Silkies and their Wattles

[Steph n Kel]

We are the newish owners to 7 Silkies. Three are 8 wks old (we got them at 3 days) and the other 4 are older birds (apparently born this year) that we obtained from another Silkie farmer. They looked to be 2 fully grown (if not sexually mature) birds, 1 that looked to be a older pullet and the 4th is the tiniest looking hen (we think).

We are not sure of gender on any of them, but have noticed 1 of the 3 youngsters has a wattle growing, and the other 2 have nothing. For the older birds (we asked for hens) only 1 has a wattle. The question....do all Silkies have wattles? Perhaps some of the birds are slower to develop, or do only Cockerels/Roosters have wattles?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Teila]

Howdy Steph n Kel

Yep, all Silkies have wattles. The boys are usually larger and develop earlier than the girls but, as always, there are exceptions to the rule and some girls will have large wattles and comb etc.

Your 8 weeks olds are probably still too young to determine gender and sometimes even Silkie breeders have issues determining gender and are not certain until they either lay an egg or crow

Having said that, you could try posting some pics of your older Silkies on this thread to see what others think their gender may be. A good picture of their stance/body and a head shot showing the comb etc are helpful.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...lkies-pictures-and-tips-updated-july-5-12/360

Or

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/297632/silkie-thread/56990

 

[Steph n Kel]

Hi Teila,

Thank you for the info. I will try and take some additional photos over the weekend and then post to see with other BYC members think. I have a feeling we have at least 1 rooster amongst each group, but we'll see!

S & K