Standards , and Show information on the birds that we raise and show.
American and Traditional Serama
Serama originate in the Malaysian state of Kelantan, apparently through the crossing of Japanese and Malaysian bantams. Other stories of the birds derived from a gift of some small chickens by the King of Thailand to a local sultan in ancient times. Small chickens have always been popular pets in this area and are often referred to as "ayam katik" (pygmy chickens) and "ayam cantik" (pretty chickens).
The modern breed is attributed to the efforts of Wee Yean Een from Kelantan, who named the breed "Serama" after Rama, the title of the Kings of Thailand. The breed was first exhibited in 1990. The breed was hit hard by the Asian bird flu epidemic in 2004 when many birds were culled amid government concerns.
There are no written standards for the breed in its native country. However, they do now have an overall guide on scoring and judging for competitions in Malaysia. Many breeders have a style or type that they breed to, but often breeders keep several "styles". These styles are often names given by breeders to describe the blood line of a champion (e.g. Husin, Mat Awang), but may also be more general shape, characteristics or behavior (e.g. slim, submarine, and dragon). Hence there is quite a lot of diversity in Malaysia, but an overall theme of a small brave chicken with a persona of fearless warrior or toy soldier. The shape, behavior, temperament and size of the bird are the most important characteristics. They compete against each other in open table top competitions (often described as "beauty contests") and scored by several judges. The prize for the winning birds can be a substantial bit of money.
United States The Serama is promoted by a couple organizations in the U.S. One is known as the "The Serama Council of North America (SCNA)". This council helped to introduce the Serama to North America in various National Poultry shows. In the spring of 2004 a Serama only-show, known as the Cajun Classic, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana was held. The American Serama as put forth by the Serama Council of North America has now gained acceptance by the American Poultry Association and the American Bantam Association as of April 2011.
In early 2012, another group was formed to help gain APA and ABA acceptance of more varieties of serama. This group is known as the American Serama Association.
Unfortunately, most birds imported to the U.S. were actually ayam kapan and not true serama. While they are closely related, it has made improving the type to true serama standards much harder. This has caused the U.S. to adopt a standard very closely resembling the kapan. The "American" serama is therefore more accurately described as a kapan by Malaysian standards
The modern breed is attributed to the efforts of Wee Yean Een from Kelantan, who named the breed "Serama" after Rama, the title of the Kings of Thailand. The breed was first exhibited in 1990. The breed was hit hard by the Asian bird flu epidemic in 2004 when many birds were culled amid government concerns.
There are no written standards for the breed in its native country. However, they do now have an overall guide on scoring and judging for competitions in Malaysia. Many breeders have a style or type that they breed to, but often breeders keep several "styles". These styles are often names given by breeders to describe the blood line of a champion (e.g. Husin, Mat Awang), but may also be more general shape, characteristics or behavior (e.g. slim, submarine, and dragon). Hence there is quite a lot of diversity in Malaysia, but an overall theme of a small brave chicken with a persona of fearless warrior or toy soldier. The shape, behavior, temperament and size of the bird are the most important characteristics. They compete against each other in open table top competitions (often described as "beauty contests") and scored by several judges. The prize for the winning birds can be a substantial bit of money.
United States The Serama is promoted by a couple organizations in the U.S. One is known as the "The Serama Council of North America (SCNA)". This council helped to introduce the Serama to North America in various National Poultry shows. In the spring of 2004 a Serama only-show, known as the Cajun Classic, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana was held. The American Serama as put forth by the Serama Council of North America has now gained acceptance by the American Poultry Association and the American Bantam Association as of April 2011.
In early 2012, another group was formed to help gain APA and ABA acceptance of more varieties of serama. This group is known as the American Serama Association.
Unfortunately, most birds imported to the U.S. were actually ayam kapan and not true serama. While they are closely related, it has made improving the type to true serama standards much harder. This has caused the U.S. to adopt a standard very closely resembling the kapan. The "American" serama is therefore more accurately described as a kapan by Malaysian standards
Open and Youth Table Top Score Cards Front and Back
Serama Table Top Score Card
(Front) Entry # Exhibitor # Band # Weight: Cock / Hen / Cockerel / Pullet Serama Type: Variety: Type (15) . Chest (15) . Tail (15) . Wings (10) . Legs (05) . Condition and Feather quality (15) . Character (15) . Performance (10) . Total (100) . Judge Comments: Quality Award Purple - Blue - Red - White - Yellow |
Serama Score Card Explained
(back) Serama Type: American / Traditional / Malay Variety: Frizzled / Smooth / Booted / Silkied Type (15) Overall shape, size and balance Chest (15) Shape, size, and carriage Tail (15) Carriage, spread and structure Wings (10) Position, size and carriage Legs (05) Length and structure Condition and Health, vigor, cleanliness, no worn/broken feather quality (15) feathers, feather structure Character (15) Personality, attitude and calmness Performance (10) Males - strutting, flapping and crowing Females - walking proud, talking, scratching Quality Awards: Purple 95-100 Blue 90-94 Red 85-89 White 80-84 Yellow 75-79 |
In cage showing is a lot different from the Table Top (TT) methods above. Open shows are based on a point system where defects and other qualities are docked points. Anywhere from 1/2 point to 3 points can be deducted per section of the bird being judged. Below the point scale are 2 examples of coop cards you may or may not see on your cages.
