Early Silkie Sexing - Week by Week Journey With Photos

[silkiemama002]

Hey there!

I have been searching high and low for a week-by-week growth/gender comparison for silkies, to help me guess what sex my chicks might turn out to be. I know it is almost impossible but I am interested in testing out theories!

I found two great threads on BYC that I found super interesting; two people posted week by week pictures of their babies and had people guess along the way through their development confirming the result later down the track. Although my guesses were wrong on basically all of them (lol) I found it to be such a great resource. So I'd love to contribute to this source of info as well, in case anyone else is looking for the same thing. (Doesn't hurt to have other peoples opinions on their gender either )

I've included three pictures of each baby with their names:

Picture one: Angled photo of beak
Picture two: Side on
Picture three: Front on with comb

They're purebred silkies and all from the same flock. They were born on 4th September within about 2 hours of one another, so two weeks old tomorrow! (We're in Aus so 17th here today)

Let me know what you think! I'll come back and update again next week with week 3 ... Even if no one replies lol

P.S: DON'T MIND MY GROSS NAILS I'M GETTING THEM DONE TODAY... YARD WORK IS NOT KIND TO HANDS

First Pics: Two Weeks Old

 

[talkinboutchickens]

Still too early to tell but based on the tail feathers Eddie might be a female, I can't see Jacks' tail feathers. Also Eddie looks female cuz of the head shape and size and the wing feather growth

 

[silkiemama002]

Still too early to tell but based on the tail feathers Eddie might be a female, I can't see Jacks' tail feathers. Also Eddie looks female cuz of the head shape and size and the wing feather growth

@talkinboutchickens Agreed way too early! Although I love the learning side of this and seeing progression through ages. I can't believe there is so little online about it when searching.

So many people have crazy theories about how to tell from such young ages, and I kind of want to see if any of them play out. My ADHD loves trying to understand the why LOL

My theories:

They all seem to have a kind of similar shaped head from above, but Patsy is definitely different to the other two and appears rounder from a side profile. Interestingly "she" is my guess for a roo. She's so curious, and seems ever so slightly bigger with a bit thicker legs. (Although to be fair 'her' egg was 3/4g heavier than Eddies and 11g heavier than Jacks when it went into the incubator, so a minor spanner in that theory.) Her tail has also not grown as fast as Eddie and Jacks and is a bit shorter...

Extra pics:

I've attached a pic of Jacks' tail, and also all three top down so you can see tails and head shape. Although they're not great for the blondies tails owing to the puppy pads being white, or for Jacks' head shape because of 'her' colouring.

 

[silkiemama002]

Still too early to tell but based on the tail feathers Eddie might be a female, I can't see Jacks' tail feathers. Also Eddie looks female cuz of the head shape and size and the wing feather growth

@talkinboutchickens Interested to hear more about the wing feather growth! What do you look for?

 

[talkinboutchickens]

@talkinboutchickens Interested to hear more about the wing feather growth! What do you look for?

Yeah so basically, *most* pullets' feathers come in quicker than males, so while one chick's tail feathers are just a stub, another chick may have a few little feathers on there.

(first pic is a pullet, second is a cockerel.)
I go by this method as well as the head shape which no one initially thinks about...I found that a few chicks with skinny heads and necks are females

(plus look at the feather growth...Only one day after this girl hatched!)
and sometimes the chicks with really fat heads (looks like a ball attached to another ball ) are usually males.

This isn't the greatest method but I found that it has worked to sex a few chicks.
Sometimes chicks with fat heads turn out to be females as in the case of these two.

I also go by leg thickness, behavior towards other chicks, and comb and wattles growth. The wing shape method hasn't really worked for me unfortunately

But yeah based on the feather growth Jacks looks like a female, but I'm not sure on the other two...Keep an eye on those feathers and their behavior

 

[silkiemama002]

Yeah so basically, *most* pullets' feathers come in quicker than males, so while one chick's tail feathers are just a stub, another chick may have a few little feathers on there.
View attachment 3945700
View attachment 3945704View attachment 3945705
(first pic is a pullet, second is a cockerel.)
I go by this method as well as the head shape which no one initially thinks about...I found that a few chicks with skinny heads and necks are females
View attachment 3945709
(plus look at the feather growth...Only one day after this girl hatched!)
and sometimes the chicks with really fat heads (looks like a ball attached to another ball ) are usually males.
View attachment 3945707View attachment 3945708
This isn't the greatest method but I found that it has worked to sex a few chicks.
Sometimes chicks with fat heads turn out to be females as in the case of these two.
View attachment 3945706
I also go by leg thickness, behavior towards other chicks, and comb and wattles growth. The wing shape method hasn't really worked for me unfortunately

But yeah based on the feather growth Jacks looks like a female, but I'm not sure on the other two...Keep an eye on those feathers and their behavior

This is awesome thank you!

