4 Week Old Silkie: Roo or Pullet?

[Aspen Anderson]

I'm super new to this, so I hope I'm doing this right, but I got a silkie chick a while ago and just assumed "she" was a hen because I heard the place I got her from had a 90% hen rate. However, I recently discovered their bantams are a straight run and now I'm a little nervous.

I'm still so hoping she's actually a she, but I have also heard that it's super difficult to tell the gender of a silkie. Can I get any second opinions?

I hope the pictures are good enough!

(P.S. She's about 4 weeks. I'm not 100% sure.)

 

[Hybridchucks]

the pictures are amazing well done! She looks female but might be too young to tell.....
and

 

[ChickNanny13]

Yours looks to be "too young" to determine just yet, Silkies are harder to sex, how old is yours? Once fully "feathered" watch the feathering at the top of it's head, pullets are round while cockerels are pointy. Love the coloring.

 

[Aspen Anderson]

Yours looks to be "too young" to determine just yet, Silkies are harder to sex, how old is yours? Once fully "feathered" watch the feathering at the top of it's head, pullets are round while cockerels are pointy. Love the coloring.

I wondered if it was too young. I'm guessing she's about 4 weeks.
Thanks for the tips! I'll keep an eye on her feathers.

 

[Aspen Anderson]

the pictures are amazing well done! She looks female but might be too young to tell.....
and

Thank you!

 

[JaeG]

With my group of silkies I could tell my one boy for sure by the end of week 8 when he started getting wattles and his comb became more prominent. I was pretty sure it was a boy by it's behaviour. It was always standing up tall and straight and was more anxious than the other three. It also started mounting the broody we'd given them to quite early!

 

[Liv_loves_chickens]

I think it is to young to tell, silkies are very hard to sex.

 

[Aspen Anderson]

With my group of silkies I could tell my one boy for sure by the end of week 8 when he started getting wattles and his comb became more prominent. I was pretty sure it was a boy by it's behaviour. It was always standing up tall and straight and was more anxious than the other three. It also started mounting the broody we'd given them to quite early!

So by 8 weeks I should be able to tell?

 

[JaeG]

So by 8 weeks I should be able to tell?

It does depend on their breeding, and bearded silkies are apparently very difficult to tell (I don't think your cutie is bearded but I'm no expert). I've read of people being unsure until their birds were 7-9 months old! And some don't start laying until they are over a year old! Some strains are very slow to mature.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you - I know what it's like to not be able to keep boys and it's tough.

One thing I just found as I was looking through my photos - I don't know if it was just mine, but my male had a real pompom of a tail, whereas the girls were very straight. Here are some photos taken at 8 weeks for comparison, though I started to notice it at 6 weeks old:

 

[drumstick diva]

JaeG are your silkies large fowl? In USA we have bantam silkies. I wonder if that makes a difference in determining early gender.

The show breeder my friend got her silkies from would not sell before 4-5 mos. and guaranteed they were pullets, they were.

My friend who had silkies going back many years, rescued a 5 mos. old that was "a pullet." It started crowing a couple days later.