to TinyChickens a site dedicated to my hobby of keeping and breeding miniature chickens. Malaysian Seramas are the smallest and lightest breed of chickens in the world. They have a proud upright posture that exudes character and confidence. A good Serama has the stance and presence of a brave warrior with a calm and gentle nature. Some Malaysian devotees refer to them as an "archangel chicken" because of their unique and almost mystical posture.

"Only the size of an adult fist, but it is not a cheap chicken. Quality Seramas change hands for large sums of money. Serama quality is determined by a light body weight, neck shape resembling the letter S, the head far away towards the back, wings hanging perpendicular to the ground, and tail is like a long sword and standing upright. Such physical characteristics make this chicken look like a soldier marching." (a Malaysian breeder's description of this extraordinary chicken)

Seramas are tiny. The maximum weight is 500g for adult females and 600g for mature males. Most of my chickens are well below 400g, with a few barely bigger than common quail. Their small size means they require less space than standard chickens or indeed other bantams. However, "type" is a more important than size in judging quality. Seramas should have a strong chest, a high tail, a very short back with a "V" outline and when alert to attention wings that point almost vertically downwards. Without correct "type" they are just small bantam chickens.

They are not bred for colour, but for size and shape. So they come in a great array of colours not often seen in other breeds. There are more than two thousand documented colours in Malaysia. The cockerel's crow is a lot quieter than standard or indeed other bantam breeds. With a bit of care you can keep a cockerel.

I keep and breed a limited number of chickens in my small London garden. I am a member of the Serama Club Of Great Britain and support their endeavours in promoting and improving the quality of Serama Bantams.

I keep both feather types accepted by the Serama Club Of Great Britain; Smooth feathered and Silkied feathered. The smooth feathered (also called straight or normal feathered) are more common and look very elegant and distinguished. Silkied feathered birds have a fluffy plumage that is more akin to fur than feathers. Silkie feathers lack functioning barbicels which makes them similar to down and renders them flightless. Good quality silkied Seramas are still very rare and most of the silkied birds I usually have available are mainly of pet quality.