Thank you so much for the information! I did get my silkies from the same hatch. They were not sexed. About how long till you can tell the sex?
I suspected our "pullet" was a cockerel around 4-5 m/o and definitely we knew he was a cockerel before he crowed because of his more brilliant Partridge coloring and the streamer feathers on his crest and tail feathers. When we bought a pullet companion to go with our Partridge Silkie sister we bought her from a private breeder and she was already easily identified as female somewhere between 3-1/2 to 4 m/o. There are lab tests that can test hatched chicks for sex but it's $25 and a 4+ week wait for the results. So now I only get older easily identifiable Silkie pullets because it is too heartbreaking to re-home a cockerel that you get attached to.
I plan on getting 2 more chicks soon. I wanted to go with a different breed and I found a nice farm that sells chicks sexed. I had a hard time finding silkies where I live. I love the way silkies look but I have done a lot of research and read that they tend to be broody, and not the best layers. I was thinking about going with buff orpingtons. I know they are a much larger chicken but I read that they get are friendly and gentle. Both chickens seem to be at the bottom of the pecking order. I am a first time owner so this is just what I read.
Since Silkies are identified as the largest bantam from 2 to 2.5 lbs they lay a larger egg than other bantam breeds. Both my Silkies from 2 different breeders lay 1.25 oz eggs consistently sometimes every day! But because they are a broody bunch it cuts into their yearly egg numbers. I let my Silkies brood on empty nests to give their bodies a rest from laying so many eggs so often - just make sure they get out a couple times a day from the nest to eat/drink/exercise/dust-bathe before they run back to their empty nest. My DH said he can't imagine our backyard flock without Silkies so all our additional breeds must be compatible with our Silkies. For myself I do not mix Silkies with any dual purpose breeds like RIR, NHR, Orps, Lorps, Wyans, Marans, etc because I didn't have any luck mixing them with our smaller gentler breeds. My friend had a Buff Orp that was rather dominant so I didn't risk putting such a large breed with my smaller gentler timid breeds. As chicks and pullets chickens seem to get along but it's at maturity that some of the bullying and dominance gets out of hand toward the timid breeds. Silkies are fierce to defend themselves but obviously they'll get the short end of the stick in flock politics battles. Our Marans picked a Silkie bald on the roost and later she viciously attacked another Silkie so we had to re-home her. I save myself grief now and don't mix the bantams with any breed over 5-lb that are generally considered non-combative temperaments. JMHO but my preference for a flock mix containing Silkies would be Ameraucana, Araucana, Breda, Cochin, Crevecoeur, possibly the lighterweight Dominique, EE, Faverolles, Houdan, Polish, Silkie, Sultan - some believe the Brahma, Dorking, Jersey Giant, and Sussex are gentle temperaments but because of their larger heavier sizes I would hesitate putting them w/Silkes because of the temptation to bully - it's a chicken thing! Sometimes separate pens or huge property where the timid can avoid the dominant breeds works for some but not in our small free-range backyard. Years ago I researched not to mix bantams with LF and I would've saved myself a lot of grief in my small backyard flock if I listened. But then every owner must make their own decision.
So, two hens for one roo and I'll cross my fingers that he'll be a gentleman!!!
