Silkies, Showgirls, & Seramas - 12 weeks old

[PippinTheChicken]

Thanks.
I have cast my votes

 

[Chickeria]

Thank you for tagging me!
Your babies are all very sweet The seramas are so tiny, it is kind of 'shocking' to see them next to the young silkies and showgirls
I voted/guessed. I have absolutely no experience with seramas, but I read several times that the cockerels show a remarkable comb growth very early - so I voted for both seramas pullet.
I think your partridge silkie and your light colored show girl are girls, and the other cuties are boys.

The weight comparison you posted is interesting!

 

[MixedFlock23]

Thank you all for the votes thus far!

It’s our first time even seeing Seramas & it is shocking how teeny they are! Even at hatch day they were so much smaller than their Silkie friends. Now the big white male Silkie is the size of his “mom,” the broody bantam Cochin that hatched these 7. (She’s in my profile pic.) Meanwhile, the seramas are still the size of month old chicks to me. I’ve read the same regarding the serama males & combs too, @Chickeria.

I'm planning on butchering the white male silkie & the blue male Silkie and having them for dinner. I’ve never even seen blue skin/black meat chicken dinner, so this will be interesting (to see if I can actually go through with the meal). I need to double check on the best week growth wise to butcher. Sadly, we can’t keep multiple roosters (didn’t go well having a bachelor coop last year

We will be raising the showgirl guy as our lone rooster... if he stays nice, he can stay. I’ve read so many tips on raising/training a nice rooster... I hope it works this time! (Try number 3 to raise one that won’t attack kids or me.)

I’ll update this thread when I butcher (& double check genders) or hear a crow or see eggs!

 

[Chickeria]

Thank you all for the votes thus far!

It’s our first time even seeing Seramas & it is shocking how teeny they are! Even at hatch day they were so much smaller than their Silkie friends. Now the big white male Silkie is the size of his “mom,” the broody bantam Cochin that hatched these 7. (She’s in my profile pic.) Meanwhile, the seramas are still the size of month old chicks to me. I’ve read the same regarding the serama males & combs too, @Chickeria.

I'm planning on butchering the white male silkie & the blue male Silkie and having them for dinner. I’ve never even seen blue skin/black meat chicken dinner, so this will be interesting (to see if I can actually go through with the meal). I need to double check on the best week growth wise to butcher. Sadly, we can’t keep multiple roosters (didn’t go well having a bachelor coop last year

We will be raising the showgirl guy as our lone rooster... if he stays nice, he can stay. I’ve read so many tips on raising/training a nice rooster... I hope it works this time! (Try number 3 to raise one that won’t attack kids or me.)

I’ll update this thread when I butcher (& double check genders) or hear a crow or see eggs!

...Omg, I think I can't even imagine how tiny seramas are in person
I love your profile pic, your bantam Cochin broody with her chicks is gorgeous!

I feel sad for the two silkies, but I understand this can be part part of chicken and rooster keeping.
Every time I read about naked necks the information included that they are very friendly, and I read the same about show girls. I hope your little guy will proof this

 

[PippinTheChicken]

Thank you all for the votes thus far!

It’s our first time even seeing Seramas & it is shocking how teeny they are! Even at hatch day they were so much smaller than their Silkie friends. Now the big white male Silkie is the size of his “mom,” the broody bantam Cochin that hatched these 7. (She’s in my profile pic.) Meanwhile, the seramas are still the size of month old chicks to me. I’ve read the same regarding the serama males & combs too, @Chickeria.

I'm planning on butchering the white male silkie & the blue male Silkie and having them for dinner. I’ve never even seen blue skin/black meat chicken dinner, so this will be interesting (to see if I can actually go through with the meal). I need to double check on the best week growth wise to butcher. Sadly, we can’t keep multiple roosters (didn’t go well having a bachelor coop last year

We will be raising the showgirl guy as our lone rooster... if he stays nice, he can stay. I’ve read so many tips on raising/training a nice rooster... I hope it works this time! (Try number 3 to raise one that won’t attack kids or me.)

I’ll update this thread when I butcher (& double check genders) or hear a crow or see eggs!

Hey. How are cochins? They are my Plan B if I can't get d'uccles. Are they friendly? Can they fly?

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Hey. How are cochins? They are my Plan B if I can't get d'uccles. Are they friendly? Can they fly?

I have one cochin bantam. She is 4 months old and one of my friendliest birds. She can fly!

 

[PippinTheChicken]

I have one cochin bantam. She is 4 months old and one of my friendliest birds. She can fly!

That's good to hear! D'uccles are hard to find here so I might have to get cochins. Friendliness is no1 for my flock! But I also want a chicken that can be my parrot, my polish parrot (clover) is a rooster so I have to get a new parrot

 

[MixedFlock23]

Hey. How are cochins? They are my Plan B if I can't get d'uccles. Are they friendly? Can they fly?

We only have one bantam Cochin (& one bantam Brahma). Both our bantams can fly across their runs & up to the perches. (I’ve seen a 20’ long flight and our perches are about 4’ up.) I’d say they fly just as much, but not more, than the standard hens we have.

My Cochin is one of the friendliest birds we have! She always comes to sit by me (or on me) and to get some cuddles each day. (Our two leghorns and the Maran and the speckled Sussex are the other super friendly hens.)

Silkies can’t do anything flightwise, of course, which makes them good rooster candidates since we have young children. (No flying into our faces.) I really hope the Showgirl cockerel works out!

I’m planning on moving the other two cockerels out into the chicken tractor to grow them out a bit more before we butcher them. Yes, butchering & culling are difficult for us, but we don’t have enough hens or land or coops to keep extra boys. I am hoping by moving out the other boys, that the lone showgirl cockerel will be easier to tame & remain friendly towards us & his hens/pullets.

This will likely be the last time we have to cull cockerels as I plan to only buy sexed chicks from here on out. (Silkies aren’t sexed that I’ve seen, so we got straight run twice now trying to get a girl.)

But if we move and get more land, you know I’ll just let them have chicks and start this cycle over again. Ha ha.

 

[MixedFlock23]

That's good to hear! D'uccles are hard to find here so I might have to get cochins. Friendliness is no1 for my flock! But I also want a chicken that can be my parrot, my polish parrot (clover) is a rooster so I have to get a new parrot

Bantam Cochin do make great parrots!

 

[PippinTheChicken]

Bantam Cochin do make great parrots!

Good