White Silkie Roo Characteristics

[MommaK6]

I have 4 silkies-a white, a black and 2 blues. My black silkie is a hen for sure....sweetest little fluff ball with barely an comb or wattles. The grays look to both be roos. One is crowing and the other seems to look identical in regards to tail feathers and a red tint to the comb and wattles. But my white....I go back and forth with daily. Pearl was the largest of them all since Day 1. S/he is very fluff, tail included, and I don't notice any red to the comb or wattles. The main thing that leads me to believe we may have another roo is that s/he has random thin feathers spiking out the back of her head. They are soft, not stiff. I see them blowing in the wind usually. ;-) What else can I look for? They should start laying any day. My other "big girls" have been laying for a month and a half and they were exactly 4 weeks older. The Buff Orp from this batch has begun laying about 2 weeks ago, but the other bantams have not.

 

[aoxa]

Typically silkies shouldn't have any redness in their comb. It is the size that is more indicative of gender.

Pictures would help determine if she/he is a girl or a boy. You should know for sure now. If there are streamers present, I am going to say boy. It all depends on how noticeable the streamers are to me though.

 

[MommaK6]

Typically silkies shouldn't have any redness in their comb. It is the size that is more indicative of gender.
Pictures would help determine if she/he is a girl or a boy. You should know for sure now. If there are streamers present, I am going to say boy. It all depends on how noticeable the streamers are to me though.

I bought them from a local feed mill so I am sure they are not perfect breeds. I will post a picture in a bit. The silkies are tricky to get decent pictures of.

 

[mljohnson05]

Pictures would help a great deal..... I have several silkies...and while the pullets should not really have much red color to the comb and wattles (if breeding is done right and for show) it is possible that they may have some esp. since you got them for a supply store. I SWORE up and down that my grey silkie was a male and then one day woke up to her laying an egg. Silkies are one of the hardest breads to determine gender and can take up to a year B4 they will lay eggs (they can be late bloomers). usually silkies cannot be accuratly sexed until around 6 months of age.
the breeding in mine is to have minimal comb, but in some pullets they may have red comb and waddles (just MUCH smaller than the male). By Blue silkie for the longest time (esp when growing) had what i thought were "streamers" (small but there) once she finished blooming, it all evened out... with most male silkie you will see well defined (no doubt about it) streamers from their crest.
There are many "wives tales" on how to tell if it is male or female.... and one is the Toe length (which in all 3 years I have had silkies has NEVER failed me yet....but i could of been lucky...lol )
Check the toes. Pinch the 1st and 3rd toes together, lining them up(just under the middle toe) and if the toes are the same length, girl, if different lengths(outer toe will probably be the longer of the two) its a boy.
many say it is not a good way (and i can agree), but it has yet to fail me as of date.
Best Wishes and God Bless

 

[aoxa]

Pictures would help a great deal..... I have several silkies...and while the pullets should not really have much red color to the comb and wattles (if breeding is done right and for show) it is possible that they may have some esp. since you got them for a supply store. I SWORE up and down that my grey silkie was a male and then one day woke up to her laying an egg. Silkies are one of the hardest breads to determine gender and can take up to a year B4 they will lay eggs (they can be late bloomers). usually silkies cannot be accuratly sexed until around 6 months of age. the breeding in mine is to have minimal comb, but in some pullets they may have red comb and waddles (just MUCH smaller than the male). By Blue silkie for the longest time (esp when growing) had what i thought were "streamers" (small but there) once she finished blooming, it all evened out... with most male silkie you will see well defined (no doubt about it) streamers from their crest. There are many "wives tales" on how to tell if it is male or female.... and one is the Toe length (which in all 3 years I have had silkies has NEVER failed me yet....but i could of been lucky...lol ) Check the toes. Pinch the 1st and 3rd toes together, lining them up(just under the middle toe) and if the toes are the same length, girl, if different lengths(outer toe will probably be the longer of the two) its a boy. many say it is not a good way (and i can agree), but it has yet to fail me as of date. Best Wishes and God Bless

Even the best quality silkies can be sexed before six months. I was told by one of the best breeders in Canada that he can sex them at 12 weeks. He can guess at 4 weeks pretty accurately as well - not by comb though. I believe mine have different eyes. It's really hard to explain. My boys have bigger rounder eyes, and my girls are very feminine in that area. That and there is a way to sex them via beak (it is about 70-80 % accurate - almost 100% in my experience after 10 weeks).

So if she has streamers and a male beak.. Examples of my male and female beaks.

Female

Male

 

[Jamie278]

Based on your toe gender theory, my Buttercup would be a female, right? My daughter really wants a Silkie hen. We got a Silkie last spring, and he turned out to be a rooster who is pretty protective and mean. Made me nervous when she wanted to try our odds again this year. Buttercup has feather wings which are two lengths as well like most pullets. Not sure if this was accurate on Silkies though. Can you let me know what you think about Buttercup's feet based on your experience? Thanks!