How long will it be before

[jjdward]

I can tell the sex of my banty silkies? They are about 21 weeks old. I have been told that it takes a while with them. I have no experence with silkies. Just wondering. Oh, and I have no eggs form them yet.

 

[Mahonri]

You'll be waiting until one lays an egg or gives ya a cock a doodle doo.

 

[Pathfinders]

Experienced Silkie breeders can sometimes tell the gender of a bird by about four or five months, but some birds can fool ya!

If you post some pictures I'm sure folks will try to help. Get close ups of the front of the face showing the comb, the crest from the back (to look for streamers), and an overall pic from the side.

 

[iluvmychicks]

I can tell you a few things I look for when sexing my silkies Now these points are from my own experience, this isn't "text book" but some things you can look for

Males
Larger more pronounced comb
Streamers(thin feathers) off the back of the head
Stand up taller and appear to have longer legs
Are many times larger then females


Females
Very small comb
Shorter and rounder in apperance
As females age they will many times squat which is a good sign they are ready to lay eggs.

Just a few things I look for, let me add, very good quality silkies are many times very hard to sex until older, many times males will look like females and females will look like males, especially in whites. I had a buff male once I swore was a female until "she" crowed.....LOL.

Shari

 

[jjdward]

I will try to get some pics. Thanks for all you tips!