White Silkie---Boy or Girl???

[kaitlyn_rae2003]

aw man that really stinks!

He is super pretty though!!
someone please clarify, what exactly are the streamers? sorry, im a newbie to this and will keep any info stored to apply to my silkie chicks! no clue if i have boys or girls!

 

[DragonEggs]

yea thats the chance you take. I try not to get too attached till I know for sure my chicks are going to survive and be the sex I want (and usually because whichever is my current favorite dies for some reason). Maybe you can have them replace your order for you?

ETAL buying adult chickens doesn't always solve all your porblems (they carry more illness and some chickens that didnt grow up together may never get along) and is much more expensive. I'll take my chance with the babies.

 

[Smoky73]

Quote:
Streamers are the longer feathers coming off the silkie boys head, streaming off the back...they are longer than the rest of his crest.

 

[huckleberryfarm]

I couldn't tell in the picture, but does your silkie have a pronounced comb? I have lots of silkies that age, girls and boys. All of my boys have pretty noticeable combs. The girls do not. Although if it's crowing, that's not a good sign. At that age, my hens were scurrying around low to the ground and never made a peep. I feel your pain on the sexes! I just received 35 chicks from Welp yesterday that are supposed to be pullets. My roo/pullet ratio on hatching and buying chicks from breeders is ridiculous. 5 Ameraucanas and one girl. Like that across the board! I hate it! I have a big farm and can keep the roosters but they drive the poor hens crazy. I need more hens. I'm willing to sacrifice quality on the chicks for girls at this point. I don't want to breed. I just want eggs!!!

 

[citychickinthecountry]

This one has a comb, but it's not big. It doesn't stick up above the top feathers. What's strange is that this chicken hangs out with a hen that my Silkie male mounts all the time. I think it's really odd that another male is "allowed" to hang out with a female that another male mates with frequently.

Don't males form their own groups (e.g., form their own circle of hens that they keep together and protect and keep away from other males)?

Hmm....As My Flock Turns.

The only Silkie that has a pronounced comb is the one that I KNOW is a male...the one that mounts the hens.

 

[Smoky73]

Quote:
If the one that mounts the hens is older, then it already has established dominance and as long as your young boy doesn't try to jump the hens there will not be an issue. It all depends on the younger roo, he likely knows his place and won't push the issue, and the older roo, he is not going to care if the other roo is around as long as he makes no attempt on the girls.

 

[citychickinthecountry]

As with my other Silkie, I guess I'll have to wait until he/she either lays an egg or mounts a pullet to know for sure. This Silkie hasn't crowed much, but it's kind of broken...then again, my Silkie Roo (the one that I KNOW is a Silkie) doesn't have a "real" crow either. His crow is kind of broken and hoarse sounding.

 

[adorable]

Quote:
That is how they started to crow. I laugh every time they try to crow. Then it gets better. YOu do have a rooster no doubt about it. And it is starting to crow.

 

[Karrie13]

Your silkie is for sure a boy! I hatched 4 Silkie's in Jan and ALL 4 turned out to be boys. I then purchased 6 from another BYCer (lost one) and out of the five left, 3 are boys! I don't seem to have any luck with silkies. So far I have rehomed one of the older silkie boys and now have to figure out which ones of the others to keep.

Will MPC give you a replacement or just the partial refund? I hope you have better luck next time.

 

[citychickinthecountry]

I'm going to call MPC tomorrow. They claim to have given me the difference of the cost between the females and males for 3 of the 4 males I originally reported as being incorrectly sexed and offered me 4 free females the next time I place an order for chicks. I think I should get a full refund. I've now received 8 birds, 6 of which are the wrong sex!!! That's just ridiculous. That's not the "odds" of what you get, that's someone sending me the wrong birds!