I know everyone says that there isn’t a way to tell, but my brain tells me that there must be tell tale early signs. Even if they are not always accurate, it’s great to have these resources to *attempt* to suss it out. Thanks for taking the time to write it and share your pictures!!

Everything you shared is in line with my suspicions on my three. (With Patsy being a boy) Her behaviour is distinctly different too… so nosey, curious and bossy. lol

I can’t wait to see if the theories are correct! I would love to have two little girls in that brooder right now

Your little ones are adorable!

 

[talkinboutchickens]

This is awesome thank you!

I know everyone says that there isn’t a way to tell, but my brain tells me that there must be tell tale early signs. Even if they are not always accurate, it’s great to have these resources to *attempt* to suss it out. Thanks for taking the time to write it and share your pictures!!

Everything you shared is in line with my suspicions on my three. (With Patsy being a boy) Her behaviour is distinctly different too… so nosey, curious and bossy. lol

I can’t wait to see if the theories are correct! I would love to have two little girls in that brooder right now

Your little ones are adorable!

Of course! I'm glad I could help! Most weren't my pics but I would love to take pics of the next chicks I get and experiment with sexing methods and the difference between male and female each day and week. The last 4 pics were mine though Dark gray one is Opal, the two in the two next pics were boys so we gave them away, and the last two chicks are Bear and Little Debbie.

 

[talkinboutchickens]

@JedJackson

 

[JedJackson]

Silkies are particularly difficult when trying to distinguish gender for several reasons, so it usually takes much longer with them. The reasons include the dark skin color. On regular chicks, you can detect early reddening of the comb as a sign of a male, but this is impossible with Silkies. Bearded Silkies won't show much or any wattle growth, so you cannot use that as a guide. Another reason is that it is very difficult to detect male specific feathering on Silkie plumage.

All of that said, there are only two reliable ways to determine gender early. One is vent sexing, which should be left to professionals as it is very, very easy to harm or kill the chicks if it's tried at home. The other way is to send in fluff samples to a lab, which can accurately determine gender for a fee. For people who really, really need to know, this is what I recommend.

Otherwise, you just have to wait and keep your eyes on the combs. Males will generally get some height to their combs by 8 weeks, and their combs are usually wider. Females will have flat combs until much later, and they are generally narrower.

I personally don't put any stock in feather sexing. It can work if it is specifically and scientifically bred for, as in Amberlinks, but otherwise it is of no use as far as I'm concerned. So basically you either pay or learn to be very patient.

 

[Logar]

Yeah so basically, *most* pullets' feathers come in quicker than males, so while one chick's tail feathers are just a stub, another chick may have a few little feathers on there.
View attachment 3945700
View attachment 3945704View attachment 3945705
(first pic is a pullet, second is a cockerel.)
I go by this method as well as the head shape which no one initially thinks about...I found that a few chicks with skinny heads and necks are females
View attachment 3945709
(plus look at the feather growth...Only one day after this girl hatched!)
and sometimes the chicks with really fat heads (looks like a ball attached to another ball ) are usually males.
View attachment 3945707View attachment 3945708
This isn't the greatest method but I found that it has worked to sex a few chicks.
Sometimes chicks with fat heads turn out to be females as in the case of these two.
View attachment 3945706
I also go by leg thickness, behavior towards other chicks, and comb and wattles growth. The wing shape method hasn't really worked for me unfortunately

But yeah based on the feather growth Jacks looks like a female, but I'm not sure on the other two...Keep an eye on those feathers and their behavior

That really only works with specific hybrids. One of my chicks only started to get feathers 2 or 3 weeks after everyone else.

Both these birds are the same breed, same age, and same sex