Hen or Roo?

  • 🐣 Patsy - Hen

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 🐓 Patsy - Roo

    Votes: 2 50.0%
  • 🐣 Eddie - Hen

    Votes: 3 75.0%
  • 🐓 Eddie - Roo

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 🐣 Jacks - Hen

    Votes: 3 75.0%
  • 🐓 Jacks - Roo

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    4
Silkies are particularly difficult when trying to distinguish gender for several reasons, so it usually takes much longer with them. The reasons include the dark skin color. On regular chicks, you can detect early reddening of the comb as a sign of a male, but this is impossible with Silkies. Bearded Silkies won't show much or any wattle growth, so you cannot use that as a guide. Another reason is that it is very difficult to detect male specific feathering on Silkie plumage.

All of that said, there are only two reliable ways to determine gender early. One is vent sexing, which should be left to professionals as it is very, very easy to harm or kill the chicks if it's tried at home. The other way is to send in fluff samples to a lab, which can accurately determine gender for a fee. For people who really, really need to know, this is what I recommend.

Otherwise, you just have to wait and keep your eyes on the combs. Males will generally get some height to their combs by 8 weeks, and their combs are usually wider. Females will have flat combs until much later, and they are generally narrower.

I personally don't put any stock in feather sexing. It can work if it is specifically and scientifically bred for, as in Amberlinks, but otherwise it is of no use as far as I'm concerned. So basically you either pay or learn to be very patient.
Thanks so much for the reply! I have been doing a lot of research and I just really loved the week by week journeys I saw others post. It's great to have these resources, despite how inaccurate they may be... it's really fun to guess and of course hear people's opinions!

I have read about vent sexing and yeah would never attempt, while it's nice to know, it's kinda selfish to risk harming them for something so trivial! 😅

About to post week three!
 
WEEK THREE - 25th September 2024.

EDIT TO OG POST: I know we can't accurately sex silkies this early, but I found other week by week threads really interesting... So this is just a bit of chick fun!

I have added week three photos, and the little peepers now all have very distinct personalities, so I will share for extra insight into the guesses.

Patsy:
The biggest (39g egg*). 'She' is the most dominant, boisterous, curious and nosey. No problem being held, and is quite sweet. Although if I come to the brooder she will charge over to me and has even thrown herself at the walls for attention. She has a very proud, long strided walk and thicker/bigger legs than the others, also more feathers on the feet. Comb looks bigger and more "U" shaped... Gives me roo vibes lol

Eddie: A big cuddler and so sweet, but hates being picked up in the wrong way and screams if you don’t hold her feet when you do 🤣 Although 'she' will happily very peacefully snuggle up and cuddle you as long as she can. Very docile (apart from the screaming LOL) Hard to tell on comb shape, but looks more V than U to me for now.
(36g egg*.)

Jacks: The smallest (28g egg*) and sweetest baby. Very curious but super chill, quiet and calm. 'She' is curious and loves checking everything out but not as intently as Patsy. No problem being picked up and loves sitting with you for a snuggle to watch tv... Loves to cuddle almost as much as Eddie. Comb looks V shaped to me.

*egg weights on lockdown day.

@talkinboutchickens @JedJackson @Logar
 

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They are so cute!! Patsy, based on it's personality and appearance, looks like a male. But the other two look like females to me!
How do you tell Patsy and Eddie apart?? 🤣 I would never be able to tell if it wasn't for the names on each of the images lol.
@talkinboutchickens Agreed! Roo vibes have been had 🤣

Patsy and Eddie were SO HARD to tell apart at first... they're like little twins 🤣. Although there were TINY differences that I don't think I would have noticed if I didn't watch them hatch, for example, Eddie's beak was slightly bigger. It was harder when they fluffed up, and I could only tell when they were next to each other. Although after a few days they were definitely easier, but no one else in the house could tell 😂.

Now, Eddie is has a black feather spot coming through on her back...(You can kinda see it in the side angle photo) I think she will be splash. I have a feeling Patsy will be too. They come from a mainly splash flock and she does have some one or two really small black feathers coming in but not as big as Eddies one.

Their personalities also make it easy now!! Hahaha
 
@talkinboutchickens Agreed! Roo vibes have been had 🤣

Patsy and Eddie were SO HARD to tell apart at first... they're like little twins 🤣. Although there were TINY differences that I don't think I would have noticed if I didn't watch them hatch, for example, Eddie's beak was slightly bigger. It was harder when they fluffed up, and I could only tell when they were next to each other. Although after a few days they were definitely easier, but no one else in the house could tell 😂.

Now, Eddie is has a black feather spot coming through on her back...(You can kinda see it in the side angle photo) I think she will be splash. I have a feeling Patsy will be too. They come from a mainly splash flock and she does have some one or two really small black feathers coming in but not as big as Eddies one.

Their personalities also make it easy now!! Hahaha
Oooh! I can't wait to see what Eddie will look like when she is older.
It was harder when they fluffed up, and I could only tell when they were next to each other. Although after a few days they were definitely easier, but no one else in the house could tell 😂.
Omg it's so funny that you say that because I have two white rocks, both 3 yrs old now and me and someone else in my fam are the ONLY two people that can tell them apart. I've also learned how to tell my chicken's voices apart lol. I will just be in my house minding my business, and I will hear a chicken's voice nearby, and I immediately know who it is lol
 
Oooh! I can't wait to see what Eddie will look like when she is older.

