help me choose which 18 week old silkie roo to keep

[lurky]

Michele, i had been given 4 silkies summer 07 and 3 were splash and one blue. I posted pics on here in hopes someone would tell me they were girls

And it worked

All the BYC silkie experts told me they looked like girls........it wasnt until about 5 mos old that a few streamers shot out to let me know i would not be able to keep them all. Until then, it was really hard to tell. I think mostly we see what we want to see as long as we possibly can........which is alot of times when they crow

But hey....nothing wrong with thinking positive

............... right????

I also find that the really nice looking silkies are sooooo fluffy that it makes it hard to tell until later.

 

[ajablu]

Lurky, You are right! The more fluffy they are the harder to tell! But I agree, I am thinking positive that one of my 5 younger ones MUST be a pullet!!!!

I can't possibly have all roos... right??? Oh well... I have to find myself some nice pullets . I will have all roos and no ladies for them.
Four of my five younger ones are splash and one is a blue.
I love all the colors and would love to add a few whites, blacks and buffs. My daughter wants a partridge too.
Michele

 

[LilPeeps]

I like the type on the first one, but I like the second ones wings, I'd say keep the first two.

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

Roo A - Good top knot, good wings. Tail could use improvment, and foot feathering is lacking.

Roo B - Good top knot, good wings, good foot feathering. Tail could use improvement, back is a little long.

Roo C - Appears to have split wing, small tail, long back, lacking in foot feathering.

Based on the above comparison, I would say to keep Roo B and improve on his type. Overall, he has the best potential.

Hope it helps!

 

[tiki244]

I am new to silkies too and I think they are all beautiful. They do have really nice shapes compared to a hatchery bird. Oh did you get those from IDEAL!!! O MY!

The other thing I have to say is Oh Oh. I have 8 week olds and thought I was so smart thinking I knew what they were. Oh Oh

And I think you MUST have one pullet in those other 15 weeks old.

 

[BamaChicken]

Ajablu, one thing I do to help indentify cockerels is feel the comb. Even though hidden by the fluff usually there is a definite raised bump . The pullets tend to be flatter. Don't kow if that makes sense to you but try it and see if you have any younger ones.

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

I like roo C.

 

[bantamgal]

OOPS

 

[ajablu]

Hi everyone! Thanks for your helpful advice. I appreciate the individual assessment of each boy from PouletsDeCajun. Tiki244, I am new to Silkies too and they all look beautiful to me. I am trying to learn more so I can choose which birds to breed from and which are just pets.

I said oh oh too yesterday when all three crowed lol... I knew those younger birds might not be the pullets I was thinking either I know one splash is a little roo, but until yesterday I thought the other 4 were pullets. I am going to try what BamaChicken suggested and feel the combs. I am also going to keep them all until they are a year old and take another look. I want to learn and see how or if they change between this age and being mature.

Tikki244, I bought these sweeties from a nice man in Ohio. His name is Alan and I found him on the internet.
I liked his pictures and contacted him for some babies which we wanted to have for nice pets.
Now since I have found this site I am interested in hatching some eggs and learning more about breeding some nice quality birds. I bought these babies about 1 month or so old and as a straight run.

Thanks again everyone for your advice and the pictures too. I love to see pics of everyones birds.
Michele

 

[BamaChicken]

Was it Alan Stanford of BrowneggBlueegg silkies ? If so he is well known for his Blues and Splashes. Whites too I think.

Here is my Blue Roo in my breeding pens. He was hatched Spring of 2007. He has a huge Pom for a tail and not one hard feather in it. He is great in everyway except that his comb grew to large for show. Color of it is good. He is a great breeder quality.

This is another veiw of him. Since that time he really got stockier and is just a very handsome Cock.