silkie sexing

[ozu]

I'm wondering at what age it was obvious Albedo was a roo?
And such beautiful birds. I'm partial to the first! Thanks for sharing pics. It helps newbies like me!

I can't remember his age anymore :c I think he was 8 weeks in the picture where I said it was obviously a roo though (I went back and looked at the pics I posted- they only tell me "11 months ago when you posted pics of him as a baby" and "9 months ago you posted that picture" LOL)! He showed his roo side very early because he was dominant when him and Willow were together. And since he has red wattles/comb and is a not well bred silkie, he was obvious a lot sooner.

Thank you! Willow is a great rooster. Sometimes he's a jerk but he knows his place lol!
I was hoping the pics would help Seeing them grow up, you're able to look and see how they developed and for me, that helps with sexing silkies!

 

[ashtree]

I can't remember his age anymore :c I think he was 8 weeks in the picture where I said it was obviously a roo though (I went back and looked at the pics I posted- they only tell me "11 months ago when you posted pics of him as a baby" and "9 months ago you posted that picture" LOL)! He showed his roo side very early because he was dominant when him and Willow were together. And since he has red wattles/comb and is a not well bred silkie, he was obvious a lot sooner.

Thank you! Willow is a great rooster. Sometimes he's a jerk but he knows his place lol!
I was hoping the pics would help Seeing them grow up, you're able to look and see how they developed and for me, that helps with sexing silkies!

OK, I'll wait until 8 weeks then to make any assumptions! I swear I'm constantly watching my chicks and I must change my mind 5 times a day. Its just too exciting! I actually considered DNA testing a couple of them but my husband thinks I'm nuts and that the chicks cost enough without factoring in a test!

 

[SamanthaDixie]

is this a hen or roo? it's 6 weeks old by the way

 

[schatze]

Ever since my silkie Cumulonimbus was 10 days old, I thought s/he was a too because s/he'd mock fight with a hatchmate Pileus. Of my 6 silkies who hatched, only one of them is crowing; they hatched 4 December, 2013.

Today, during my hens' "I laid an egg chorus," Nimby chimed in and sounded exactly like the other hens. Now, I'm confused. I thought the face is definitely male, but these are my first silkies, and I didn't think females got combs like this? Can s/he be sexed at 4 months?

 

[Adorkable]

is this a hen or roo? it's 6 weeks old by the way

Looks like a cockerel to me

 

[ozu]

OK, I'll wait until 8 weeks then to make any assumptions! I swear I'm constantly watching my chicks and I must change my mind 5 times a day. Its just too exciting! I actually considered DNA testing a couple of them but my husband thinks I'm nuts and that the chicks cost enough without factoring in a test!

Sometimes they can be visible as roosters/hens sooner (I believe the silkie below this reply is definitely a rooster) but 8 weeks is usually what I recommend, but you still can't always tell! With Gracey I went back and forth until she started squatting and then laid us an egg! I had to post pics of her with her egg and be like, "LOOK SHE'S A GIRL" because so many people told me rooster. There are some that just... you never know until the defining egg or crow! Which, silkies can start crowing at as little as 8 weeks (when Albedo started crowing). He actually I think might have been 6 weeks when I started to realize he was likely a roo. It wasn't until a bit later that I was like- yeah, no doubt in my mind he's a boy! But LOL yeah, I'd skip the test, they'll tell you in time! It's very stressful! Just like you, I went back and forth so much with Gracey and Willow early on!

is this a hen or roo? it's 6 weeks old by the way

Definitely looks like a rooster to me!

Ever since my silkie Cumulonimbus was 10 days old, I thought s/he was a too because s/he'd mock fight with a hatchmate Pileus. Of my 6 silkies who hatched, only one of them is crowing; they hatched 4 December, 2013.

Today, during my hens' "I laid an egg chorus," Nimby chimed in and sounded exactly like the other hens. Now, I'm confused. I thought the face is definitely male, but these are my first silkies, and I didn't think females got combs like this? Can s/he be sexed at 4 months?

Definitely a rooster- looks very similar to my boy, Willow (just darker lol). I see streamers in the crest and those neck feathers are definitely the rooster mullet. Also- rooster stance and red comb.

My roosters ALWAYYYYSS sing the egg song LOL. They get startled about EVERYTHING and if the girls start singing, they start freaking out too lol.

Here's Albedo doing it when he was younger (Willow does it too but I don't have a video of it uploaded!)

(Also, he's pretty friendly in this video, but Albedo is most definitely a jerk now. Willow is our sweet one. )

 

[Fancychooklady]

Ever since my silkie Cumulonimbus was 10 days old, I thought s/he was a too because s/he'd mock fight with a hatchmate Pileus. Of my 6 silkies who hatched, only one of them is crowing; they hatched 4 December, 2013.

Today, during my hens' "I laid an egg chorus," Nimby chimed in and sounded exactly like the other hens. Now, I'm confused. I thought the face is definitely male, but these are my first silkies, and I didn't think females got combs like this? Can s/he be sexed at 4 months?

Hens fight too . And all of my 12 roosters join in on the egg song. Your cumulonimbus is a roo. IMO.
But I've been wrong before.

 

[Tricoglossus]

A very handsome boy. Roosters love to sing the egg song too.

 

[kabhyper1]

Yep when our hens lay, LF or silkies, we hear the ba-bock........ bbbbbb .................ba-bock, of the girls followed by all the boys, BWAAAAAK.................. BWAAAAAK. As if some sort of predator has entered the premises, and suddenly attacked their girls. Every day.... 20 times a day. Believe it not, it doesn't bother us. I think its cute.

 

[atrueb00]

There's a 50% chance your correct.