Sexing Silkies????

[erijn5]

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I second the question why not? I did notice their wings were kinda danty.

 

[erijn5]

I think they were cage kept...we had to go out and retreive them and put them in the coop! Good thing they must have been handled alot they just sit down and let you pick them up.

Then we just sit them in a nesting box. I would hate to put them on a roosting bar, and have them fall off and break a leg or something.....

They are TOO CUTE!

 

[LilPeeps]

They are greys. The lightest one looks like a pullet and the other two are cockerels.

 

[Chef]

When you go to pick them up the pullets will stick there tail up like they do when a roo gets on them. The cockerels wont do that. Very nice looking silkies though!

Good luck!


Chef

 

[chickorama]

erm... I don't think you can sex them until they start laying/crowing.

 

[LilPeeps]

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If the bird is made to lean forward when picking them up, both sexes will pick up the tail to keep their balance...this is not a reliable method to sex them.

 

[KsTornado11]

My guess is the darker one to the right in the first pic is a roo the other 2 pullets,but I'd wait for KentuckySilkies,he knows his stuff!

 

[erijn5]

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Waiting patiently then

I thought the darkest one was a roo, 2 others hens... How long does it take for a silkie to lay? Same as any old chicken?

 

[kentuckysilkies]

I think the whitest one is a pullet, but I would like to see a picture of the comb before I commit to it.

The two darkest ones look like roos. I am basing this on the shape of the crests and combs from the pic of you holding the two together.

They are not true grays. Like mine they are the product of mixed color flock (my favorite).

Silkies cannot fly very well because the barbs of the feathers are not interlocked, creating the fluffy silkie feathers. This allows air to flow through the feathers instead of allowing the wing to push against air to create lift.

Those are very pretty birds.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

I agree with Teresaann24.
Two pullets and a roo. In the first photo the 2 eating look to be pullets and the one on the right is a roo. The other photos sort of help but they aren't very clear.
I also can tell with the head dress. The males have long spikes that come out of the back of their pom poms and go down the back of their neck but pullets don't have this. As stated before, the girls have rounder head dressing. Also, the comb is a give away in some at a certain age.
I am always amazed when a Silkie is 6-7 months old and the breeder can't tell. So far, I haven't had any problems with mine or others that I see in person. I knew what my chicks were by 4 months old but I watched them interact every day and that also helped.
It won't be long and you will see the obvious with Silkies.