silkie sexing

[Silkiebirdlover]

Thank you sooo much for starting this!!! I'm too impatient to wait and find out myself

These are a little over 4 months old:

Blue silkie

White silkie

Splash silkie

I think these are all hens.

 

[LynMcLean]

Snow is at least 12 weeks old. I am hoping for a pullet

.

 

[sazzmii]

This is my newest chick i fear to be a roo is there any chance coukd be a hen thankyou

 

[sazzmii]

 

[blkjak]

Cockerel

 

[Caitlin_VT]

Snow is at least 12 weeks old. I am hoping for a pullet

.

Looks kind of boy-ish to me, but I could be wrong.

 

[saltandpepper2]

At what age do they get wattles? My Silkie is 8 weeks and no sign of wattles

 

[blkjak]

I have 8 silkies hatched out March 8 - 10 and they do not have wattles yet. It takes a long time.

 

[Royal Farmer]

Sexing juvenile silkies is complicated, because you can't easily see the shape of the feathers, the comb is often hidden under the crest, and wattles are not evident in most bearded silkies. Experts often vent sex (with 90% accuracy) when the babies are a day old, but for the rest of us--and even for silkie breeders--juvenile silkies are especially hard to sex. However, there are a few telltale signs that may help you discern what you have:

• Generally the puffy crests on the hens' heads are rounder, while the roosters may have long streamers coming from theirs.
• Sometimes males will have slightly shinier feathers.
• If they are non-bearded Silkies, the wattles will be larger in males. (Bearded Silkies of both sexes are lacking substantial wattles.)
• In both types of silkies, the males' comb will be larger. (A silkie's comb is called a "walnut" comb for its shape. Instead of being red like most chicken combs, it is usually a color described as "mulberry.")
• Roosters will generally be bolder in their behavior, and often friendlier to humans when they are young. (Hens generally "catch up" in the friendliness category after they begin laying, while roosters usually get more stand-offish as they get older.)
• If you have more than one rooster, they may "chest bump" and assert themselves with each other. However, hens will do this, too--just not as often.
• If you have mixed hens and roosters, the roosters usually begin to grow larger more quickly than the hens, so hens may be slightly smaller after a few weeks

IF you're worried about the crowing bothering your neighbors, consider the no-crow rooster collar.

Good luck, they are adorable!

 

[saltandpepper2]

8 weeks old.