Sexing silkies?

[KnightsMist]

From my purusing of hatcheries online, it seems that sexing day old silkies is quite difficult. If I were to get several straight run, what age can you typically tell if you have hens or roos? Any tips specific to silkies? Not ordering now, just curious for the future.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

What age can you successfully sex Silkies? With any certainty, when they either lay an egg or crow...which is about 4 to 6 months.

You can get some clues earlier, but there will always be that one, or two, that defy gender.

Boys tend to be lankier, taller, have a fuller pea comb, wattles, and an impressive mohawk.

Girls tend to be squattier, rounder, little to no pea comb or wattles, and have a round pom pom look.

But with identical feather coloring and shape, until some subtle saddle streamers finally show up (or not), you can't really rely on feathering to help.

Watch the combs and crests. That is *generally* the most reliable, but I'm sorry Silkies are notorious for fooling even the expert breeders. (But THEY know, and I'm sure are laughing.)

LofMc

 

[Matilda Belle]

Around 5-6 months you may know if you have a cockerel or a pullet by a crow or an egg. Like the person above said, sometimes there is evidence before then, but other times it may not be until 1 year that you get an egg. There are certain physical characteristics of cockerels such as faster developing red combs and streamers. Partridge silkie colors you can sometimes tell earlier by the feather pattern.

Another option is ordering a DNA test through iqbirdtesting.com

You can always post pictures of the chicks around 3-4 months old and we could guess for you.

 

[Samaria M]

Just a quick note, mypetchicken.com is advertised as the only place that sexes silkies early on (though of course as with any breed, there are occasionally mistakes). I don't have any personal experience with them and don't know their success percentage, but I have seen others recommend them. Just FYI in case you're looking at options for silkies.