5 silkies questions on gender and breeding

[DingDingChickenKing]

I recently got 5 silkies 3 or so days old that are about 6 weeks behind my current girls. I got them ungendered and was wondering a few things.
5 silkies
10 australorp hens
9 leghorn hens.

Am I to assume atleast one rooster? i was hoping to get atleast 1.
If i get a silkie rooster, would he cross with the leghorns and australorps? If so what kind of traits and egg production/meat can i expect?
Is there a way (even arbitrary and superstitious) to kinda look for generalized male/female traits?
They also seem to be much louder than my australorps or leghorns, is this normal? The white one will wake up, poop, eat, drink, then scream till someone woos and coddles them. Rinse and repeat.

I can get more photos. They are super zoomy too. They love to run compared to my other ones.

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

These chicks are way way way too young to tell gender.

 

[NatJ]

Am I to assume atleast one rooster? i was hoping to get atleast 1.

From 5 straight run silkie chicks, you are very likely to have at least one male.
But it's not guaranteed.

If i get a silkie rooster, would he cross with the leghorns and australorps?

Probably yes. Some bantam roosters have trouble mating with full-sized hens, but many do just fine.

If so what kind of traits and egg production/meat can i expect?

Traits: normal feathers, crest, feathered feet, 5th toe, probably a beard if the rooster has one. Daughters are likely to have dark skin and may have dark meat & bones too (I'm a little unclear on exactly how some of those genes interact, but I think it should show in the daughters only.)

Egg production: no guarantees, but likely poor to medium. There's a good chance that a silkie-cross hen will go broody repeatedly, and of course she doesn't lay eggs while broody.

Meat production: chicks from Silkie/Australorp are likely to grow rather slowly, and end up medium sized. Chicks from Silkie/Leghorn may grow more quickly, but will probably stop growing sooner, and have a smaller mature size. Of course you can eat any of them at any age, but compared to actual meat-type chickens they may be very disappointing.

Is there a way (even arbitrary and superstitious) to kinda look for generalized male/female traits?

Arbitrary and superstitious: whatever gender you most want a chick to be, it will be the other gender. This especially applies to friendly chicks, and chicks that belong to someone who cannot keep roosters.

Reliable: you can pay for DNA testing, or you can wait for crowing and/or mating (males), or egg laying (females). When they are a few months old, some people (not me) can tell sexes of Silkies by things like the shape of the crest.

DNA gender testing is available from here:
https://orders.iqbirdtesting.com/

 

[DingDingChickenKing]

These chicks are way way way too young to tell gender.

Oh no doubt! I didnt mean like a sure thing, I just mean at what chance can i start looking for mannerisms or some type of gentle signifier? It's not even a big deal if its wrong, me and my wife just like to guess.

From 5 straight run silkie chicks, you are very likely to have at least one male.
But it's not guaranteed.


Probably yes. Some bantam roosters have trouble mating with full-sized hens, but many do just fine.


Traits: normal feathers, crest, feathered feet, 5th toe, probably a beard if the rooster has one. Daughters are likely to have dark skin and may have dark meat & bones too (I'm a little unclear on exactly how some of those genes interact, but I think it should show in the daughters only.)

Egg production: no guarantees, but likely poor to medium. There's a good chance that a silkie-cross hen will go broody repeatedly, and of course she doesn't lay eggs while broody.

Meat production: chicks from Silkie/Australorp are likely to grow rather slowly, and end up medium sized. Chicks from Silkie/Leghorn may grow more quickly, but will probably stop growing sooner, and have a smaller mature size. Of course you can eat any of them at any age, but compared to actual meat-type chickens they may be very disappointing.


Arbitrary and superstitious: whatever gender you most want a chick to be, it will be the other gender. This especially applies to friendly chicks, and chicks that belong to someone who cannot keep roosters.

Reliable: you can pay for DNA testing, or you can wait for crowing and/or mating (males), or egg laying (females). When they are a few months old, some people (not me) can tell sexes of Silkies by things like the shape of the crest.

DNA gender testing is available from here:
https://orders.iqbirdtesting.com/

I really really appreciate the thorough answer! So if for eggs and food you would recommend getting maybe a rooster of a different breed? I have heard that silkie roo x hen anything will have females with dark skin and males with lighter skin, and that you can tell from birth usually what the chick would be. I don't know how true it is but i keep hearing similar things.

 

[Arelwood]

I would say your chances of getting a rooster out of the 5 are really good. I would say maybe even 2 or 3.

