Silkies

[monracademyboy]

tHow can you tell a cockerel silkie from a hen silkie

 

[Barn Mama]

Usually the cockerel is larger, they have a broad circular comb as well as a medium sized upright crest,and they have larger earlobes.

the hen on the other hand is smaller they have very small combs and medium sized globular crests, and they have smaller earlobes.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Boy:

Comb is larger, crest swept back (if you look at the back of the crest you'll see streamers- feathers that are slightly longer than the rest), my guy also likes to walk around with his chest puffed out. He thinks he's the poo.
Girls:

Combs are virtually nonexistent, crests are nice and round, and they're very squatty- much lower to the ground then my roo.
Nikki

 

[realsis]

Hi I have all silkies and by around three months you can tell cockerels from pullets. All my males had one thing in common. A swept back looking crest. You can see the difference from the side view of the bird. My last cockerel looked round from the back view and front view however if you look at the crest from the side you will notice the hair looks more swept back as the pullets are absoultely perfectly round and full even at a fairly young age. There are other signs to but i wouldn'tgo by the comb.my last cockerel at 3 months had a non existant comb.however he DID have the swept back hair from side profile. Go online and google silkie cockerels and you will see what I'm saying here. Than google silkie pullets. You will notice on the pullets the crest or head hair is perfectly round and quite large! The better the quality the more difficult to distinguish the male from female however the males still from the side view will have a slightly swept back crest. The females don't have this. It might look round from back or front but the side view really gives it away. You also might notice a larger space where the comb will be developing.but its difficult to really notice. In my opnion yes you CAN tell the difference.by the time my birds we're around 3to4 monthsold i could tell the difference by the tell tale swept back side view. And i guessed the cockerels correctly from that. Sure enough they all crowed sooner or later. Your pullets will be much rounder crested. Like a perfect pom pom. Of course later the cockerel will develop streamers from the head and spurs, different tail, large comb, ect. But as they are young they won't have these signs yet.so i go by the head hair or crest. Look online at a few pictures and you will see the differences. Espically that swept back crest. Its easier to see from there side view. I hope this helps.Silkies are great birds. Very loving, docile, friendly, trusting birds. I just love mine they bring great joy to my life! Are you going to get a silkie? Hope this helps out.