Sebright chicken facts for kids
A Golden Sebright cock
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| Conservation status |
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|---|---|
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Distribution | Worldwide |
| Use | Fancy |
| Traits | |
| Weight |
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| Egg colour | White |
| Comb type | Rose |
| Classification | |
| APA | Yes |
| EE | yes |
| PCGB | True bantam |
| APS | True bantam softfeather light breed |
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The Sebright is a special kind of bantam chicken from Britain. A "true bantam" means it's a naturally small chicken. There isn't a larger version of this breed. It's one of the oldest known British bantam breeds.
This chicken is named after Sir John Saunders Sebright. He created this beautiful chicken breed in the early 1800s. He used a method called selective breeding. This means he carefully chose which chickens to breed to get the traits he wanted.
The Sebright was the first chicken breed to have its own special club for people who loved them. They quickly became popular in poultry shows. Today, they are still one of the most liked bantam breeds. Even though they are popular, Sebrights can be tricky to breed. Scientists have even studied how their unique features are passed down. Sebrights are mostly kept for their looks. They lay small, white eggs and are not raised for meat.
Contents
History of the Sebright Chicken
How the Breed Started
Sir John Saunders Sebright (1767–1846) was a very important person. He was a Baronet and a Member of Parliament. Besides breeding chickens, he also raised cattle and other animals. Sir John wrote several books about keeping and breeding animals.
Charles Darwin, the famous scientist, read Sir John's writings. Darwin was very interested in Sir John's ideas about how only the strong animals survive. These ideas helped Darwin develop his own theory of natural selection. Darwin even mentioned Sir John's work in his famous book, On the Origin of Species. He also talked about Sir John's experiments with pigeons and dogs.
Sir John wanted to create a very small bantam chicken. He wanted it to have special "laced" feathers, like the Polish chicken. He mixed different chicken breeds to get the Sebright. For the gold Sebright, he likely used a buff Nankin bantam hen. He also used a small gold-spangled Hamburgh-like hen. Finally, he added a small hen-feathered Pit Game cock.
Later, he made the silver Sebright. He crossed his gold Sebrights with a white Rosecomb cock. This Rosecomb cock came from the Zoological Society of London. Sir John started The Sebright Bantam Club around 1810. This was the first club just for one chicken breed!
What Sebrights Look Like
Physical Traits and Colors
Sebrights are bred to be beautiful. They are often shown in chicken competitions. As true bantams, they are very small. Male Sebrights weigh about 22 ounces (625 grams). Females weigh around 20 ounces (570 grams).
They have short backs and large chests. Their wings point downwards. This gives them a unique, proud look. In the United Kingdom, there are two main colors: gold and silver. Gold Sebrights have dark gold feathers. Silver Sebrights have whitish silver feathers. Both colors have black lacing around the edges of each feather.
Other colors have been created in Europe. A black-laced lemon Sebright appeared in Holland. A chamois (white-laced buff) color was also developed.
Sebrights have legs without feathers. Their skin is slate-blue. Their beaks are usually a dark horn color. Male Sebrights have a rose comb. This comb has small points and a spike that sweeps back. Their combs, earlobes, and wattles were once a purple color called mulberry. Today, they are often bright red. However, mulberry is still preferred in shows.
Unique Hen Feathering
One special thing about Sebright roosters is "hen feathering." This means they don't have the long, curved feathers that most roosters have. These feathers are usually found on the tail, neck, and saddle.
Scientists called molecular biologists study Sebright bantams. They use them to learn about sex hormones. Sebrights have a special mutation. This mutation makes their skin turn a lot of male hormones (androgens) into female hormones (oestrogens).
Caring for Sebright Chickens
Husbandry and Health
Sebrights are not known for laying many eggs. Hens lay about 60–80 creamy-white eggs each year. They are also not raised for meat.
These chickens can be hard to raise, especially for new chicken owners. Hens rarely sit on their eggs to hatch them. Young chicks often do not survive. Adult Sebrights are generally strong. However, they can easily get a disease called Marek's disease.
Like many bantam chickens, Sebrights can fly well. Because of this, they are sometimes kept in coops or enclosed areas. They are not always allowed to roam freely. Due to their genes, some male Sebrights may not be able to have chicks. This makes breeding them even more challenging.
Images for kids
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The ideal Silver Sebright male, from The Standard of Perfection
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The ideal Silver Sebright female, from The Standard of Perfection
