PLEASE help me sex these Silkie "hens"

[Mikaela Taylor]

I have 3 silkies we got off of someone 4 hours away. We were hoping they would be hens because that's what we were told but now I'm not so sure. This isn't the first time we ended up with roosters after being promised hens so I'm pretty upset wondering and wondering if they are male or female.

Please please help if you can!

I haven't noticed any wattles but they may be bearded silkies. I'm not sure how to tell if they are.

 

[Waves]

I think they can be girls but Im new to silkies!

 

[Mikaela Taylor]

I think they can be girls but Im new to silkies!

i sure hope so I can't take the disappointment anymore!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Yes those are bearded Silkies.. which I prefer over non bearded. I did breed and raise them for several years.

Their heads aren't screaming rooster... how old are they supposed to be? Need natural standing full body side shots that show saddles and hackles.

Silkie roosters can be quite obvious in comparison.

 

[Mikaela Taylor]

Yes those are bearded Silkies.. which I prefer over non bearded. I did breed and raise them for several years.

Their heads aren't screaming rooster... how old are they supposed to be? Need natural standing full body side shots that show saddles and hackles.

Silkie roosters can be quite obvious in comparison.

She wasn't very truthful we found out or she was very new to chickens even though she had about 40 :/ But! She said they were spring chicks and should be laying soon.

She tried to give us 6 obvious roosters at first and said they were hens. So I'm not sure if she really didn't know they were roosters or trying to pull one over on us.

My current 12 chickens are spring chickens and are much larger and have been laying for months so I don't think they are spring chicks.

 

[EggWalrus]

With Silkies it can be hard to tell it they are older. From looking at the hackle/cape feathers, I'm leaning towards boys. Better pics of the neck and saddle feathers will help.
But with Silkies...

It's really hard to know
Till they lay an egg or crow!

 

[Mikaela Taylor]

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She wasn't very truthful we found out or she was very new to chickens even though she had about 40 :/ But! She said they were spring chicks and should be laying soon.

She tried to give us 6 obvious roosters at first and said they were hens. So I'm not sure if she really didn't know they were roosters or trying to pull one over on us.

My current 12 chickens are spring chickens and are much larger and have been laying for months so I don't think they are spring chicks.

They aren't very very shy or I could get much better photos

 

[EggWalrus]

I think I'm seeing male saddle feathers and streamers on their heads.

Let's us know if they start crowing,

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Well they are still young according to their how developed the feathers are... meaning I don't see any long flowing obvious saddles YET and the head crest is still pretty short... streamers can be so subjective.

The one with lighter pajama pants is going to be a Blue, not black.

The one with color leakage int he hackles... I would still be on the look out for male behavior... but if you aren't seeing ANY, try not to worry too much. Males will try hard to mate the laying hens.

Some Silkie lines are known to lay much later than many other breeds. And they SHOULD be smaller than your other standard breed chickens as they are considered a bantam though some are larger than accepted by the standard of perfection.

Many people still call April and May spring. The later they hatch, the later they seem to lay... not only due to age but also birds coming into lay during fall tend to do so a bit later. AND I have had Silkies crow as young as 4 weeks old. I could probably give a more definitive answer were I able to watch in person... since Silkie lines and feature vary so greatly but activity is huge indicator. Most black birds can get that green sheen so that is not a good indicator.

Hoping they're ladies for ya!

 

[cstephens1987]

Well they are still young according to their how developed the feathers are... meaning I don't see any long flowing obvious saddles YET and the head crest is still pretty short... streamers can be so subjective.

The one with lighter pajama pants is going to be a Blue, not black.

The one with color leakage int he hackles... I would still be on the look out for male behavior... but if you aren't seeing ANY, try not to worry too much. Males will try hard to mate the laying hens.

Some Silkie lines are known to lay much later than many other breeds. And they SHOULD be smaller than your other standard breed chickens as they are considered a bantam though some are larger than accepted by the standard of perfection.

Many people still call April and May spring. The later they hatch, the later they seem to lay... not only due to age but also birds coming into lay during fall tend to do so a bit later. AND I have had Silkies crow as young as 4 weeks old. I could probably give a more definitive answer were I able to watch in person... since Silkie lines and feature vary so greatly but activity is huge indicator. Most black birds can get that green sheen so that is not a good indicator.

Hoping they're ladies for ya!

Well April and May are spring. Technically the majority of June is too.