My silkies are very quiet, with the exception of one. She will make noise constantly. I feel like at this point she is self-soothing. Sometimes its louder, sometimes is softer, but it is CONSTANT. Unless she is drinking or unconscious. She even does it while eating.

There are tons of "tips" to sex silkies. All of them useless. It can be a fun game though. Tons and tons of posts here about them. Best ways are comb sexing and streamer feathers. But those don't show up until at least 5 weeks. Mine are 8 weeks and show no comb development and their head poofs are still pretty small. The only way to be certain is DNA test or watching them crow or drop an egg.

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

Oh no doubt! I didnt mean like a sure thing, I just mean at what chance can i start looking for mannerisms or some type of gentle signifier? It's not even a big deal if its wrong, me and my wife just like to guess.



I really really appreciate the thorough answer! So if for eggs and food you would recommend getting maybe a rooster of a different breed? I have heard that silkie roo x hen anything will have females with dark skin and males with lighter skin, and that you can tell from birth usually what the chick would be. I don't know how true it is but i keep hearing similar things.

Oh a guessing game let's see here....

 

[DingDingChickenKing]

I would say your chances of getting a rooster out of the 5 are really good. I would say maybe even 2 or 3.

My silkies are very quiet, with the exception of one. She will make noise constantly. I feel like at this point she is self-soothing. Sometimes its louder, sometimes is softer, but it is CONSTANT. Unless she is drinking or unconscious. She even does it while eating.

There are tons of "tips" to sex silkies. All of them useless. It can be a fun game though. Tons and tons of posts here about them. Best ways are comb sexing and streamer feathers. But those don't show up until at least 5 weeks. Mine are 8 weeks and show no comb development and their head poofs are still pretty small. The only way to be certain is DNA test or watching them crow or drop an egg.

Do you have any knowledge on cross breeding? I was interested in letting a roo, if i get one, go with the australorps and leghorns, then using (hopefully) a broody silkie girl to bring them up, then consume the older chickens or those who produce less.

Given this information? do you have anything to say or add? advice? Like you can be mean if you want.

NatJ made me wonder if a silkie rooster is the right way to go for eggs and meat. I originally wanted a silkie roo cause of how sweet i hear they are. I have some young children who visit and id like them to not be destroyed by a pack of angry fowl.

Id trade a few less eggs and a lb or so less meat for a good temperament bird though.

Oh a guessing game let's see here....

you got a game, im very interested in adding it to my routine? I'm just pointing randomly at them and saying with absolute certainty to my wife. She is awe struck at how sure i am.
I have no clue what im even saying.
"he is posturing like a dude, he's all aggressive, he has aggressive facial features"

My wife will flip if im right on even one and ignore the ones i was wrong on. I know its all bull till you get eggs or a crow with silkies.

 

[PippinTheChicken]

have you read my article?

Pippin's easy guide to silkie sexing

Hello there! When I hatched my own silkies, I studied and studied about how to sex them. I read that it was almost impossible to sex them, and that you had to wait for a crow or an egg. Raising and watching them helped me pick out certain traits that only belong to roosters or hens. These...

• PippinTheChicken
• Sep 2, 2021
• 4.53 star(s) 15 ratings
• Comments: 34
• Reviews: 11
• Category: Learning Center

 

[DingDingChickenKing]

have you read my article?

Pippin's easy guide to silkie sexing

Hello there! When I hatched my own silkies, I studied and studied about how to sex them. I read that it was almost impossible to sex them, and that you had to wait for a crow or an egg. Raising and watching them helped me pick out certain traits that only belong to roosters or hens. These...

• PippinTheChicken
• Sep 2, 2021
• 4.53 star(s) 15 ratings
• Comments: 34
• Reviews: 11
• Category: Learning Center

I just read it end to end.

That weight thing i hear for a million things all the time, being in Kentucky you hear weight swinging for everything from human gender to whether gold or mushrooms exist around.

If you have anything else you'd want to scream at someone who is just starting with the silkies, scream at me. please. I'm a sponge.

Whats your opinions on crossbreeding silkie roos with (_____) hens?

 

[PippinTheChicken]

I just read it end to end.

That weight thing i hear for a million things all the time, being in Kentucky you hear weight swinging for everything from human gender to whether gold or mushrooms exist around.

If you have anything else you'd want to scream at someone who is just starting with the silkies, scream at me. please. I'm a sponge.

Whats your opinions on crossbreeding silkie roos with (_____) hens?

I'm not an expert on breeding, but @MysteryChicken would be able to help you