Silkie thread!

[K Epp]

It is possible, you can cross Silkies with anything and get back to the Silkied feathers in two generations. What is harder to keep is the correct body shape, blue ears, black skin and the 5 toes. Those hard feathers and the red combs to me says they were a cross in the not too far past. They look like Silkies again, so I guess you have some really hefty pet quality Silkies. I think the Silkies out of a Showgirl pen are larger and heftier than the Silkies. I also agree they are MUCH older than 4 months - your two boys appear to be at least 6 months old. Well that only means you are closer to eggs from the girls

And you may get lots of eggs if they have leghorn in them. If I were to hatch my Silkie eggs they could be part Wellsummer. Now that would be a odd match lol Possibly Sultan Silkie cross would be better but still... I don't plan on hatching my girls eggs until I get a Silkie Rooster. I'm getting ??? gender chicks from Pam Pittman next week so surly one of those will be a rooster. I'm not bashing my ;luck, but I thought I would have wound up with at least one roo.

 

[realsis]

is this a boy or girl? https://www.backyardchickens.com/
content/type/61/id/6039175/width/200/height/400
/flags/LL this chick is really young but my guess is female. Here is a picture of my five week old DNA confirmed female. The crest on yours is similar to my babies. Still she's a bit young to know for sure but you can compair her to my five week old female if that will help. Here is my girl. Only one week older than your baby. please be a girl! P.S he/she is turning 4 weeks old

 

[realsis]

Here is a front face shot of my 5 week old female hope

this helps. Notice her rounder Crest even at 5 weeks old? The rounder Crest is a female trait

 

[Fancychooklady]

Short of DNA testing there is no way of knowing!! I have been raising silkies for 8 years and just when you think you've worked it out on the sex thing, you get it wrong. They can be very feminine by nature and some don't get streamers until you have convinced yourself you have a hen.
So unless you want to pay for DNA testing , you will simply have to wait it out like the rest of us.

 

[moomoodiddy]

i am usually pretty good on guessing my silkies genders from an early age but when it comes to others not so much lol

 

[PaintedFeathers]

. Big rooster?? The farm where I got them said they were 4months.... No eggs yet and they're all different sizes....?

Yeah I thought they were old too. One of the hens beak is clear at the tip then fades to a blue/black color . I read somewhere that how you could tell age of a chicken. They were in a pen with BIG Leghorns so maybe they're part Leghorn..? Is that possible?

It is possible, you can cross Silkies with anything and get back to the Silkied feathers in two generations. What is harder to keep is the correct body shape, blue ears, black skin and the 5 toes. Those hard feathers and the red combs to me says they were a cross in the not too far past. They look like Silkies again, so I guess you have some really hefty pet quality Silkies. I think the Silkies out of a Showgirl pen are larger and heftier than the Silkies. I also agree they are MUCH older than 4 months - your two boys appear to be at least 6 months old. Well that only means you are closer to eggs from the girls

They don't look like mixes, just pet quality =) They were probably from a hatchery. The red comb is a fault, but common in hatchery birds. The girls don't look too bad, the boy doesn't look horrible either. Just the comb, and could do for a bigger crest. They may just need a good bathing and blowdrying and they will look fluffier!

 

[kimmerjo]

Thanks everyone!I know they do need a bath bad but it's November here in New York and I'm afraid to get them sick . Plus they really are not used to me yet I think it would be rather traumatizing if I give them a bath.

 

[chickydee64]

Thanks everyone!I know they do need a bath bad but it's November here in New York and I'm afraid to get them sick . Plus they really are not used to me yet I think it would be rather traumatizing if I give them a bath.

HI,
Not meaning to argue when you should bathe......you know your situation best........
Just wanted to share that it may go easier than you think. I was expecting a rodeo the first
time and quickly discovered they liked it. That little chicken just sort of relaxed and melted in my hand...
It was to sweet... Good Luck with your chicks............

 

[PaintedFeathers]

Thanks everyone!I know they do need a bath bad but it's November here in New York and I'm afraid to get them sick . Plus they really are not used to me yet I think it would be rather traumatizing if I give them a bath.

As long as you blow dry them completely and don't get water up their noses they won't get sick. I'm in new hampshire and I still bathe my birds over the winter when they need it. It's also good to do to check them for any parasites.

 

[newbie32]

I feel obliged to tell my story here: When I first got my silkie chicks at 2 weeks old one of them had gross crustiness on the chest from-I am assuming- getting pooped on. I asked others on this thread what to do and was told to give it a bath in baby shampoo and in just a few inches of water. I had an extra pitcher of water handy to rinse. My silkie freaked out-he was SMALL-but once I put him in the water and started rubbing the shampoo in he was fine and relaxed. i was very gentle with him. I still kept one hand on him but he didn't resist me anymore. I rinsed him with the warm water and towel dried him. He was a happy, clean little ball of fluff!