Determining the Gender of Teenage Silkies

[Lynzi777]

Hi to answer your question id say don't go by the waddles go by the shape of the crest. My girls all have tiny waddles. Even the bearded .but the crest is a dead give away. Male crests look more swooped back while female crests are more rounded like a pom pom. Look from the side view and as young as 8 weeks you can see this difference. Although
males can have a rounded appearance from the front or back view when looking from a side view you can usually see a swooped back crest. We call it the "Elvis" look. Where as compared to the females side view she will look very round in the crest very early in age. This method has worked very well for me. However they must be at least 8 weeks old to determine this trait. At around 8 weeks you can pretty much tell by using this method. Male crests ALWAYS, swoop toward the back looking at the side view. The higher quality silkie male can have a very rounded apperarence from back and front view but even in higher quality birds the side view of the male crest will swoop back and not be exactly round from the side view. As I said at about two months old this trait will be obvious from the side. By using this method ive been pretty dead on with my sexing at around 8 weeks. Hope this helps. This is the method I use. Its been pretty accurate. Best wishes. This method of course only works on silkies.

I've noticed this a lot with my silkies. Even my little dark blue or black (I still can't tell) chick is starting to have that swooped back crest. :-( can't catch a break on the Roos.

 

[realsis]

Yes I know how you feel. Last year I went through several roos myself raising babies. You can spot those roos as early as 8 weeks old. The girls ALWAYS have that pom pom Crest from the side view and males side view are ALWAYS swooped backward. Reason I say side view is sometimes
from thpe front and back males can appear rounded
but its the side view that always gives them away as
roos. My family calls it the " Elvis" look. I hope your luck changes and you get some more girls soon.i wish you the best. . This little trick can be pretty helpful in determining the sex of a silkie. They are trickie little boogers to sex but this usually works pretty well. Remember they must be at least 8 weeks for this method to work. Before that they really are too young to tell because the crest isn't really developed well yet. once you get this method down pat you will be able to spot those males pretty easily. Hope I helped. Best wishes.

 

[Lynzi777]

Here is my little black chick (I think it's black) at 8wks old today...looks like he has the "Elvis look" lol

 

[realsis]

I can't see him close enough to tell can you get another picture of his or her profile? I tried to zoom in but couldn't. From what I can see it does look like hes getting that swooped back look and possibly some streamers coming. Streamers are another male trait. But on this one id have to see a bit more closely to be positive. But it does look swooped back. Here is a picture of a female crest side view.

 

[realsis]

She moved a bit so I didn't get exactly side view but you can see what I'm saying about roundness.

 

[realsis]

Here's another pic female crest

its more perfectly round

 

[Lynzi777]

Here's another pic female crest its more perfectly round

Yea thats what my hen's crest looks like. Here is another pic of this little one...

 

[realsis]

Oh yes id say male. He does have that elvis look now I can see him clearly. My guess would be male also. your right it does swoop backward. It was hard to tell in first pic but now I can defiantly see it. He sure is a cutie!