Are these the "streamers" people talk about on the back of a cockerel's head? This chick was hatched on Thanksgiving & is starting to get a slightly raised area on it's beak.
Thanks!! They are very sweet. I don't plan to keep them but having a hard time parting with them.
Is my 12 week old silkie a roo??
I'm relatively new to chickens and completely new to silkies, but have been reading A LOT. I have two silkies that I think are a pullet and a cockerel, but I'm not sure about my "hen." I was told that both were hatched on Aug 25, 2016 - so almost 5 months old now. Joe is the cockerel. He is a bit bigger, much snowier white, has a large red comb, and clear streamers coming out of the back of his head and tail feathers. He crows every morning (and at various other times when he's feeling fussy) and makes a very classic "cock-a-doodle-doo" sound. His feathers around his eyes grow outward and don't cover his eyes up.Betty I'm not sure about. She is a bit smaller, more of a silver color, and has a rather large (got much larger recently) dark black comb. She also has little streamers on her head and tail, though not as pronounced as Joe's. Her eye feathers cover her eyes easily and I have to trim them back so she can see.
She makes a sound as well, whenever Joe crows. It's more of a little shriek, not a clear "cock-a-doodle doo." I've seen other videos of hens crowing (
) and I think Betty sounds like this. She only crows when Joe crows first, she never crows on her own, and she only crows about once for every 20 crows Joe does (if she does at all). Here's a video of both of them crowing, Joe, then Betty. I've also noticed behavioral differences between the two. Joe seems to look after Betty (not the other way around) and he'll call her over when he finds tasty food outside and let her eat first. Joe has also been known to fend off potential threats - he jumped at my dog and chased another smaller dog away. Betty has never done anything like this. Joe is more prone to snuggle, Betty prefers keeping to herself. They're both beautiful birds and I'd love to start hatching some young'ins this summer. I'll probably keep them either way because we've grown pretty attached to both of them at this point. I'd just love to hear some expert opinions because every day I wonder what's going on with Betty. Here are both of them together for comparison:Please let me know your thoughts, Silkie geniuses!
