I really really want to know how you can tell if it's a pullet if its not laying.... no one I know with Silkies can tell. They tell me - you won't know till it crows or lays an egg! hahaha
Silkies - They’re simply SPECTACULAR!
- Thread starter HuffleClaw
- Start date
AngBantamLuv
Bantam Chickens on a Pocket Prairie
Post a few pics.. some silkie ID pros live here!!
Silkie Princess
Crossing the Road
Still not sureIf they have fluff under their chins, then they are bearded.
Photos from the internet:
Bearded
View attachment 2818826
Non bearded
View attachment 2818827
She is clearly not non bearded but the floof on her face is not covering everything. I'll post a pic (she is the buff silkie on the left side of the pic)Attachments
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LynnaePB
Free Ranging
Aww they are getting so big! Both look absolutely adorable!Taking updated photos this morning of the silkie youngsters, when Hanabi, the honorary silkie, kept photo bombing! I just love her.View attachment 2819014View attachment 2819015View attachment 2819016View attachment 2819017View attachment 2819018View attachment 2819019
Here are some pics... so excited. It fits up to 12 LF Chickens.. so 8 bantams can all be as antisocial as ElsaI'll be able to add branches or a perch "tree" too, since its tall enough.
View attachment 2820257View attachment 2820258View attachment 2820259View attachment 2820260View attachment 2820261
That coop looks great! I bet your girls will love one like that!
I get them sometimes. My black from paints get those lighter toe tips all the time. A lot of the time it darkens to black as they get older though, your cuties may or may not too.
As for the odd conjoined toes that is a pretty common thing that can pop up. It can be genetic but it can also be from incubation. The polydactyly gene is very finicky and temperatures in early incubation can really affect how the toes form.
I actually saw firsthand this phenomenon in the last 4 chicks I hatched. 3 of the 4 started incubation under a broody. She wasn't very good at keeping the eggs covered, I kept finding eggs sitting next to her cold. The 4th was started in my trusted incubator that keeps really consistent temperatures. When the first three hatched I noticed their toes were much more close together/slightly fused than I'm used to. The chick that started in the incubator and was never subjected to temperature fluctuations has really nicely spaced toes. That chick and two of the ones with the slightly fused toes I'm almost positive are full siblings so in this case it seems it was very likely incubation related.
Aww such a cutie! With those very pronounced streamers and the way the red is distributed I'd be pretty positive this is a cockerel.
I get really early crowers sometimes while others may take over 6 months to start crowing. A lot of the later crowers are with other cockerels and are lower in the pecking order. Your little guy may start feeling comfortable enough to start crowing now you rehomed the other older cockerel.
Still not sure
That definitely looks like a little beard to me (the white one has it too).
The beard being fairly small may be due to the beard being heterozygous (only having one copy of the gene). The bearded gene is codominant so two copies make a bigger/fuller beard than one copy. When you breed together two birds that only have one bearded gene each you can get fully bearded, partially bearded, and non bearded offspring.
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PippinTheChicken
🧡🤍💙
I heard a crow this morning. I say crow, but it sounded more like a cute little squeak! I hope it's not Ginger, I'm not ready to rehome him yet
PippinTheChicken
🧡🤍💙
That is beautiful! I have gotten fed up with my prefab and I am looking for a coop for my chickens. I already have a run so that coop won't work. I'm looking into sheds and kids playhouses I can modify!Here are some pics... so excited. It fits up to 12 LF Chickens.. so 8 bantams can all be as antisocial as Elsa
View attachment 2820257View attachment 2820258View attachment 2820259View attachment 2820260View attachment 2820261
If I end up getting cochins this year I'll make the thread
Oh I know they are all Hens now
Had two other Silkies, Stanley (whom I knew was a rooster) and I optimistically named the other one Roxanne, then she started crowing hahahaha. Tried to call him Rocky after that but he knew Roxanne so it stuck. Unfortunately they were killed by a Fox.
My remaining three were about 2 months younger than the Roosters, and I would have bet money that the one was a rooster - till she laid an egg hahaha. Then the other two laid eggs so its a sure bet then!
Now I get three eggs a day from those three wee hens - and they sure do let the world know about it - for such wee things they can sure make a lot of noise!
My one Silkie (cochin X actually) has fused toes, I have to watch the nails as I found they would grow into her foot. I catch her up every couple of weeks and if needed I clip the nails back.Aww they are getting so big! Both look absolutely adorable!
That coop looks great! I bet your girls will love one like that!
I get them sometimes. My black from paints get those lighter toe tips all the time. A lot of the time it darkens to black as they get older though, your cuties may or may not too.
As for the odd conjoined toes that is a pretty common thing that can pop up. It can be genetic but it can also be from incubation. The polydactyly gene is very finicky and temperatures in early incubation can really affect how the toes form.
I actually saw firsthand this phenomenon in the last 4 chicks I hatched. 3 of the 4 started incubation under a broody. She wasn't very good at keeping the eggs covered, I kept finding eggs sitting next to her cold. The 4th was started in my trusted incubator that keeps really consistent temperatures. When the first three hatched I noticed their toes were much more close together/slightly fused than I'm used to. The chick that started in the incubator and was never subjected to temperature fluctuations has really nicely spaced toes. That chick and two of the ones with the slightly fused toes I'm almost positive are full siblings so in this case it seems it was very likely incubation related.
Aww such a cutie! With those very pronounced streamers and the way the red is distributed I'd be pretty positive this is a cockerel.
I get really early crowers sometimes while others may take over 6 months to start crowing. A lot of the later crowers are with other cockerels and are lower in the pecking order. Your little guy may start feeling comfortable enough to start crowing now you rehomed
That definitely looks like a little beard to me (the white one has it too).
The beard being fairly small may be due to the beard being heterozygous (only having one copy of the gene). The bearded gene is codominant so two copies make a bigger/fuller beard than one copy. When you breed together two birds that only have one bearded gene each you can get fully bearded, partially bearded, and non bearded offspring.
Ain't that the truth!
My silkie hens make the most noise out of all my chickens! They almost sound like small geese to me. If they see a cat, they warn the whole neighborhood!
AngBantamLuv
Bantam Chickens on a Pocket Prairie
And i had thought my house silkies were one offs!!Ain't that the truth!
My silkie hens make the most noise out of all my chickens! They almost sound like small geese to me. If they see a cat, they warn the whole neighborhood!
i was like.. girls.. shhhh.. you're illegal, inside my house, w the doors and windows closed, and i can still hear you outside!! I actually had a couple wild ducks land in my yard at that time. I wondered if their noise attracted them.I am looking at some silkied easter eggers... since i want both breeds, but have a chicken limit. I wonder what they sound like
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