I ordered 25 silkie chicks from Cackle and some of the chicks have bigger crests on their head then others. They are a few days old. Does the bigger crest determine if it is a pullet or cockeral?
For mine it did but they came from a breeder with show quality stock not a hatchery. Sometimes with hatchery chicks some just don't get impressive crests in general. My roosters have taller crests where my girls have shorter rounder crests. The boys also have clear streamer feathers in the necks. I had to wait 7-8 weeks though to even notice this. As newborns they all pretty much looked the same. Both my boys confirmed to me they were roosters when they both started to crow. That is the 100% determiner for roosters and hens in silkies. My two I suspect are hens are too little to lay but neither have started to crow and both my roosters have been crowing for about a week now. Might have to sit on your hands and wait it out for a while. It sucks but I found with silkies and gendering patience is key.
I've never heard of crest size distinguishing gender. Crests depend more on each individual bird's genetics.
crests semi-depend on size of comb. Well bred females often have very full, rounded crests. Whereas the males that have huge, bulgy combs infringing on the space for crests, will have less crest in the front, and more in the back
pretty much my boys and girls right there. Big round crests on the ladies and the guys don't have the front cover like my hens do and are set back more.
