Silkie thread!

[SJchickens]

So my one silkie did a few lame attempts at crowing this morning. Does this pretty much mean she is a he?

You betcha! Post pictures just to be sure.




My silkie got a leaf stuck to her face this morning. It was so cute!

 

[fnwolffie]

Thought this was a cool pic of our 8wk old silkie Monster Feet

Action shot head tilt

 

[frannyglass]

Hi! This is my roughly 3 month old silkie, Beatrix. She's my very favorite and I can only keep hens. Unfortunately, I suspect that she is a cockerel because of how her crest sweeps back. Is it possible for a pullet this age to have such a crest? I've never had silkies before, so I'm not familiar with their feathering. Is the way her tail swoops just typical, or indicative of a cockerel? That's a pretty normal stance for her. She has the wrong type of comb (single instead of walnut) so I didn't include it in the photo. I know it's too early to be sure with a silkie, but if she was yours, would you suspect you had a little cockerel?

Thanks for looking

 

[mom of silkies]

I have heard plain old Vaseline on the legs suffocates those guys on the Chicken
as far as in the coop or yard I am not sure.
anyone else?

I have had NO luck with DE, but veggie oil works well.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Hi! This is my roughly 3 month old silkie, Beatrix. She's my very favorite and I can only keep hens. Unfortunately, I suspect that she is a cockerel because of how her crest sweeps back. Is it possible for a pullet this age to have such a crest? I've never had silkies before, so I'm not familiar with their feathering. Is the way her tail swoops just typical, or indicative of a cockerel? That's a pretty normal stance for her. She has the wrong type of comb (single instead of walnut) so I didn't include it in the photo. I know it's too early to be sure with a silkie, but if she was yours, would you suspect you had a little cockerel?

Thanks for looking

Sorry to say , but it looks like a cockerel to me.

 

[Adorkable]

These are 2 new babies. I let broodies sit on 6 silkie eggs and these were the 2 that I managed to save. All 6 hatched or were hatching, but the broodies killed them overnight... very sad and not a pretty sight. I put them under some of my LF. The one on the left was shrink wrapped and I managed to help it out and the one on the right I put in the bator and it hatched overnight. I prayed to the chicken gods for it to hatch so that the other will have a friend to grow up with. Notice the one on the left still has the umbilical cord.

 

[frannyglass]

Those babies are so sweet!

Sorry to say , but it looks like a cockerel to me.

Thanks for answering! I basically just wanted someone to um, confirm that. I really wish she would just crow so that I will stop holding out hope that I'm somehow wrong. Sigh.

Are size differences good ways to guess sex with young silkies? I have four 7 week olds that I got as day olds. They were the same size at the time. Two of the four are huge, almost twice the size of the other two. They've all been growing consistently and seem healthy, those two just shot up to their much bigger size within two weeks. The one giant chick definitely seems to have the attitude of a rooster. Anyway, I was just wondering if that means that I can guess that the size difference is possibly caused by two being cockerels, two being pullets, or if it's more likely that the size difference has nothing to do with sex, and those small ones are just as likely to be cockerels.

I have 6 silkie chicks, but of the older two I know that one is a cockerel and obviously strongly suspect that Beatrix is as well. Of the younger four I suspect that the two larger ones are, and I'm not positive that the smaller ones are not. I mostly just want to end up with two so that they each have a silkie friend, although I would have been happy with more. (not that I suspect that is even a possibility at this point)

 

[Fancychooklady]

These are 2 new babies. I let broodies sit on 6 silkie eggs and these were the 2 that I managed to save. All 6 hatched or were hatching, but the broodies killed them overnight... very sad and not a pretty sight. I put them under some of my LF. The one on the left was shrink wrapped and I managed to help it out and the one on the right I put in the bator and it hatched overnight. I prayed to the chicken gods for it to hatch so that the other will have a friend to grow up with. Notice the one on the left still has the umbilical cord.

Not all silkies are good mums. They are gorgeous, just leave the umbilical to crust and drop off.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Those babies are so sweet!




Thanks for answering! I basically just wanted someone to um, confirm that. I really wish she would just crow so that I will stop holding out hope that I'm somehow wrong. Sigh.

Are size differences good ways to guess sex with young silkies? I have four 7 week olds that I got as day olds. They were the same size at the time. Two of the four are huge, almost twice the size of the other two. They've all been growing consistently and seem healthy, those two just shot up to their much bigger size within two weeks. The one giant chick definitely seems to have the attitude of a rooster. Anyway, I was just wondering if that means that I can guess that the size difference is possibly caused by two being cockerels, two being pullets, or if it's more likely that the size difference has nothing to do with sex, and those small ones are just as likely to be cockerels.

I have 6 silkie chicks, but of the older two I know that one is a cockerel and obviously strongly suspect that Beatrix is as well. Of the younger four I suspect that the two larger ones are, and I'm not positive that the smaller ones are not. I mostly just want to end up with two so that they each have a silkie friend, although I would have been happy with more. (not that I suspect that is even a possibility at this point)

Depends largely on genetics as to size. I wouldn't rely on it for sexing, the old tried and true method of ' crow or egg ' is the only truly accurate way of sexing unless you are prepared to pay for DNA testing.

 

[Adorkable]

Quote:
So far my silkies have all, but 1 been pretty good mum, but these eggs were under some broody LF. What a terrible sight to find that in the morning.. I even had to cull a chick for the first time ever. Good thing I found a site that shows a quick and humane way to do it.

My one silkie that was a terrible mum hatched a baby in the winter and never called it underneath her or lifted up for the baby to get underneath her and it was really cold outside and the poor thing was peeping super loud. I felt bad for it and took it from her and gave it to another silkie that had 6 babies of her own.

Yah the cords usually just fall off on their own or the chicks themselves pick at it once its dry till it's all gone. Speaking of cords this chick in this pic (silkie from another hatch) really freaked me out...