Silkie hen or rooster?

muscake

Hatching
Nov 21, 2015
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Hi guys I've got three little silkie chickens and I'm starting to think this one may be a rooster. Just after opinions. I don't really know much about them, these are the first chickens I've ever owned. The one pictured has a growth thing forming above its beak, is this the "comb"? The other two don't have this. It's also a bit bigger and has way more hair on top of its head than the other two.
It also has a bit of attitude and chases the other two around some times. I've caught it chest bumping one of the other chickens too :0


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LOL, growth! That's the walnut comb, they do look like tumorous growths, huh. Yeah, that's probably a cockerel. You usually have to squint to see mature hens' combs, they are so small.
 
So does knowing the age help? My kids have even named it rooster lol. It's my favourite of the bunch, I think cause it's so feisty. I really hope I can still keep it if it turns out to be a rooster. Totally smitten with these three chickens, id have them in bed for a cuddle if my husband would let me lol

Also I got them from a farm. They had heaps of them wandering around and were hatching some in their garage. I don't know if that classifies them as a hatchery haha sorry I'm very new to the chicken game!!
 
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Combs don't start to develop until the bird is reaching reproduction maturity. Males mature and develop a lot faster than females. A pullet won't really begin to have significant comb growth until they are getting close to laying eggs. Males will be fully mature by about 14 to 16 weeks old. Pullets are mature until 20 to 25 weeks.
Given the size of that comb, at only 11 weeks, it's most definitely a boy.
 
I recently purchased our first silkie suppose to be around 7months old. No eggs and no crowing. My daughter says she just makes a bawking sound. Not the best pictures
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