Im new to being a chicken owner, and im not sure how to determine the gender of my chicken.

[alexandherpets]

Hey everyone! i recently purchased a Silkie chicken from a local farmer, however it was straight run, so im no sure whether its a hen or rooster. I do live in a neighborhood where i cannot own a rooster, so im hoping its a hen! Im keeping her as a pet, and so far within the 2 weeks of owning her, she already knows her name and follows me around like a lost puppy! Shes very sweet. Shes a black silkie (hopefully its a she!!!) and we are all calling it "penny" lol.

Right now its about 4 weeks old. I know its really hard supposedly to determine the silkie's gender, But again, if anyone can help me out here with determining the gender id really appreciate it! ill post a picture or 2 of her if that helps..

THANKS EVERYONE!!

 

[Lothiriel]

4 weeks is too early to guess on a Silkie. The easiest age to tell is about 3 or 4 months. At that age if it's a pullet, her crest will be nicely rounded and smooth. Cockerels' crests will have a slicked back, wild appearance, and you'll see what are called "streamers" coming out of his neck and the base of his tail (in non-Silkied birds they are the hackle and saddle feathers, respectively).

And welcome to BYC!

 

[alexandherpets]

 

[Lothiriel]

Wow... That looks much younger than 4 weeks... I'd say a week, maybe 2 at the most. Definitely too young to hazard a gender guess. But it's awful cute!!

 

[alexandherpets]

Yeah she does look small in that picture, i got her from the farm when she was 2 weeks, and ive had her for 2 weeks now, i took that picture about a week ago however

 

[PekinBantam]

It really does look younger than 4 weeks, for most chickens I can tell at 4 weeks from pictures of the belly and comb. But silkies and showgirls have different kind of feathers... I would wait a few weeks then post more pictures

 

[alexandherpets]

Alright well in the last 2 days ive noticed some rapid changes about him/her. The first change ive noticed is that he/she has grown a little bit bigger, and 2, he/she's feathers have started changing a lot. Like as in getting little sprouts of fur, just getting a lot more fluffier, and is starting to take form a little more of a "mini chicken", (im not sure how to explain this correctly,lol). Penny has also been crying ou tfor me when im not with with him/her, and always jumps on top of me when i am. She is started to jump quite high lately, and is even jumping from bed to bedside table without any trouble. As the days go on im noticing more and more changes and ill have to take pictures tomorrow morning as post them here so you all can see