Silkie sexing (And are they bearded? What color?)

[Ylva]

Can anyone help sexing these (European) silkie chicks? They are 10 weeks old.

What color are they? Are some of them bearded? I think a couple of them looks a bit ‘frizzle’, but I am not very familiar with silkies.
They are a bit yellow on their beaks and toes, is this ok or could they be mixes?

(Pictures of their combs further down.)

 

[All4Eggz]

2,3,4,7,8,9 and 10 look bearded to me.

10 may possibly be frizzled.

And most of them look Silver Partridge, one Lavender, one Black, and one Grey..

@LadiesAndJane is great with silkies. So is @Silkie Princess.

 

[Silkie Princess]

1- lavender
2- splash
3- splash
4- lavender
5- splash
6- not sure, looks frizzled
7- splash
8- blue
9- not sure, frizzled
10- splash frizzle

For sexing we’ll need individual pics of their combs

 

[Ylva]

Here are updated pictures of their combs. The numbers are the same as on the first pictures (I -think-).

 

[All4Eggz]

1 and 6 look like the only likely cockerels to me.

 

[Ylva]

I am pretty sure about 1 and 6 too! Number 10 behaves like a cockerel as well.
I think maybe 4 is a cockerel too. Unsure about him though, and I am very unsure about the others. They are a bit more ladylike *fingers crossed*.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Apologies for the delay in response. Numbers 1 through 7 and 10 are splash, I believe 1 and 4 are just poorly marked splashes. I believe I see a few flecks of darker color here and there, you can confirm this.
Number 8 is blue and number 9 is either very dark blue or black, it can be hard to tell until it grows in more.
These colors make the most sense to me especially if you got them from the same breeder, likely doing a BBS (blue/black/splash) pen.
Number 1 is the only one that’s not bearded. A few of them look like they’re only “half “bearded. The bearding gene is incomplete dominant, it also inhibits wattle growth. Two copies gives the bird a full beard and one copy gives them a smaller beard. Sometimes it takes a bit more time for them for the beard to grow in fully.
Agree that 1 and 6 are likely boys but way too early to be sure that there are not more. Most Silkie boys are “late bloomers “.
I do not see any obvious “frizzles“ which in Silkies would be called “sizzles“. These birds are still teenagers so their feathers are still coming in and they can look very messy until then.
They all look pure Silkie to me.

 

[Dakota8472]

Can anyone help sexing these (European) silkie chicks? They are 10 weeks old.

What color are they? Are some of them bearded? I think a couple of them looks a bit ‘frizzle’, but I am not very familiar with silkies.
They are a bit yellow on their beaks and toes, is this ok or could they be mixes?

(Pictures of their combs further down.)
View attachment 3161519
View attachment 3161520View attachment 3161522View attachment 3161523

1 3 9 maybe 10 look maleish to me. they are about the age where they are gonna start getting their wobbles and combs pretty done up. mine recently went through this. was fun to watch them grow and be able to see it all happen.

 

[Dakota8472]

1 3 9 maybe 10 look maleish to me. they are about the age where they are gonna start getting their wobbles and combs pretty done up. mine recently went through this. was fun to watch them grow and be able to see it all happen.

but i thought i had 3 or 4 males and i ended up with two in the end. Please send us some pics once they start getting those nice wattles and red going on. I love the transformation.

 

[Ylva]

Update at 20 weeks: 1, 6 and 8 were cockerels.