Recent content by msdoolittle

Hello, all! I'm not a newbie, and I have a question for those of you who have been through this before: 2 day old baby chick got away from the hen and got very cold. It was found on its back. We brought it inside and put it on a heating pad in one of those clear pet enclosures, so the temp is...

Exactly. Initially, I was fearing something viral/bacterial in nature, but I have looked at this over and over and there are no other symptoms which would suggest such. I will be investing in a different form of heat for my babies from here on out, just in case this is the issue. I may be...

Last year, I had one of my Silkies go completely blind from what looked like a combination of glaucoma/cataracts. We had her put to sleep as the condition looked extremely painful. This year, I am looking at one of my one year old Silkies and her eye is swollen and starting to get a blue...

I have 2 hens with eye issues right now. One has severe periorbital edema, the other has hypopyon (pus inside eye). Based on those findings, plus the fact that I had a layer about 3 years ago who came down with severe wattle edema, it finally has hit home that I may be dealing with chronic fowl...

I had the funniest thing hatch! Father is SG, mother was either silkie or SG. Absolutely no leg feathering, but nice silkie feathering. I am calling it "Oddball". Comb/wattles are very red, legs are black. Just wondered if anyone else has a little 'Oddball' out there. Hope I can...

I would like to get in touch with another TX Silkie/SG breeder. I will need some new birds to add to my existing flock later in the year, and would like to establish a relationship with another breeder. Looking for show quality stock, please. I've been 'playing around' with my flock, but now...

Yes, they are so extremely smart; I have just been lucky up until now, is all! Once they figure something out, they ALL know it. For the record, the safest place for a chicken is a pen guarded on all sides; tops and bottoms included. Trust me, if something can get to them they will, whether...

Just a word of warning to you all: Last week, we were experiencing predation problems with our small mixed flock of broilers and Silkie chicks. Broilers were 7 weeks old, Silkies about 3 months. They were free-range only during the day and put up at dusk. I found a dead Silkie and then a...

So, genetically speaking, what is the difference between grey and silver? I also have some chicks whose feathers have a light grey base and the tips of the feathers are white, giving them a 'frosted' appearance.

Also, I'm calling the birds 'grey' and maybe 'silver' is the correct term. I really don't know the difference yet.

I really, really need to learn chicken color genetics! But since I don't know them well at all, here goes: I have a white SG roo. His "ladies" are currently other whites, partridge, and buffs. Most of the SG chicks are white, some are white with the striping on the rump at birth (center...