Sebright Bantams
A Rare Breed of British Origin
Silver Sebright trio.
The Sebright is one of the smallest true bantams we have here in New Zealand. For many poultry lovers they are the pinnacle of poultry ownership. They are eye-catching alert birds, very flighty, and one of the most difficult to breed. The males are henny feathered – which means that they do not have the shiny pointy feathers that characterize roosters of most breeds. It also means that it takes a lot of experience to sex them before the cockerels start to crow and the pullets start to lay.
They are not bred for supplying eggs for eating. The 50 to 60 tiny eggs a hen lays per season are (almost) worth their weight in gold, especially if she was running with a rooster. Even if the rooster is perfectly healthy, not all eggs will be fertile. This means that only small numbers of progeny can be produced per season per hen.
The females, and ideally the males, too, should have mulberry coloured faces but here in New Zealand very few such birds are around.
Due to their small size Sebrights don’t need much space, they don’t eat much and they are a pleasure to have around. Just be aware that some roosters can be extremely vicious.
Gold Sebright pullet.
Silver Sebright pullet.
