Malaysian Serama Bantam Chickens

The Serama (Malay Ayam Serama), also called the Malaysian Serama is a bantam breed of chicken originating in Malaysia within the last 50 years.

Malaysian Seramas are different from any other poultry breed in the USA or anywhere for that matter in that they are a vertical bird verses a horizontal bird as seen in dorkings, cubulayas, leghorns, cornish, jungle fowl, silkies, brahmas or moderns for example. Those breeds and all other breeds of poultry with the exception of seramas have a level or horizontal body type, but a true serama has an up and down, vertical body type. They are in the shape of a "V" when you look at them from the side.

Typically, a cock bird will have more of a v-shape than a hen will. Hens historically to this point in the development of Serama outside of Malaysia are behind in the extreme showiness one will see in a cock bird. Part of this is because a cock is naturally more of a showman, his testosterone having influence on how he presents himself to the world. Some Serama hens are quite exceptional in their type as well, but usually do not show this extreme showiness readily unless asked to pose or presented with a challenger. To have a very typey Malaysian Serama hen is an important aspect of furthering the breed. And I use the term "breed" loosely here because it is a landrace yet, a breed that is still in development.

Malaysian Seramas come in a wide array of colors, their genotype is huge and as thus, produces sometimes many different phenotypes being seen in just one bird. There are it is said 2500 different colors in Seramas. Can a Serama be color bred to a known variety? Yes, they can and are being color bred to several different varieties here in the USA and abroad. Does a Malaysian Serama only come in the smooth feathered variety? No, there are silkieds (the hookless feathered gene that occurs naturally and was not created by crossing a Serama with a Silkie chicken), featherlegged (varying degrees can be seen in some Seramas and again, this is naturally occurring and is found in their gene pool) and frizzleds.