The tiny serama; a Hatching adventure

[fluffycrow]

The time has arrived, and you don't know how happy I am! Lady Gaga is back in with his serama girls!



I watched them carefully until I made sure he bred all of them, to avoid any potential discrimination when it comes to which girl gets to feed.



The plan is this: wait 2 more weeks for them to settle into a routine, have many successful matings, and give some more time for the girls to really up their laying game, after a winter of not laying anything. Then, for ten days I will be collecting eggs. Hopefully we reach at least 20 eggs, but my guess is around 15 or less (oh well, the pain of only having three serama pullets). That should bring us to about the middle of the first week of April, at which point I'll be setting eggs in my incubator, lovingly called Electric Lady. That's about it!

@TwoCrows @WoDia @tlcmurphy @2ndTink @Debbie292d @CoopBoots @Antiocheggers @SwampPrincessChick @Sally PB @Chive @ElfenLied89 @GreenJay @LTAY1946 @EEforMe come join peeps! I bet I've forgotten a bunch of you, so sincere apologies if I have

 

[fluffycrow]

Ok, @pipdzipdnreadytogo here comes your favourite boy! Lady Gaga

Negatives: he has some, but they're not many. One of his comb tips could be smaller, or all the others could be larger, legs just a tad too small, wings could be more horizontal, neck could be more S shaped

Positives: round chest, head position and head very nice, lively eyes, the correct curl at the wing tips, primaries not being completely covered by the secondaries, excellent fanning of the tail, very clear inverted V, his sickle feathers are long and exceeding the head, short back, head, neck and back creating the V that males should have, full feathering, no hard transitions, very vigorous, fertile, and excellent temperament

 

[fluffycrow]

I am Greek, but I can speak (and as you can see, write) in English. I also *pretend* to know French. But Greek and English are the two languages I can confidently say I know.



















Tsouloufates are a Greek landrace. The Greek language is very different from the English language, so the plural of the landrace is Tsouloufates, while the singular is Tsouloufati. In my earlier posts (as well as my article) I did not use the plural, because I thought it might be too complicated. OK, that's a lie. I was just too lazy to type it out myself, and my keyboard already had "Tsouloufati" ready, so I never bothered. Here are some photos of my Tsouloufates; it means "crested" in Greek

 

[fluffycrow]

First up: no name pullet.















Let's start with the negatives, and work our way up. Too long of a back, wings not in the correct position, head and neck rarely held in the correct place (though good when held in said place), too small of a comb, although it has grown a bit, and tail feathers kept too close together, not fanned out.







Positives: lively eyes, smooth transition from saddle to tail, petite earlobes, a relatively good "inverted V" appearing in the shape of the tail when looking at her from behind, good leg size, and most importantly, a healthy and vigorous bird. If it takes me twice as long to my get to my goals in regards to conformation, but I reach said goal with healthy birds, I'm taking it

 

[fluffycrow]

Next up: Foureira (ok here I need to mention that i dont have a good enough photo that showcases some of her faults. So i am going to use an old photo of her, and just tell you them)

Negatives: a little bit larger of a comb than I'd like, tail feathers relatively fanned out, but not as much as I'd like, wattles very bold and showing, neck could be slightly more S shaped, back slightly longer than I'd love, legs short, wings held less horizontally than ideal.

Positives: the back, tail and head form a very nice U shape (I forgot to mention that positive in the first girl), lively eyes, full feathering, yet not puffy, no rough transitions anywhere on her body, round chest, healthy bird. Her temperament is also great, but that's true for all of them

 

[fluffycrow]

Last pullet: Scary Spice

Negatives: shorter legs than ideal, tail could be more fanned out, her back, tail, and head sometimes create more of a V shape (which is correct for males), rather than a U, neck could be a taaaad (but really, only a tad) more S in shape

Positives: Nice inverted V shape I'm the tail, nicely held head, nice and round chest, wings have the correct curve inwards at the tips (both the other girls have it, she has the best one IMO, along with Foureira), perfect comb size, 5 tips on the comb (also something they all have, sorry I'm forgetful), full feathering, no rough transitions, ideal back, the best tail size, lively eyes

Now I have to put a slight parenthesis here. Scary Spice is the smallest out of all the serama here, and while usually very healthy, today she did not want to show off very much. She ranged and did everything very well, but I couldn't help feeling that for some moments before putting her back in her pen, she seemed a little off. I do think it might be a health thing

 

[Canadian Wind]

Oh, I know! I only threw out smelly eggs and I smelled them everywhere for two days. DO NOT want that stuff anywhere near me or my countertop

This WAS a duck egg, and it exploded in the middle of the night. Woke me up and I looked *everywhere* to find the source of the stink! Thought a skunk had sprayed just outside (had *that* happen once, too). But no, outside air was nice and sweet. Then I saw the mess on the counter. And the walls...

 

[tlcmurphy]

My fat Orpington could hatch a grocery store egg aisle, and I’d be none the wiser,

 

[tlcmurphy]

Please, never feel too old ever to do foolish things. (This is not about your husband)

If you can buy Demeter eggs, chances are good they are fertile. I wouldn’t try any other grocery store eggs.

I just meant her butt was big enough to cover a grocery store aisle

 

[fluffycrow]

On a different note, Cruella has been cranky the last few days, I think she's getting ready for round 4

. On Thursday I placed 5 Tsouloufati eggs in her nest while she was laying, boy did she peck the heck out of my hand