Hi Everyone, thanks for adding me : ) i breed silkies and i am finding it hard to determine them as boys or girls... normally i wait until one crows .. has anyone got any ideas please?
I hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.
BYC has Topic of the Week discussions which I have found to be a great resource, informative and sometimes entertaining; so definitely worth checking out.
If you would like to share Pictures and Stories of your flock, you have come to the right place. BYC’ers never tire of these and do not back away slowly or commence eye rolling when the photo album or home videos come out
Including your general location on your profile will assist others. Location, climate, season etc can be important factors when members are responding to any questions you may have and vice versa.
Silkies are notoriously hard to sex. I hatched out some. 9 survived. I waffled between girl or boy for what seemed like forever, but ended up with 9 boys out of 9 chicks. What are the odds, huh?
A couple of clues can help. The roos combs will sort of start looking like shriveled up prunes (sorry, only way I can think to describe it) while the girls’ combs remain dainty looking. The boys will start to show streamers coming off the poofs on top of their heads while the girls’ poofs look more like cotton balls without the long streamers. Oh, and one will crow, the other will lay eggs. <sigh> Silly Silkies!!
Silkies are very difficult to sex early. Generally the best time is 4-5 mos. of age unless someone crows earlier than that. You can also post photos of your birds at "what breed or gender is this." Please state age in photos - and the folks there will do their best to sort them out for you.
Hello Amanda welcome to BYC! There's lots of knowledgable and friendly folks here who are always willing to offer advice if needed or simply just talk chicken! I hope you enjoy the site!