sexy silkies

[horseemom]

Oh, I mean sexing silkies!

Just wondering at what age can you sex silkie chicks, and HOW?

 

[hinkjc]

For myself, I will honestly say that in most cases I can't tell until they lay an egg or crow. Oh..and if one jumps on the back of another and mates it. Those are pretty good ways to sex them. LOL Give me other breeds and I can usually figure them out by 5 weeks, but silkies always confuse me.

I had one for 7 months and I went back and forth and finally settled on thinking it was a rooster. Then I look in the coop one day and there's a rooster on it's back mating..sure enough she was a girl and started laying shortly after.

Jody

 

[marie_martin]

I can usually tell on most of mine by the time they are a couple months old. I spend a lot of time with them and hold them and have learned the minor differences. The males have a heavier feel and larger bones. The males also usually have a much larger comb by that age but not always. There are a few that keep me guessing but I have gotten pretty good at sexing them pretty early on. I have one that is 6 weeks old that is a roo, it has a large comb for it's age and some redness in the wattles already.

Hope that helps.

Marie