silkie sexing

[AmyP716]

Ok any guesses on this one. He/she is 4 weeks old.

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

An update for those of you who helped me a few months ago. My little Hercules has proven to be a boy! Here are pics from late last year, and this morning.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Ok any guesses on this one. He/she is 4 weeks old.

At 4 weeks of age , I'm sure there will be those that are prepared to hazard a ' guess ' but they really do change once they get past that ' awkward ' stage and feather in.

 

[AmyP716]

He/she is six weeks old now and will be seven weeks on Sunday. I am thinking female so far based on her tail its pretty big and puffy. I thought I heard somewhere females tails grow faster. Has anyone heard this?

 

[Caitlin_VT]

He/she is six weeks old now and will be seven weeks on Sunday. I am thinking female so far based on her tail its pretty big and puffy. I thought I heard somewhere females tails grow faster. Has anyone heard this?

I don't think that this is necessarily true for Silkies, but can be a possible indication in other breeds. I usually go by overall appearance (how they hold themselves), comb development, and if their crest is round or slicked back.

 

[Fancychooklady]

He/she is six weeks old now and will be seven weeks on Sunday. I am thinking female so far based on her tail its pretty big and puffy. I thought I heard somewhere females tails grow faster. Has anyone heard this?

Silkies are without doubt one of the most challenging breeds to sex. Your standard feather sexing doesn't apply to this breed. They are late bloomers and anything before 12-16 weeks would be a guess. Bright side is , there's a 50/50 chance of guessing correctly. Vent sexing is considered too dangerous in bantams and the only way to accurately sex them would be DNA testing.
The joys of being a silkie owner. Gotta love the little fluff balls.

 

[sweetbeak]

Hi all, my 4 week old silkies, no idea if I have hens or roos, any suggestions

 

[Zgm12]

Hi all, my 4 week old silkies, no idea if I have hens or roos, any suggestions

Photos of their crests and combs would help, but they may be too young to tell.

 

[sweetbeak]

Photos of their crests and combs would help, but they may be too young to tell.

Hi, their combs are just like smooth round balls at the moment, I'll try to get some closer photos.

Thanks

 

[Zgm12]

Hi, their combs are just like smooth round balls at the moment, I'll try to get some closer photos.

Thanks

The smaller the combs are the less likely they are to be roosters.