Question

[Mandied]

My 3 silkies. One has alot of feathers on its feet while the other 2 do not. I have read alot of things that say the males have more feathers on their feet. There isn't any comb yet on the one with the feathers. They will be 3 weeks this Saturday. How will we know for sure if it's a male. We have already lost 2 bantams that were males and we don't want to have to get rid of another.

 

[Sammi_0411]

Silkies are very hard to sex and are late developers sometimes can take months ... feathering of feet and gender I'm pretty sure isn't a thing tbh. Look out for development of comb saddle feathers I'd recommend u wait til they are 6 weeks even at 6 weeks won't be a definite answer either tho as said silkies very difficult to sex and put up on here with pics asking u can put them up now but won't be a definite answer xx

 

[Mandied]

Silkies are very hard to sex and are late developers sometimes can take months ... feathering of feet and gender I'm pretty sure isn't a thing tbh. Look out for development of comb saddle feathers I'd recommend u wait til they are 6 weeks even at 6 weeks won't be a definite answer either tho as said silkies very difficult to sex and put up on here with pics asking u can put them up now but won't be a definite answer xx

Thank you, I know I ask alot probably stupid question. My husband and I have never raised chickens so we are reading everything we cab find. Alot of which contradicts other things. We are just trying to do everything right.

 

[Sammi_0411]

No your totally fine what this group is about helping each other we all started there once and just learnt things along the way the amount of questions I asked when first started was unbelievable lol noticed you only joined a few weeks ago so welcome to BYC xx

 

[Sammi_0411]

My silkies don't wana be touched or anything lol I found also they become broody a lot ! I don't have a cockerel yet they still take over all nest boxes lol. Keep eye on feathers on head and feet sometimes may need trimming if they can't see properly or feet feathers get way to long and pick up all dirt etc. They remind me.of little raptor dinsoaurs haha. I hsve 13 gals 3 are bearded silkies 4 are Diddy bantam silkie crosses then I have load of standard size hens too feel free msg if get stuck il try to help u out or if I can't find someone that can
XxSamXx

 

[Mandied]

No your totally fine what this group is about helping each other we all started there once and just learnt things along the way the amount of questions I asked when first started was unbelievable lol noticed you only joined a few weeks ago so welcome to BYC xx

Thank you. I am glad I joined. Everyone on here is very friendly and I love learning from you all.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The only stupid question is the one you don't ask. We all have to start from somewhere. You would not want your birds to be harmed because you didn't ask a question. If you have a question somebody else does too. Besides, if there were fewer questions there would be less traffic on here and the owner of the forum would make less money. We want to support Nifty so Nifty can support the forum.

Most hatcheries do not sex bantams so you are more likely to get a male if you get baby chicks. That's unfortunate but just the way it is.

Don't make any dramatic decisions based on how many feathers are on the feet. That is not dependable at all. Silkies are extremely difficult to sex based on appearance compared to most other breeds. You can try posting some photos on here in another three weeks or so and get some opinions, you might even get agreement on what their sex is. You usually don't, especially with Silkies, but occasionally one (usually a male) stands out. A close-up of the head showing the comb and any wattles can be very helpful if you can see those under the feathers. A second shot showing legs (maybe hidden by feathers), posture, and body conformation might give clues. Often with Silkies it is much later before you can be sure.

Glad you joined.

 

[Mandied]

My silkies don't wana be touched or anything lol I found also they become broody a lot ! I don't have a cockerel yet they still take over all nest boxes lol. Keep eye on feathers on head and feet sometimes may need trimming if they can't see properly or feet feathers get way to long and pick up all dirt etc. They remind me.of little raptor dinsoaurs haha. I hsve 13 gals 3 are bearded silkies 4 are Diddy bantam silkie crosses then I have load of standard size hens too feel free msg if get stuck il try to help u out or if I can't find someone that can
XxSamXx

Yeah ours wer good with me picking them up. Now they are getting alittle skidish. One of them has feathers on its feet that are getting long. The other 2 don't have alot of feathers yet. I will definitely do that.

 

[Mandied]

The only stupid question is the one you don't ask. We all have to start from somewhere. You would not want your birds to be harmed because you didn't ask a question. If you have a question somebody else does too. Besides, if there were fewer questions there would be less traffic on here and the owner of the forum would make less money. We want to support Nifty so Nifty can support the forum.

Most hatcheries do not sex bantams so you are more likely to get a male if you get baby chicks. That's unfortunate but just the way it is.

Don't make any dramatic decisions based on how many feathers are on the feet. That is not dependable at all. Silkies are extremely difficult to sex based on appearance compared to most other breeds. You can try posting some photos on here in another three weeks or so and get some opinions, you might even get agreement on what their sex is. You usually don't, especially with Silkies, but occasionally one (usually a male) stands out. A close-up of the head showing the comb and any wattles can be very helpful if you can see those under the feathers. A second shot showing legs (maybe hidden by feathers), posture, and body conformation might give clues. Often with Silkies it is much later before you can be sure.

Glad you joined.

Thank you I will definitely post pics of them in 3 weeks. And I know I will have a thousand questions to ask and what I don't think of my husband will. Lol