Omg it's so funny that you say that because I have two white rocks, both 3 yrs old now and me and someone else in my fam are the ONLY two people that can tell them apart. I've also learned how to tell my chicken's voices apart lol. I will just be in my house minding my business, and I will hear a chicken's voice nearby, and I immediately know who it is lol
It’s so funny how they have their own little personalities and voices 🤣

I haven’t managed to distinguish their chirps yet but I guess they’re probably not so different being so young… (except for Eddies screaming LOL) you know I’ll be listening out for it now you’ve said though. 🤣
 
WEEK FOUR - 2nd October 2024.

Good morning from the Peeper Palace kids on their one month birthday! 🎂

They're growing so much, and their colours are starting to change.

Patsy still appears cream
Eddie looks a bit yellower with one big defined black spot on her back and a couple sparse single black feather strands coming through. Maybe paint?
And Jacks... well, if anyone has any guesses I'd love to hear them as I am stumped, she looks like she's turning reverse leopard 😆
 

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WEEK FOUR - 2nd October 2024.

Good morning from the Peeper Palace kids on their one month birthday! 🎂

They're growing so much, and their colours are starting to change.

Patsy still appears cream
Eddie looks a bit yellower with one big defined black spot on her back and a couple sparse single black feather strands coming through. Maybe paint?
And Jacks... well, if anyone has any guesses I'd love to hear them as I am stumped, she looks like she's turning reverse leopard 😆
Happy 1 month birthday little babies!!!! I'm so proud of your growth❤️
Happy Birthday Party GIF by curly_mads

Poor little Jacks in his awkward "fluff replacing normal feathers" stage😂 How does that work with silkies though? When they are babies, do they just keep all their fluff throughout their life or do they get a bit more thicker fluff?? Sorry if I'm confusing you😅
 
Happy 1 month birthday little babies!!!! I'm so proud of your growth❤️
Happy Birthday Party GIF by curly_mads

Poor little Jacks in his awkward "fluff replacing normal feathers" stage😂 How does that work with silkies though? When they are babies, do they just keep all their fluff throughout their life or do they get a bit more thicker fluff?? Sorry if I'm confusing you😅
“She’s” looking a little better now, I’m looking forward to my next update in a couple of days 😅

They do replace their fluff, and have actual feathers too but just turn into bigger floooof balls 🤣
 
WEEK FIVE - 9th October 2024.

Good morning on week five... The little babies are looking a lot better than last week (mainly Jacks who has now lost a lot of her "spots" LOL)

This update is kind of long, as I have tried to provide as much context as I can and break up sections! Sorry in advance!

Behaviour:
They started chest bumping this week... it seems to be mainly Patsy instigating with Eddie, but all three get involved here and there, Jacks least.

  • Patsy: Still carrying on bossy and curious, I am quite sure she is a roo from behaviour but you just never bloody know!
  • Jacks: The middle ground of both... curious, chilled and cuddly. Doesn't really get as involved on the chest bumping as the other two but still does it.
  • Eddie: Still the cuddliest and most timid. (Although I have also seen her grab Patsy by the chest and not let go when Patsy stole some food from her, so not all timid!) She crouches down when you move her or hold her as I have read the girls do. She is the noisiest and peeps a lot, although silent when sitting with me... getting better with the screaming when I pick her up 🤣

I weighed them today, so I'm supplying that for comparison/growth vs their lockdown day egg weight for more context!

Patsy:
  • At hatch: Approx 35g
  • At five weeks: 132g
  • Approx gain: 277%
Her comb is the widest and most U shaped... seems it has a raised bump at the top which I think could be a roo indication? The comb is still not longer than her mouth from what I can see... There are two parallel ridges on either side of the comb forming. I don't know if this means anything. I provided two different images of the combs in different lights for all of them for a better view.

Jacks:
  • At hatch: Approx 24g
  • At five weeks: 121g
  • Approx gain: 404%
'Her' comb is thinner than the others, but not a V shaped point at the top? I don't know whether I am looking at the general thickness/shape or the shape of the top point of the comb (or both!) for the U vs V identification... Her comb seems smoother and doesn't appear to have the parallel ridges like Patsy and Eddie.

Eddie:
  • At hatch: Approx 32g
  • At five weeks: 108g
  • Approx gain: 237%
Interesting Eddie is growing the slowest... could this mean pullet or maybe just a smaller chick? I did catch Patsy pushing her out of the way for food yesterday, so I took her out and hand fed her. I am now keeping an eye on this in case this is happening more often than I am seeing. My feeling is it could account for her constant peeping.

Her comb I think is more V... she has the same parallel ridges as Patsy. Hard to see in the photos but again two for reference. I'd say she's giving me girl vibes.

My thoughts:

I've been convinced each one was a roo at one point or another... and then I change my mind again 🤪 It's going to be a long wait to find out, but I'm looking forward to seeing if any of these tiny indicators hold any weight for these guys 😊

Looking forward to hearing insights/predictions/guesses this week if anyone is into it!

@talkinboutchickens @Logar @JedJackson @ANYONE ELSE 🤣
 

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