4 Week Old Silkie: Roo or Pullet?

[JaeG]

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.

Hi DD, we only have the bantams here but a very limited gene pool so none are of the quality I have seen round this site. I think all the ones I've seen for sale as pullets were never more than 4 months old. And there are strictly no bird imports to NZ to protect all our critically endangered native birds, so no hope of more genes to add.

There is one breeder I've found who is creating bearded silkies and cuckoo silkies. Another has created standard cochins (that breed was never here) and she has very pretty d'uccle, though again, nothing compared to the ones you guys have.

My little male was bossy and horrid from a young age so I was very glad when he started crowing (the breeder wouldn't take him back until he did). Not good rooster material! Unfortunately I think he was overly bossy when it came to food as 2 of his sister's suddenly got skinny and died, so that was a hard lesson for us all.

 

[Rachm1]

Guesses on this little one? So sweet, but a little worried by how tall he/she stands. 4-5 weeks. I know it's early to tell but the suspense is killing me. Out of seven chicks I only have one that im not questioning whether it's a cockerel.

 

[Aspen Anderson]

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:

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Alright thank you! Now I know what to keep an eye out for. I have noticed my silkie's tail is a bit puffy, but she/he's still little, so I'm still hoping!

 

[Aspen Anderson]

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:

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Hey so I took some more pictures today. After you sharing your picture of your little roo silkie with the fluffy tail, I started getting super nervous because my little one has a fluffy tail, too (granted mine is quite younger). I took some pictures of her/his tail to see if that would help. She/he still might be too young, but I thought I'd try just in case.

My silkie is also a bantam (most likely not bearded), though I'm not sure if that makes a difference. Something else I've noticed is the way she/he stands. She/he stands more like a hen (low to the ground) than a rooster (higher), but I don't know if that's always 100% accurate. It still might be too early to tell but, like I said, I thought it wouldn't hurt to give it a try.

Thanks a bunch for your help, by the way! Whether or not you can tell, your responses have been appreciated. =)

 

[JaeG]

Hey so I took some more pictures today. After you sharing your picture of your little roo silkie with the fluffy tail, I started getting super nervous because my little one has a fluffy tail, too (granted mine is quite younger). I took some pictures of her/his tail to see if that would help. She/he still might be too young, but I thought I'd try just in case.

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My silkie is also a bantam (most likely not bearded), though I'm not sure if that makes a difference. Something else I've noticed is the way she/he stands. She/he stands more like a hen (low to the ground) than a rooster (higher), but I don't know if that's always 100% accurate. It still might be too early to tell but, like I said, I thought it wouldn't hurt to give it a try.

Thanks a bunch for your help, by the way! Whether or not you can tell, your responses have been appreciated. =)

To me your baby's tail is looking like my girls did - see how the tail strands (for want of a better word) are straight out or sloping downwards. My boys was sticking out every which way with hardly any feathering around the base making him look like he had a bunny rabbit pompom tail.

This is him at 5 weeks old and his sister for comparison. There's not a huge difference at this age but it slowly got more noticeable.


And these ones are when he was 8 weeks old and he got a hint of colour in his comb and sprouted little wattles. He was quite light skinned so I think that made it easier to see a change.


But, as I said, some take ages to reveal themselves, which is very difficult when you are already very attached to them.

 

[JaeG]

Guesses on this little one? So sweet, but a little worried by how tall he/she stands. 4-5 weeks. I know it's early to tell but the suspense is killing me. Out of seven chicks I only have one that im not questioning whether it's a cockerel. View attachment 556527View attachment 556528View attachment 556529

I would be a little bit suspicious if it stands tall and straight most of the time but it's still very young so it could turn out to be a girl. I had two cochin bantams I was convinced were boys because they were so friendly and cuddly, as compared to a previous time we'd hatched where the girls were very shy (the eggs were from the same breeder). Turns out they were just very extroverted girls! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you as it's a beautiful bird. Could you keep it if it is a boy?

 

[Rachm1]

I would be a little bit suspicious if it stands tall and straight most of the time but it's still very young so it could turn out to be a girl. I had two cochin bantams I was convinced were boys because they were so friendly and cuddly, as compared to a previous time we'd hatched where the girls were very shy (the eggs were from the same breeder). Turns out they were just very extroverted girls! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you as it's a beautiful bird. Could you keep it if it is a boy?

Thanks! I can and will keep it if it's a boy because it's so sweet, but I have a feeling I'm going to have to get rid of a couple roosters. My Cochin is a cockerel and it's seeming like my turken and polish are as well, but still waiting . I'll prob ask on this thread again in several weeks just to see what you all think.

 

[Aspen Anderson]

To me your baby's tail is looking like my girls did - see how the tail strands (for want of a better word) are straight out or sloping downwards. My boys was sticking out every which way with hardly any feathering around the base making him look like he had a bunny rabbit pompom tail.

This is him at 5 weeks old and his sister for comparison. There's not a huge difference at this age but it slowly got more noticeable.
View attachment 934600 View attachment 936727

And these ones are when he was 8 weeks old and he got a hint of colour in his comb and sprouted little wattles. He was quite light skinned so I think that made it easier to see a change.
View attachment 935428 View attachment 935440 View attachment 935451

But, as I said, some take ages to reveal themselves, which is very difficult when you are already very attached to them.

Okay thank you so much! Now I've got more hope that my silkie's a hen!

Your silkies are adorable, by the way. =D

 

[rlhagan56]

In my limited experience, Silkies I got from one lady had me guessing until they were 13 months! The next shipment a year later from another lady, I could definitely tell by 8 weeks. Now 6 months later I was correct on every one. I just hatched two chicks 7 weeks ago from the first ladies Silkies crossed with the second ladies Silkies. I could tell at 4 weeks one was a cockerel and the other was a pullet lol. These last two at 5 weeks took care of a batch of Brahma chicks I got just like little mothers lol. It's the cutest thing!

 

[Rachm1]

Guesses on this one? Almost 8 weeks.