GENERAL SCALE OF POINTS
All breeds of chickens, except Crested and Bearded varieties, Modern Games, and Malays, Hamburg and Rosecomb Bantams, and Japanese Bantams. For Waterfowl, Guinea Fowl, and Turkeys, see Special Scale of points for each group.
CHARACTERISTIC TOTAL WHITE OTHER THAN WHITE
SHAPE COLOR SHAPE COLOR
Symmetry (4) 4 4
Weight or Size (4) 4 4
Condition and Vigor (10) 10 10
Comb (5) 5 5
Beak (3) 2 1 2 1
Skull and Face (4) 3 1 3 1
Eyes (4) 2 2 2 2
Wattles (2) 2 2
Earlobes (4) 2 2 2 2
Neck (6) 3 3 1 5
Back (12) 8 4 6 6
Tail (8) 5 3 4 4
Wings (8) 5 3 3 5
Breast (10) 7 3 5 5
Body and Fluff (8) 6 2 5 3
Legs and Toes (8) 5 3 5 3
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
TOTALS (100) (73) (27) (63) (37)
All crested or bearded, or both - Crest, shape 8 Color 4; Beard shape 3 color 1
Modern game, Malay, Aseels and Shamos - Station 10 points
Japanese Bantam - Accentuated breed type, 10 points
Hamburg and Rosecomb Bantams - Substitute, comb shape 8; Ear lobes shape 4 color 3
Buttercup and La Fleche - Substitute Comb shape 10
Yokohamas and Phoenix - Tail shape 7 and color 3
In order to allow extra point value for these distinctive breed features it is necessary to deduct proportionately from all sections in the Scale of Points so the total allowed will not exceed 100 points.
CHARACTERISTIC TOTAL WHITE OTHER THAN WHITE
SHAPE COLOR SHAPE COLOR
Symmetry (4) 4 4
Weight or Size (4) 4 4
Condition and Vigor (10) 10 10
Comb (5) 5 5
Beak (3) 2 1 2 1
Skull and Face (4) 3 1 3 1
Eyes (4) 2 2 2 2
Wattles (2) 2 2
Earlobes (4) 2 2 2 2
Neck (6) 3 3 1 5
Back (12) 8 4 6 6
Tail (8) 5 3 4 4
Wings (8) 5 3 3 5
Breast (10) 7 3 5 5
Body and Fluff (8) 6 2 5 3
Legs and Toes (8) 5 3 5 3
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
TOTALS (100) (73) (27) (63) (37)
All crested or bearded, or both - Crest, shape 8 Color 4; Beard shape 3 color 1
Modern game, Malay, Aseels and Shamos - Station 10 points
Japanese Bantam - Accentuated breed type, 10 points
Hamburg and Rosecomb Bantams - Substitute, comb shape 8; Ear lobes shape 4 color 3
Buttercup and La Fleche - Substitute Comb shape 10
Yokohamas and Phoenix - Tail shape 7 and color 3
In order to allow extra point value for these distinctive breed features it is necessary to deduct proportionately from all sections in the Scale of Points so the total allowed will not exceed 100 points.
COOP TAG
Exhibitor #: _______________________________ Class: ___________________________________ Breed: ___________________________________ Variety: __________________________________ Sex: ____________________________________ Leg Band Number: ________________________ Comments: ______________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ For Sale $ |
POULTRY COOP TAG
Variety:____________________________________ Breed:_____________________________________ Old Male: __________ Young Male: _________ Old Female: ________ Young Female: _______ Old Trio: ___________ Young Trio: __________ AWARD Place 1 2 3 DQ SPECIAL AWARD (S) Comments: ______________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Youth ______ Inter _______ Sr ________ Adult _______ Exhibitors Number: ______ |
Bantam and Large Fowl Sumatra
Black Sumatras were admitted to the APA Standard in 1883, while the Blue Sumatras were not recognized until 2002. Currently the White and Sport (splash) are not recognized, but can still be shown as a non recognized variety. They can still place but cannot beat a recognized color no matter how good the bird may be.
