How can I tell if my chickens are a female or male?

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Chickens chicks

Chickens chicks

In the Brooder
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How can you my silkie has five twos some of the chickens tail are up and down so how can you tell? I have chickens and ducks two ducks and six chickens.
 
Silkies are hard to sex. Generally a male will have a pronounced comb earlier than a pullet, but that's not always true for silkies. Being bantams, cockerels will mature a bit faster than standard breeds and start crowing early on. Some people say they can tell by the size and shape of the crest, but there can be a such wide variation with hatchery quality birds, that it's not always accurate either.
 
Hatchery birds generally do not look much like a silkie from a breeder. Silkies are very difficult to sex before 4-5 mos. of age, and sometimes not until they lay or crow. If not having roosters is important to you, you should only buy silkies at point of lay or older.
 

As everyone has said, they are hard to sex for quite some time. One way I like to look at as they are about 3 weeks old and getting their pin feathers on top of their head is, is it sweeping back? I think male. Is it growing straight up? I think girl. Works more often than not, but there is no guarantee unless you can vent sex.
You can post photos of the questionable chicks you have on the silkie thread. They love to try and help there.
 

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