from under her beak. They rush at her and peck her. She looks quite forlorn standing off on her own.

 

AND my 2 ginger toms seem determined to make a meal of them! Stuart was climbing on the eglu run tonight, clambering over the wire! The 3 cats sit around the run staring and slabbering at the chops, making the odd hunting wiggle dash and pounce. I doubt I will ever be able to let the hens FR! I so wanted to have them keep me company in the garden.

 

I am thinking I maybe should have got a couple of big bruiser hybrids instead who would stand up to the cats. But then they might be too noisy for the neighbours ....

 

Goodness I feel so bad taking on these wee creatures only to confine them to the run - and for one of them to have a miserable time!

 

Any thoughts or suggestions or advice please?

Val

[chuckmum6]

I can't really advise you about your Serama, I'm sure someone will be able to help. However chickens walk around in a wonderful feather duvet and I wouldn't worry about her getting cold. Put you hand under her wing and feel how warm it is, cubes and eglus are well designed to keep them warm too.

My cats did also view my girl as an extra snack that I kindly had provided, they now free range and the cats leave them alone. In the past when I had Maran's and Welsummer's the cats lived in fear of the chickens! My two Pekins free range happily and ignore the cats, the cats likewise are unimpressed as the novelty has worn off. I would allow time for the animals to get used to each other and then monitor free ranging (a water pistol might help deter the cats).

Hang in there and good luck!

[Eggxactly]

Hi

 

I had seramas years ago when they first came into the country and have some now. It used to be thought that they needed heat but now they seem to be considered hardy. Not sure about that far north though!

 

Mixing the different sizes may not be a good idea, I have never done it, I have also never free ranged them they seem lost enough as I have a cube!

[TAJ]

The cats will get bored. For the first few weeks mine pounced on the side of the run at every opportunity - even big hybrids fuss at this I can tell you! Now days one cat is caught doing it at least once a week, but the girls just ignore him - though I wouldn't trust him out in the garden with them.

 

Give it a go, it is early days given a few months I am sure all will be fine.

 

Tracy

[Egluntyne]

You could try a **Snugglesafe Heatpad**.

 

I've no experience of Seramas, but Pekins should be OK in cold weather. Mine were fine throughout the last snowy spell.

 

The 'Help......what have I done?' feeling is quite common in new owners, so try not to worry.

[jellykelly]

I have two pekins and a dutch bantam (looks just like the serama i think). She is much smaller and makes good use of her size at bedtime. When I look in on them, there she is buried under the layers of fluff that are the pekins!

 

The pecking will just be them establishing their pecking order. It'll last a little while but as long as no blood is drawn, no real harm is done. We experienced big stand off's between one of the pekins and the dutch and the dutch came off on top.

 

If you are really worried about the colder winder months, you could always try one of those heat pads or simply a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel and buried in the straw - however, they are tougher then they appear!

[BeckyBoo]

Hi, firstly I would have an issue with the breeder you bought them from, I have no knowledge of Seramas, but if you are new to chickens then I cannot for a minute imagine starting out with them. Most people (although not all obviously) start of with standard hybrids - they're hardy, they're not prone to going broody, they lay eggs all year round and, generally, they're not particularly noisy. Size doesn't necessarily cause problems, but if the pekins were already in one pen and the serama in another that might be why they're ganging up on her - they're already a sort of flock. That said give them a few days to sort themselves out, as long as they don't actually draw blood they should be fine.

 

As stated, the cats will get bored eventually, my cat pounced on the chickens when they were out but he soon got chased away, but, if your hunt as a pack and the chickens really ARE that small you'll definitely have to keep an eye out for them at least to start with.

 

Don't lose heart, if they're in an Eglu with run they'll be fine in there to start with, my ex has two standard hyrbids in an Eglu and they never come out, they pester him but only when he's watching!

 

BeckyBoo

[ValerieR]

Thanks guys

I will persevere! I feel sort of panicky and like I am doing things wrong - like when my son was first born!

 

My cats hunt all the time. We live on a housing estate on the edge of town and we back on to acres and acres of fields. The cats bring home mice, shrews,moles, birds and even rabbits, every day! I have lost count of the number of small creatures that have gasped their last under my bed then been devoured, tail and all! (Honest you would think I didn't feed them! But I have seen Sarah fill up on Whiskas then go out and scoff a mouse. She is so fat she can barely get through our large size cat flap and I am sure it is due to the wildlife she eats!)

 

Stuart was nervous at first and now he clambers on top of the run.. not that the chickens seem unduly bothered! The only time we hear a noise is when Sheila the serama is being chased and pecked by Joyce and Janice the pekins! Sheila is the size of a pigeon so I doubt the cats would ever give up on viewing her as their next meal.

 

The guy who sold them to me knew my situation exactly - so I think it was rather unfair of me to sell me the serama. He said they didnt fly and I have discovered from the serama website that they can roost up 20 foot trees! So much for keeping them out of my veggies with a 1 foot net, which is what he said to use to keep both the pekins and the seramas contained!

 

I spoke to another breeder in Scotland yesterday and from what he said I suspect that the guy who sold me mine has a bit of a reputation if you know what I mean ....

 

SO - if I take the serama back would it be possible to get a hybrid or two to live with the pekins? Depending on what all you folks think I would do that this weekend.... Would I have to segregate them etc?

 

Thank you so much for all your replies.

 

Val

[madchickenlady]

If I were you, I would return the serama and get another pair of birds approx. pekin sized (if not pekins). Bullying can be a real problem, and its not unknown for a bigger bird to kill a smaller, weaker one I think your breeder was very unfair telling you to take the serama with the pekins. I keep six pekins and two silkies. The silkies are bigger than the pekins yet still get given a hard time IME, pekins are wonderful, friendly birds to people, but can be very aggressive to other birds (even of their own kind, as I have found in introductions). I would not put a serama in with a pair of the feisty little madams.

