need crash course on sexing silkies -- Pics Added

[shaggy]

i got my wife interested in chickens - we already have 4 hens

she wants a silkie - and we need to try our best to get a female


someone nearby is selling 1-month old white silkies --- does anyone have any tips, tricks, old wives tales, or any other information that *might lead us to picking the right gender?

i know they are the hardest to sex accurately - and probably even harder to sex at 1 month old ... but i desperately want the wife involved in "the chicken project"

any and all information is greatly appreciated

 

[jenni2142]

I have 5 and at that age they all looked like girls, 2 are roos as we have crowing at 10 weeks. My whites at that age had a very round top poof which I have read is a sign of girls, boys will look more scraggly and may have longer ones sticking out. If you see one with a very round smooth top guess it. my Dizzy with the best feathering of the two had her eyes covered by her poof at that age, actually her chick fuzz was poofy like that and is how she got her name. She is very quiet and sweet, maybe because she can't see me coming.

 

[desertgirl]

Crowing at 10 weeks,huh? So mine are about 2.5 months, no crowing,poofy heads...think I can relax that they are both girls?

 

[Catalina]

I'm not sure if this will help, but I have a bunch of pics of my silkie chicks here https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=155263

I have a white silkie that I'm 99% sure is a girl and most likely 3 boys as well

 

[m2wandc]

I was told that the one on the left in these pics might be a roo...and these pics were taken at 4 weeks of age...I don't know for sure yet, but I do know I caught 'it' doing some 'mouth, neck, throat exercises one night...haven't seen it since, but I have my own thoughts on 'it' being a roo too.

 

[shaggy]

thanks ... i will be going to get one in an hour or 2

.... cross your fingers for me and hope for a girl

 

[shaggy]

got them back --- they were pretty dirty -- gave them a quick bath and washed the poop off of them and the puffed up nicely.

they are roughly the same size as my other chickens. wife couldn't get just one -- so she got 2

they are inside the coop with the lid of the coop up

i have a small piece of plywood that spans across 2 dowel rods ... they are sitting on the plywood

Silkie #1 - unamed

Silkie #2 - unamed

 

[desertgirl]

Very cute!Congrats!

 

[shaggy]

thanks --- now my wife can join The Chicken Revolution

i should have waited another 20 minutes before taking the pictures --- they are so white and fluffy now --- it's like they are wearing white fluffy pajamas with white fluffy boots

 

[Mrs MIA]

You will notice that the comb on males will start being more prominent, and they will develop wattles where the poof will overtake the comb on the girls, and they won't develop much, if any, in the way of wattles. The girls will keep a nice even poof on the head... pretty much straight up. The boys' poof will lean back a little (like he's in a strong headwind) and individual longer streamers will start showing up in the poof and on the neck. I have good examples of boys and girls of the same age in my coop, just no photos at the moment...