Silkie thread!

[bardies]

I have some pictures of my chicks!


the one very right with the yellow fur, it's the one with the lump on its head

also wondering if anyone would know what colours they will be??

The lumps are vaulted skulls - many show birds have vaulted skulls, although NOT having them is NOT a fault (so far as I know, anyway). Just be extra careful with those heads as the skulls might never close over and theywill have a soft spot (kind of like human babies). Not really good at colors, but do know that the silkie color does not change significantly between baby and adult feathers...probably splash developing is the biggest change you will get.

 

[Cynthia12]

I'm not seeing answers to many of the questions on here.
Anyone know the answer to the feathering in the toes..show fault?

 

[Cynthia12]

I thought I had read somewhere that sexing slikies is tricky as they tend to mature slowly, right?

How about this one? I find that silkies do take a while to sex. The late mature part would be the comb and the wattles. Some say, they can tell by the pin feathering coming in. Is it sweeping back wards? Front wars? Ha..supposedly back wards means boy, front..girl..or..the feathers on the head get sporadic feathers sticking up more than others is a boy. I can personally pretty much tell by the age of three months. By the size of the comb and wattles, sometimes sooner if that comb is getting big fast!
Anyone else?

 

[Iluvmysilkies]

How about this one? I find that silkies do take a while to sex. The late mature part would be the comb and the wattles. Some say, they can tell by the pin feathering coming in. Is it sweeping back wards? Front wars? Ha..supposedly back wards means boy, front..girl..or..the feathers on the head get sporadic feathers sticking up more than others is a boy. I can personally pretty much tell by the age of three months. By the size of the comb and wattles, sometimes sooner if that comb is getting big fast!
Anyone else?

I agree with cynthia, sometimes you can tell early by the comb. Even if its not actually raising yet, I find that sometimes the width can give it away. Most my babies still have tiny thin combs, and those are the ones ive always felt were girls. I got one however that was fluffier and larger then the others with a broader chest and I always felt it was likely to be a boy, and 2 weeks later im already noticing the comb on this one is getting wider then the others, which means im probably right lol. I heard you can also sometimes tell by the fluffing on the head. If it sweeps back or has streamers as they call them (pieces that are longer then the others and sweeping back), then its a boy, and if its round and fluffy its a girl. And also the hens are said to walk lower and more collected and the boys seem to walk taller and be braver. Not sure how accurate any of this is though. Then there's the typical wing sexing trick that works on alot of chicken breeds but that method is still questionable when it comes to silkies.

 

[Fancychooklady]

I have some pictures of my chicks! the one very right with the yellow fur, it's the one with the lump on its head also wondering if anyone would know what colours they will be??

I sold you the eggs and they are 100% Silkie . Partridge Silkie to be precise . They are vaulted skulls and this will grow over and leave you with bigger crests. Really what colour will they be???

 

[Fancychooklady]

For those of you that show....I saw something the other day I had not seen before. There was a silkie that has lovely feathering on the toes - but also - beside the middle and outside toes - had feathers growing on the inside two toes. Would this be a fault?

No. It is desirable that they should at the least have feathering down the middle toe.

 

[Fancychooklady]

I agree with cynthia, sometimes you can tell early by the comb. Even if its not actually raising yet, I find that sometimes the width can give it away. Most my babies still have tiny thin combs, and those are the ones ive always felt were girls. I got one however that was fluffier and larger then the others with a broader chest and I always felt it was likely to be a boy, and 2 weeks later im already noticing the comb on this one is getting wider then the others, which means im probably right lol. I heard you can also sometimes tell by the fluffing on the head. If it sweeps back or has streamers as they call them (pieces that are longer then the others and sweeping back), then its a boy, and if its round and fluffy its a girl. And also the hens are said to walk lower and more collected and the boys seem to walk taller and be braver. Not sure how accurate any of this is though. Then there's the typical wing sexing trick that works on alot of chicken breeds but that method is still questionable when it comes to silkies. 

If you are hoping for Silkie roos to be more masculine than pullets, then you have a long wait ahead of you. I've been breeding my own line of Silkie for 8 years and currently have a black bearded 3 month old chick that I'm still waiting to see whether it will lay me an egg or bust out a crow. The swoosh back look in the crest can be an indicator but I find ribbons in the tail to be more tell tale.

 

[Fancychooklady]

MY CHICKS HATCHED!!!!!!
5 have hatched and the other 5 are hatching now!!!
I want to put a picture up but they wont download onto the computer
anyways, 2 of them kinda have a big lump on their heads!?? soo, is there something wrong with them or are they actually not silkies!??

' actually not silkies ' ????

 

[cxs918]

My Roo mid crow - hes such a sweet boy!

 

[Fancychooklady]

My Roo mid crow - hes such a sweet boy!

Cute, I love little hen in the background.