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About this breed
A true bantam, laced in black, with no full-size version anywhere.
The Sebright is one of the few chickens that was bred purely to be beautiful. Sir John Saunders Sebright spent something like two decades in early-1800s England chasing one thing: a tiny bird where every single feather is edged in a crisp black outline. He got it. The breed was in the very first American Standard of Perfection in 1874 and has never had a large-fowl counterpart, a Sebright is a bantam and only a bantam.
Golden Sebrights carry that lacing on a warm gold ground, over a tight, almond-shaped feather. Rose comb with a small spike at the back.
The strangest thing about a Sebright rooster
He doesn't look like a rooster. Sebright males are hen-feathered — no pointed hackle feathers on the neck, no long saddle feathers, no curved sickles in the tail. It's a real genetic quirk of the breed, caused by extra aromatase activity in the feather follicles, and it means the only way you'll pick out a Sebright cockerel from across the yard is by his comb and his attitude.
From our breeder flocks here at Naysmith Farm
Our Golden Sebright chicks come from two dedicated breeder flocks — three hens to a rooster.
- True bantam: hens ~20 oz, roosters ~22 oz
- Every feather laced in black on gold
- Rose comb; the classic show ideal is a dark mulberry earlobe and face, though modern birds are often bright red
- Strong fliers, unlike most of what we sell
Read this part before you order
Sebrights are hard. This is the one breed on our farm where we'd rather talk you out of it than have it go badly.
- Fertility and hatch rates run low. It's a documented, long-standing problem in the breed, not a strain-specific fluke, and some cockerels are simply born infertile.
- Chick mortality is higher than average. They need a warmer, drier, cleaner brooder than a hardy standard-size chick would.
- The hens rarely go broody, so if you want to raise more, you'll want an incubator or a Silkie hen to sit for you.
- They fly well and they don't want to be caught. An open-topped run will not hold them.
- Marek's is a real concern in the breed, & worth talking to your vet about vaccination.
They're on the Livestock Conservancy's Watch list, and the reason there aren't more of them is everything above. If you're up for it, they're one of the most striking birds you can own.
Specifications
- Breed
- Golden Sebright
- Size class
- True bantam; no large-fowl version exists
- APA
- Admitted 1874; Golden and Silver are the only recognized varieties
- Mature weight
- Hen ~20 oz · Rooster ~22 oz
- Egg production
- ~60–80 small eggs per year
- Egg color
- Creamy white
- Comb
- Rose comb with leader
- Plumage
- Black lacing on a gold ground
- Males
- Hen-feathered, no sickles, hackles or saddle feathers
- Broodiness
- Rarely broody, plan on an incubator or a foster hen
- Flight
- Strong flier, covered run recommended
- Conservation status
- Watch (The Livestock Conservancy)
Frequently asked questions
Are Sebrights a good beginner chicken?
No, and we'd rather say so. They're a small, active, flight-capable bantam with documented low fertility, below-average hatchability, higher-than-average chick losses, and a known susceptibility to Marek's disease. They're a wonderful second or third breed once you've kept chickens through a winter. As a very first bird, our White Rocks are a far kinder place to start.
Why does your Sebright rooster look like a hen?
Because he's supposed to. Sebright males are hen-feathered: the breed carries a mutation that raises aromatase activity in the feather follicles, so cockerels never grow pointed hackles, saddle feathers, or sickle tail feathers. Sebrights and Campines are the textbook examples. Comb size, spurs, posture, and crowing are how you tell.
How many eggs will a Sebright hen lay?
About 60 to 80 a year, and they're tiny, roughly three of them to a standard egg for cooking. You'll see 120/year quoted online; the breed authorities don't support that number, and neither do we. Sebrights are an ornamental and exhibition breed.
I've heard Sebrights are hard to hatch. Is that true?
Yes, and it's well documented rather than folklore. Low fertility, poorer hatch rates, and some cockerels that are infertile outright. Plan for a lower hatch than you'd get from a standard breed, and don't judge a batch of eggs on one setting
Do I need a covered run?
Strongly recommended. Sebrights are light, active and genuinely good fliers, and they are not easy to catch once they decide otherwise. A 4-foot fence is a suggestion to a Sebright.
Should the earlobes be purple or red?
The historic ideal is a dark mulberry face and earlobe, and that's what the standard describes. In practice a great many modern birds show bright red instead. We'll tell you honestly what our current birds look like rather than promising you mulberry.
Can Sebrights live with my standard-size chickens?
With care. They're a fraction of the size of a Rock or a Brahma and they'll be at the bottom of the order. Separate roosts, enough space to get away, and watch integration closely. Some keepers find a bantam-only pen simpler.