I think your silkie is perfectly fine, just a random feather sticking up as part of the grow out stage. Cute baby. I can’t comment on the ducks, as I haven’t had ducks.
Beautiful babies!!!! So the white silkie dad is definitely hiding some interesting color genes - partridge for sure. And he must only have one polydactyl gene since several babies only have 4 toes. Based on the mom’s parents, she doesn’t have the silkie gene, so they should all be satin...
I might put one of the broodies and clutches into the separate area, just because sometimes when the first batch hatches, the second broody will leave her nest to try and mother the newly hatched chicks. It doesn’t happen all the time, but sometimes it does!
I wouldn’t be too worried about the...
I have a young polish pullet and she is sadly super super skittish. And also completely unmotivated by food… although she won’t let me within 20 feet of her, to even try and offer her something yummy. But even when I throw out treats for the rest of the flock, she is nowhere to be found. She was...
That is exactly what my thinking is too. If they are sending the opal boys out as a bonus chick, most people aren’t buying opal legbar pullets (and if they are, they probably include a different type of chick for their free one) thus making it more difficult for the breed to become commonplace...
There are many many labs now of people sexing birds. It is easy to do, you just pay for the testing, then collect samples. Blood is usually the easiest for young birds - clip off toenail and extract a drop of blood on a coffee filter or whatever they want you to collect it on. Then mail that to...
Sorry I was on the move and didn’t have time to find it, but I just grabbed the link.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/easy-brace-for-splay-leg-chicks.80050/
So glad the chick is okay!!! Unmedicated feed will be fine! You can supplement with a vitamin b complex to help with the legs. If she seems weak you can give a little apple juice or electrolytes. Also, I prefer a different type of brace, made from a bandaid. It is softer and more comfortable for...
Absolutely. Perfect candidate for helping. I wouldn’t delay. Especially with them being late hatchers, the incubator temp was probably low. (Which can contribute to them having a harder time getting out)
If you need instructions on helping, here is a really quick basic summary of what I do.
Start at the pip, and take off little bits of the shell to uncover the air cell.
Wet the membrane as long as there are no large pulsing veins (small veins are okay! And if it has been 24 hours it would be...
I go against the flow of what most people here advise, because I have lost many chicks from waiting too long to help. Now I help at the first sign of trouble. If it has been 24 hours since pip, I would definitely help it right now. Especially if you have seen it trying to make progress but it...
Cream legbars are sexable at hatch so I assume that opal legbars are as well. In cream legbars the males are much lighter because they are double barred. Even though opals are lighter, the difference is probably visible as chicks (never seen them as little chicks so I am guessing.)
It is...