Blood testing for silkies

[RCRanchGirl]

I have 2 silkies- about 5 weeks old. I really don’t want to get attached if one is a rooster. I came across the silkie lab. Any opinions of this site? I was planning on doing a blood sample.

Also what’s the earliest you’d be able to sex a silkie by looking at it? I’ve read sometimes it takes longer to hear one. I can’t have roosters so I’m concerned I’m gonna get too attached then find out later I can have one or both.

 

[Slothinc]

I have 2 silkies- about 5 weeks old. I really don’t want to get attached if one is a rooster. I came across the silkie lab. Any opinions of this site? I was planning on doing a blood sample.

Also what’s the earliest you’d be able to sex a silkie by looking at it? I’ve read sometimes it takes longer to hear one. I can’t have roosters so I’m concerned I’m gonna get too attached then find out later I can have one or both.

I have used The Silkie Lab multiple times for genetic testing. The owner, Danielle, is super sweet and knowledgeable. She has answered lots of my questions. I wouldn’t hesitate to test with her again, and have plans to do more testing in the future.

For your other question, I usually have a pretty good idea by 3-4 months old, more or less. Some boys mature early, that is the easiest call to make early on. It is the later maturing boys or early maturing girls that sometimes have me guessing for quite awhile.

 

[Slothinc]

Feel free to post some straight on photos of the comb, and some side shots of each bird. But likely at 5 weeks, it will be much too early to tell.

 

[RCRanchGirl]

The white one is bigger than the other too

Feel free to post some straight on photos of the comb, and some side shots of each bird. But likely at 5 weeks, it will be much too early to tell.

 

[Slothinc]

The white one is bigger than the other too

Both have suspiciously large looking combs at the moment. I would lean more towards both being cockerels, but again, it is hard at this age. I have one pullet right now (not pure silkie) who I thought was a boy the entire grow out phase. She is almost 6 months old now and definitely a girl, but I thought she was a boy for months.