10 week Silkie gender reveal 💙

[GardenState38]

The jig is up. I have at least one Silkie cockerel. He crowed this morning, at 10 weeks old. A quiet crow, but a crow nonetheless.
I suspect they will get louder and more frequent?
The lack of wattles was giving me a shred of hope, but the puffy comb and fully feathered feet …and constant sparring with the OEG cockerel were telling me otherwise. No sign of streamers yet, but this is my first experience with Silkies.
I just hope my other is a pullet!
This is what a male looks like at 10, 1 and ~6 weeks…

 

[MysteryChicken]

The jig is up. I have at least one Silkie cockerel. He crowed this morning, at 10 weeks old. A quiet crow, but a crow nonetheless.
I suspect they will get louder and more frequent?
The lack of wattles was giving me a shred of hope, but the puffy comb and fully feathered feet …and constant sparring with the OEG cockerel were telling me otherwise. No sign of streamers yet, but this is my first experience with Silkies.
I just hope my other is a pullet!
This is what a male looks like at 10, 1 and ~6 weeks…

View attachment 2728787View attachment 2728792View attachment 2728799

He's bearded, so wattles won't be present.

He's cute.

 

[GardenState38]

He's bearded, so wattles won't be present.

He's cute.

I didn’t know that! Everything I read just said “wattles are harder to see on bearded chicks” So, I figured they’d still appear but be hidden behind the beard. Not a lot of clear, scientific info out there regarding chick sexing (and not just for Silkies), and a lot of caveats… I mean, what exactly IS the probability that your sparring, crowing chick turns out to be a hen? Yet, they are so many tales about it, nothing seems certain
This guy is so sweet and friendly! I’m not allowed roosters, but I’m trying to figure out a way…

 

[Rhodebar Lover]

Yep, he's a cockerel!

 

[MysteryChicken]

I didn’t know that! Everything I read just said “wattles are harder to see on bearded chicks” So, I figured they’d still appear but be hidden behind the beard. Not a lot of clear, scientific info out there regarding chick sexing (and not just for Silkies), and a lot of caveats… I mean, what exactly IS the probability that your sparring, crowing chick turns out to be a hen? Yet, they are so many tales about it, nothing seems certain
This guy is so sweet and friendly! I’m not allowed roosters, but I’m trying to figure out a way…

I've had pullets, crow, & Spar with both sexes.

 

[Miniflock]

I didn’t know that! Everything I read just said “wattles are harder to see on bearded chicks” So, I figured they’d still appear but be hidden behind the beard. Not a lot of clear, scientific info out there regarding chick sexing (and not just for Silkies), and a lot of caveats… I mean, what exactly IS the probability that your sparring, crowing chick turns out to be a hen? Yet, they are so many tales about it, nothing seems certain
This guy is so sweet and friendly! I’m not allowed roosters, but I’m trying to figure out a way…

So hard to let them go when they are cuddly! I have to cull a few cockerels who have the BEST personalities. ☹

 

[GardenState38]

So hard to let them go when they are cuddly! I have to cull a few cockerels who have the BEST personalities. ☹

Last year I rehomed two Easter Eggers to a rooster sanctuary, where they are living in a “bachelor flock”. Broke my heart. They were, and still are, like lap dogs! I couldn’t do yardwork without the one guy flying up to perch on my shoulder. I felt like a pirate!
I swore I’d never do straight run again, but wanted to save a chick at the feedstore that had pasty butt, and had to buy a minumum of 4 bantam chicks. At least the pasty butt chick is a pullet (and doing well) I think I broke even—two pullets and two cockerels.