Can anyone tell me the gender and or breed of my little 4 week old silkie cross darling?

[NatJ]

Updated pics of my baby

This baby is only 5 weeks

That comb is getting rather large and red for a chick that is only 5 weeks old.
You might have a male, but I would keep watching for a while longer, before being completely sure.

You can't sex Silkies until they're about 9 weeks old (or 3 months old) but, it might be a pullet, like another person said.

For actual Silkies with black skin and a big crest, I would agree that is generally true.
But part-Silkie mixes can sometimes (not always) be sexed earlier.

Edit to add: and 9 weeks is about 2 months. Three months would be 12-13 weeks.

 

[Brookie-09]

That comb is getting rather large and red for a chick that is only 5 weeks old.
You might have a male, but I would keep watching for a while longer, before being completely sure.


For actual Silkies with black skin and a big crest, I would agree that is generally true.
But part-Silkie mixes can sometimes (not always) be sexed earlier.

Edit to add: and 9 weeks is about 2 months. Three months would be 12-13 weeks.

Thank you Nat. The baby has a silkie dad and either a Japanese bantam mum or a polish mum, I’m not sure. Is there any other things to look for that may indicate a rooster?

 

[NatJ]

Thank you Nat. The baby has a silkie dad and either a Japanese bantam mum or a polish mum, I’m not sure. Is there any other things to look for that may indicate a rooster?

At this age, it's mostly the size of the comb and wattles, and how red they are. The faster they get big and red, the more likely the chick is a male.

As it gets older, a male will grow long skinny saddle feathers (just in front of the tail), that eventually hang down on both sides. Those often start to show up around 12 weeks, but can be earlier or quite a bit later. Females have rounded feathers in that area, and so do young chicks of both genders. One reason Silkies are so hard to sex is that the feather shape is not very visible. Mixes with normal-textured feathers (like yours) are usually easier.

Males usually start to crow at some point (often between 2 months and 4 months, but some wait 6-8 months and a rare few start even younger than your chick is now).

Eventually females lay eggs, but most chickens show their gender before they get that far

 

[Brookie-09]

At this age, it's mostly the size of the comb and wattles, and how red they are. The faster they get big and red, the more likely the chick is a male.

As it gets older, a male will grow long skinny saddle feathers (just in front of the tail), that eventually hang down on both sides. Those often start to show up around 12 weeks, but can be earlier or quite a bit later. Females have rounded feathers in that area, and so do young chicks of both genders. One reason Silkies are so hard to sex is that the feather shape is not very visible. Mixes with normal-textured feathers (like yours) are usually easier.

Males usually start to crow at some point (often between 2 months and 4 months, but some wait 6-8 months and a rare few start even younger than your chick is now).

Eventually females lay eggs, but most chickens show their gender before they get that far

Thank you for your response. It’s given me some great information. So far baby has no wattles and the comb is turning a dark mulberry colour on top? Either way, I will love this little baby because I have raised it from a week old and it is just the sweetest little thing, follows me everywhere and always lays on me for cuddles
I‘m so impatient, but time will tell I guess

 

[NatJ]

Thank you for your response. It’s given me some great information. So far baby has no wattles and the comb is turning a dark mulberry colour on top?

Some chickens have much smaller wattles than others, so sometimes the wattles are quite hard to see. Yes, sometimes the combs turn odd colors, especially with Silkie-crosses who have dark skin.

 

[Brookie-09]

Updated pics chick is now 6 weeks
Any guesses on whether mum was a polish or Japanese bantam?

 

[NatJ]

Updated pics chick is now 6 weeks
Any guesses on whether mum was a polish or Japanese bantam?

It looks like the chick might be male, and it definitely has dark legs. A dark-legged male must have a dark-legged mother. In the photo you posted earlier, I couldn't see the color of the legs on the Japanese. If the Japanese has light legs, a dark-legged male could not be her son.

But if the Japanese does have dark legs, or if the chick turns out female after all, then either hen could still be the mother.

I would expect a bigger crest if the mother was Polish, so if I ignore the leg color I would think the Japanese bantam is more likely to be the mother.

 

[Brookie-09]

It looks like the chick might be male, and it definitely has dark legs. A dark-legged male must have a dark-legged mother. In the photo you posted earlier, I couldn't see the color of the legs on the Japanese. If the Japanese has light legs, a dark-legged male could not be her son.

But if the Japanese does have dark legs, or if the chick turns out female after all, then either hen could still be the mother.

I would expect a bigger crest if the mother was Polish, so if I ignore the leg color I would think the Japanese bantam is more likely to be the mother.

Thank you again for sharing your knowledge, I am learning a lot from you. The Japanese have light legs so if my chick is a male then his mum is the polish hen. So interesting.

 

[Brookie-09]

Update: My little darling tried to crow twice today. The guessing game is over. I have a little rooster

 

[NatJ]

Update: My little darling tried to crow twice today. The guessing game is over. I have a little rooster

Well, that definitely answers the gender question!

The Japanese have light legs so if my chick is a male then his mum is the polish hen.

And now that you are sure of his gender, you can also be sure of his mother. With dark legs, he must be the son of the dark-legged Polish hen, not the light-legged Japanese hen.