The Sumatra chicken is distinctive and beautiful, with long flowing curves, abundant feathering, and a rich green sheen. Originally from the Isles of Sumatra, Java, and Borneo in Indonesia, the breed developed through living wild and being shaped by its environment. Sumatra chickens tend to reproduce very seasonally, the males vying for territory and breeding rights a few months of the year and living together in relative harmony outside of breeding season. Historically, the island residents captured the males at the beginning of breeding season and used them to fight, releasing them after the season was over. The seasonal aspect of the Sumatra chicken is still very much a part of the breed today, and one can expect fertility and broodiness to arrive late in the spring. The breed is noted for behaving very pheasant like – moving in a stately manner and preferring to explore around bushes and other areas offering good cover. It is also rumored that Sumatra chickens sometimes flew between the islands of Sumatra and Java.
In the wild, Sumatra chickens were found in a few color varieties, including black breasted red, though black was predominant. It is the Black Sumatra that was embraced by the poultry fancy; with its long, flowing, low tail, beetle green sheen, gypsy-colored face (purple to black), black shanks with yellow soles, and its multiple spurs – often having three spurs on each leg. The breed appears “royal” in nature, belying its feral heritage. The Sumatra’s type, size, and flowing plumage is similar to both the Yokohama chicken and the Cubalaya chicken. One wonders if some of the rarer color varieties of Sumatra played a role in the creation or development of those other breeds.
The Sumatra chicken was first imported into the United States in April 1847 by J.A.C. Butters of Roxybury, MA. There were subsequent importations by other in 1850-52. The breed came to Germany in 1882 and, there, was at first called Black Yokohama. Nelson A. Wood of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C., began with the breed in 1885 and is given much credit for refining the Sumatra chicken to enhance its flowing feathers and for increasing its productivity.
The Sumatra chicken was first promoted as a fighting breed – something for which the breed was not truly well-suited. Traditionally in the Orient they had been used for such, seasonally, when no other game breed was at hand. But Sumatra chickens were favored for use in crossbreeding to produce fighting offspring - crossing well with Hyderabad, Rampur Boalia Black, or Sinhalese Game.
Sumatra hens lay an abundant number of white, or lightly tinted, eggs and are considered excellent winter layers. They are also among the best of mothers and broodies. Both adults and chicks are very hardy and easy to raise. Sumatra chickens are active and alert and are especially good at launching themselves vertically to escape dangers.
The Sumatra chicken was recognized by the American Poultry Association (APA) and was admitted as a standard breed in 1883 in the Black variety. Today the breed also comes in Blue and in Dun varieties
In the wild, Sumatra chickens were found in a few color varieties, including black breasted red, though black was predominant. It is the Black Sumatra that was embraced by the poultry fancy; with its long, flowing, low tail, beetle green sheen, gypsy-colored face (purple to black), black shanks with yellow soles, and its multiple spurs – often having three spurs on each leg. The breed appears “royal” in nature, belying its feral heritage. The Sumatra’s type, size, and flowing plumage is similar to both the Yokohama chicken and the Cubalaya chicken. One wonders if some of the rarer color varieties of Sumatra played a role in the creation or development of those other breeds.
The Sumatra chicken was first imported into the United States in April 1847 by J.A.C. Butters of Roxybury, MA. There were subsequent importations by other in 1850-52. The breed came to Germany in 1882 and, there, was at first called Black Yokohama. Nelson A. Wood of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C., began with the breed in 1885 and is given much credit for refining the Sumatra chicken to enhance its flowing feathers and for increasing its productivity.
The Sumatra chicken was first promoted as a fighting breed – something for which the breed was not truly well-suited. Traditionally in the Orient they had been used for such, seasonally, when no other game breed was at hand. But Sumatra chickens were favored for use in crossbreeding to produce fighting offspring - crossing well with Hyderabad, Rampur Boalia Black, or Sinhalese Game.
Sumatra hens lay an abundant number of white, or lightly tinted, eggs and are considered excellent winter layers. They are also among the best of mothers and broodies. Both adults and chicks are very hardy and easy to raise. Sumatra chickens are active and alert and are especially good at launching themselves vertically to escape dangers.
The Sumatra chicken was recognized by the American Poultry Association (APA) and was admitted as a standard breed in 1883 in the Black variety. Today the breed also comes in Blue and in Dun varieties