[ValerieR]

Thanks madchickenlady! What would be pekin sized do you think?

What about my idea about a hybrid or two?

Cheers

Val

[BeckyBoo]

Right, if you've had them since Sunday the two pekins sound like they've sort of already flocked together. As it's still quite recent and if you can do it sooner rather than later, I'd be inclined to get two hyrbids (if there's going to be room in the run for them later on) I keep bantams and large fowl together and it's never been a problem. I only say get two as otherwise you're introducing one to two which can cause problems, but if you've only got room for one, get a hybrid, it'll have less chance of being broody and will lay you eggs all year - your pekins may well stop laying come October time or become less regular.

 

Then if it looks like they're going to fight, split the run in two with canes or something, put one pekin in with one bantam and keep the other separate and watch them to make sure they don't draw blood. I had a pekin that was very feisty - saw off Brahmas and all sorts, but then my bottom of the pecking order now is a Poland so size doesn't necessarily mean much. If you've got separate housing you could go for two and do normal slow introductions but really it will depend on how much run space they're going to have on a daily basis - that's what determines how many chooks you can have.

 

And don't worry, one of the first hens I bought turned out to be a right old broiler - laid about 3 eggs in her lifetime - but the breeder could see I'd fallen in love with her and sold her to me as point of lay bird! He saw me coming that's for sure!!

 

Good luck

 

BeckyBoo

[Redwing]

Personally I'd stick with it and divide and conquer - put one pekin in with the Serama and keep the other separate

 

After a few days see if they are ok together again

 

Seramas are pretty sturdy for their size, in the winter a layer of good bedding in the coop like chopped straw will help (if you have an Eglu take the bars out or place it on the bars and cover the gap above the poo tray with some tape) and always shut the door at night on cold nights - that should do the trick

[Lewis]

I've never had any but a friend of mine has, and they were kept in heated shed over winter - treated pretty much the same as his quail. They really are tiny aren't they!

Someone on here has a trio that were kept inside over the winter, because the cockerel had a chest infection(?) or similar.

 

If it were me I'd return her and get a couple more bantams or even hybrids

[..lay a little egg for me]

Just going to put in my two-pennyworth! Although, as others have said, it seems likely you could make your combination work, it seems to me that now is the best time to change things around since you have the opportunity to take one or all of them back. If you just take the serama back, the pekins should still be sufficiently unsettled by the move to make introducing new hens easier. If you stick with it and things get tricky you may not be able to change your mind. So, I'm siding with those who say to try some hybrids instead.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[ValerieR]

Thanks for the advice you folks. ! It is great to be able to ask experienced people and not feel alone!

 

So - it looks like I will go for a hybrid or two. (Some eggs would be nice! ) And return poor wee Sheila the beautiful pigeon-sized serama.

 

I only have the standard eglu but I am already thinking I need to get a WIR built - my brother in law is really handy and could do it quite soon. It could be about 6ft tall by 9 or 10 feet by 10 or 11 feet - would that be big enough do you think? For 2 pekins and 2 hybrids?

 

I think that's the best plan because of all the rain we get around these parts!

 

Until then - would they all cram in a standard eglu temporarily? Presumably so because that lot would be the equivalent of 3 full sized birds? I know from posts here that it is the run rather than the eglu itself that is important ... What do you reckon?

 

Thanks again

Val

[..lay a little egg for me]

I'm sure that would be fine. If you were planning on free-ranging them, you need to keep them in for a week so they know where home is. Our hybrids don't seem to know they have wings and so will only jump up about 2 ft so we keep them away from the "nice" bit of the garden with a 4ft fence. Others have birds that do know about their wings and even fly despite wing clipping. So, although a 1ft fence as suggested by the breeder probably won't work, you may get away with a 4ft one. If you are going to get a WIR, the best size depends a bit on whether they will have free-ranging time. I'm sure others can advise on that matter.

[ValerieR]

They would FR 3 days a week and evenings in the summer as well ....

[sparkysmum]

Val, hi, I am sorry your introduction to chicken keeping has not been straightforward. I don't know anything about seramas but returning her seems like a good idea if she would find it hard going in our Scottish winters (or even summers )

 

I have pekins and bigger ladies They have separate houses but share a garden run during the day. It is about 5m x 3m but they also have access to other areas which are currently being reseeded. There are few if any squabbles .I think this is probably because space isn't an issue and they're not cooped up together all day.

 

Pekins are pretty, fun & feisty and I'm sure you will enjoy them . Welcome aboard - it's good to have a fellow omleteer just down the road (well almost )

[ValerieR]

Hi Sparkysmum

My aunt Mary lives in Dunblane and my niece did too until recently so I know it quite well. My dad was also in a nursing home in Dunblane until he died a few years back. It is a lovely wee town. I am from Callander originally. (An even lovelier wee town)

I would love to see pics of your set up if you have any!

How did you introduce the pekins to the big girls?

Val

[sparkysmum]

Val, Hi , a couple of photos of pekin run & house. Big girl's house is separate (eglu as shown)Also shown is their occasional "in the field run" & shelter. The object is to keep them out of the flower beds ( failed miserably) as my faverolle is sooooooo destructive, but completely dim and lovely . Hope this is of some help. You are welcome to come and see in person

 

 

Pekin run

 

pekin house

 

big girl's night time house

 

 

occasional field run

[ValerieR]

Thanks ! Looks fab! Will def be paying you a wee visit!

Your girls are so lucky to have so much room.