Serama
Serama (also known as Ayam Serama or Malaysian Serama) is a breed of chicken originating from Malaysia. They are the lightest bantam chicken breed in the world, with weights being shown below: Weights are broken up into weight classes, with the smallest class being "ideal".
Cocks
Class A - 400 grams Class B - 500 grams Class C - 600 grams
Hens
Class A - 325 grams Class B - 425 grams Class C - 525 grams
cockerels
Up to 500 grams
pullets
Up to 425 grams
The Serama are characterized by their vertical tail feathers, near-vertical wings, full breast, and short legs. The Serama is a relatively new breed to the United States, being recently imported from Malaysia in 2000. As of now, they are still a work in progress, and need much more work before they will be accepted by the American Poultry Association or the American Bantam Association.
The main difference between a Serama and a regular chicken is both their tiny size and friendly temperament. Serama are very small, so they need to be kept safe from predators, and to also be kept warm. If they are allowed outside access, they should be give a suitable place to use for shelter. This can be a coop, a shed, or a partition of a building. The inside should be warm, dry and free from parasites. Wood shavings make good bedding, as the birds do not ingest them, they are easy to clean, and they last a long time. The Serama is a very personable little bird, and thrives on human interaction.
Serama can eat regular chicken feed of 20% protein, but they tend to do better on crumbles or mash than on pellets. They may also have free choice grit and oyster shell. Some appropriate treats include grapes, bread, corn, and meal worms.
Most Serama breeders have yet to breed them "true", meaning two things. Over all Serama can produce any of over 2500 documented color varieties, with single pairs possibly producing offspring much different from themselves in color and pattern. Breeding a black bird to a black bird does not mean one will get black offspring. Serama breeders also have not reached the point where they are breeding them true to size, meaning that if one takes a Class A bird and breeds it to another Class A bird, one could get birds that are either Class A or B.
Serama are no harder to raise then any other quality bantam.