Sillkies 4 weeks

[MrsMVP]

We have 4 sillkies. 2 whites, 1 black, and 1 blue/grey. I've never had silkies before so I'm try to learn to sex them. The black one has attitude ~ would not surprise me if that's a roo. Hoping the fluffy faces if the others mean females.

 

[MrFluffyandGirls]

It's really hard to tell when they are chicks. I do notice my roos tend to stand up straighter and my hens stayed low and horizontal. looking from the rear my hens always look a bit squatted and closer to the ground to me. One female I had I thought might be a rooster because she looked a bit like roo acted so aggressive until she laid a egg one day! Females can have poofs on cheeks too. I have clean faced and poof faced hens.
The roo's poof on top tend to get little streamers sticking up past the poof. It wont take long and they'll crow so you'll know for sure. I had two that started fighting and chasing each other and they turned out to be roosters.

I probably did not help much. Enjoy your silkies! Mine are worthless as functional egg or meat producers but so cute and fluffy I'll always keep a few around just to admire.

 

[ChickyChick82]

I have several Silkies & sexing is near impossible until they are older. I will say that my Silkie rooster is one of my absolute favorite birds in my flock. He is docile & sweet & a total love bug. So, no matter their sex, I am sure you will love them anyways.

 

[MrsMVP]

So I'm going to keep this thread going. Maybe it will come in handy for someone else. Silkies are now 8 weeks - we lost 1 to a hawk and now only have 3; the 2 whites and a black. We bought some more chicks (yay chicken math!) And the black one tucks them under her at night. I'm betting on hen for her but would definitely keep a nuturing rooster. I took pictures of the white ones Combs and as you can see 1 is very red compared to the other. Red comb is aggressive to the new babies and the black one fights him because of it ~ the babies hide under the black when red comb starts his nonsense. The other white is docile and pays no mind to any of it. I think red comb is a rooster and the other 2 are hens based on this behavior.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Are those streamers developing on the second white chick??? Hmmm...

I have two Silkies in my flock of eight chickens. I got them at a local feed store. One (Violey) was small, slender legs and beak. The other (Dandelion) was much larger, had thicker legs and a wider beak, more pronounced comb, and a wild streamer-y crest. One pullet and one cockerel.... or so we thought, until Dandelion laid an egg.

We still joke about that surprise!