Why Breeders Won’t Sell Chicks
There are 2 things to consider when answering this question. 1st, let’s answer this commonly asked question: Why do breeders not sell chicks? As with any breed, there is a lot of development that goes on between the day of hatch and sub-adult stage. Just like humans, children go through many changes as they mature. Any one who has seen children grow up knows what I’m referencing. One day that baby looks more like mom and next week looks like dad. As preteen and teenage years the kiddo goes through huge growth spurts until they’re done growing.
For chickens, towards the end of their growing stage, some can be well put together and some can fall apart. At 2 months of age a Serama can look very promising! At 3.5 months that same Serama could have gone through a growth spurt and the wheels fell off the bus. Many breeders won’t sell “culls” or birds that are pet quality as to not allow the genetics that caused that bird to be pet quality to pass on. Some will give them away to pet homes and some price them in various ways.
If the consumer is looking for particular traits they should wait until a bird is of an age that those traits lock in and stay. Some lines mature quickly, in 4-6 months, and some lines mature later, in 8-12 months. Each breeder should know their lines well enough to know when the birds will mature.
An excellent breeder is worth their weight in gold and will be willing to pick apart their own birds and tell you what they like AND don’t like about any particular bird. Find a breeder like that and you have found a breeder worth hanging onto! It also demonstrates that they really know the standard for the Serama breed.
The 2nd thing to consider is there are bantam breeds that look very similar if not identical to Serama at hatch. Old English Game Bantam and Japanese Bantam chicks will look very much the same. Barnyard mix bantams will also look very similar. You spend money on these chicks only to find out about 3-4 months later that they are not what you thought you were paying for. Unfortunately, many people have purchased chicks in the hopes of raising them and selling their offspring only to be told the whole flock they have aren’t anywhere close to Serama. They are then faced with what to do with this flock they have grown to love but aren’t what they thought they were.
If you don’t mind having barnyard mix chicks or a completely different breed then it probably doesn’t affect your decision, however, the price should reflect what you are purchasing. Patience is the name of the game when raising any breed of quality chicken.
Here is a photo of one of my own birds. This was an unauthorized hatch. We had free range Serama that are pet quality. We keep them around for bug control and entertainment! One hen snuck away and hatched chicks. Had I sold that lot of chicks the blue chick is what someone would’ve gotten. Is he a sweetheart? Yes. Is he a good representation of a Serama? That’s a big nope! Not even close. He’s huge, strung out and will never have that nice type that a great Serama should have.