Partridge Silkie Babies Genders

[drumstick diva]

No it isn't . Silkies are the among the most difficult breeds to sex early in life. Some of the best show breeders wait till 4-5 mos. to sex them. Sometimes you have to wait till they crow or lay eggs to be positive. Actually any guessing is 50% likely to be true, giving some folks the feeling that they are experts in deciding.

 

[Stacyoung13]

The wing feather technique doesn't work for certain breeds, including silkies. Apart from paying for a DNA test, silkies are one of those breeds that are impossible to sex until they are around 3 months old (regardless of color).

At 3 months, you can expect to see larger combs/waddles on any cockerels. Their crests should have 'streamer' feathers coming out from the backs of them. 'Streamer' feathers are just feathers that are longer than the rest of the crest feathers, and tend to fan out a little. Pullets will have almost non-existent combs/waddles, and no streamer feathers. Their crests will be rounder. If you're unsure, we should be able to help you, given clear photos of crests, combs, and sides.

Name wise, I would just give them some gender neutral names or a name that can easily be changed to fit a different sex. Good luck!

I have a Pullet who is 10 months old, and until she layed an egg at about 6 1/2 months, I couldn’t make up my mind if she was a boy or girl. Her comb was, well you can see for yourself,

This is BooBoo, She is sitting on eggs, and I couldn’t get her to look up.

 

[Lhubbard]

No it isn't . Silkies are the among the most difficult breeds to sex early in life. Some of the best show breeders wait till 4-5 mos. to sex them. Sometimes you have to wait till they crow or lay eggs to be positive. Actually any guessing is 50% likely to be true, giving some folks the feeling that they are experts in deciding.

Thanks for that info! We will find out for sure when they crow or lay an egg!

 

[Crazy for Chickens!]

Although there is a way to sex baby chicks at this young of an age—I can’t really explain how to but look it up on YouTube
I just got 7 chicks a few days ago and still am trying to figure out what genders they are—we might have a rooster

Oh yeah, other breeds you can sex as young as 6 weeks. But with Silkies and Polish, they are slower developing, so that's why you have to wait.