Silkie sex experiment.

[emccrea]

So I'm not sure if this has been done, but I thought id use my (very pet quality) silkie chickadees to try a note qualities of sex as they grow. Chicks are currently 5 weeks, there are 7 chicks. This is purely for research and maybe this can help some people out?
I'll start by posting the just hatched pics, then pics of 2-3 weeks and my photos yesterday.

Feel free to guess the sexes for yourself. It's always fun.
These are the hatched pics.

 

[emccrea]

Now I'll try to get them in the same order. 3 weeks old.

Please keep in mind I may have the order of the hatch day and 3 week mixed up slightly. I'm unsure of the last chicks photos

 

[emccrea]

And now, yesterday's photo (4 weeks, 6 days)

I hope the photos aren't being "diluted" too much, I've got them on my phone quite well defined. But these are the chicks now.
Some chicks have quite slender and tall combs, some have thick short. A few have very pale combs (re: pet quality). As they have not grown in much head feathering yet, I haven't posted side or full body photos. I do have some idea about a few of the chicks.
Also noted that some have vaulted skulls, and some do not. I will endeavour to take good photos in one weeks time of side and front.

 

[Bryam]

Umm are these Silkie crosses? As they don't have feathered feet... They certainly are not going to have fluffy crests. They all look like Roos to me.

 

[emccrea]

No not crossbreed. Well shouldn't be. I've seen the parents, and all were in a seperate pen.
These are photos I've just taken.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I plan to keep up with this thread to see how your little experiment turns out

I've been breeding Silkies for a while now, and I still struggle with sexing them. Mine aren't pet quality (mostly, anyway- I do get the odd chick here and there that isn't up to snuff), and they take FOREVER to reveal themselves. When I have a hatch, I try to write down some characteristics that distinguish each chick and make a gender guess based on their combs at hatch. Sometimes I'm right Usually my chicks with wide combs end up being cockerels, but I still get one that fools me every now and then (okay, okay, most of the time they confuse me ).

Your chicks are adorable, pet quality or not!

 

[emccrea]

Thanks, they are lovely little things. My children love them.
I figure if I keep recording process of growth, looking here and there for patterns, once they're of age- I may be able to track backwards and confirm any patterns I might find.
There seems to be a lot of conflicting advice in sexing silkies. Beak shape, vaulted skulls, leg size, bird size and more accurately comb and crest size. And although I only have a small group to test, it should atleast show mistakes of guessing and proving other things.
I have my suspicions about half of the birds. The body size, comb and overall behaviour leads me to believe they will be cockerels.
I'm glad I have atleast one person interested!

 

[Sustained]

I'm following your experiment as well. I'm interested how it turns out. I have 2 silkie chicks right now that I've suspected the sex of from the beginning, and as they get older it hasn't changed, so I'm curious to see if I turn out to be right. On yours my guess would be hen, cockerel, hen, cockerel, cockerel, hen, cockerel. I'm new to silkies though lol

 

[emccrea]

Sustained I'm agreeing with you. Except the 5th I think will be a pullet. This ones quite small. It hasn't got a good head of hair, (bald) but it's quiet and small. I'm going to take some photos soon to start tracking body shape too

 

[Sustained]

Can't wait to find out which one of us is right on that one then

I'm going based on the comb and beak and what I can tell on the directionality of the few head feathers