How to determine the sex of Silkie chicks

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It’s been so much fun getting into the backyard chicken hobby with the family.  The kids really enjoy collecting eggs and are able to enjoy hands on experience with Silkies because they are so docile.    They have  barb-less feathers making them super puffy and soft like a rabbit.  Silkies are the only black skinned chicken with black meat and bones and one of the few breeds that have five toes! For some reason they are very calm and make excellent adoptive mothers.

The major drawback to having this breed is the time that it takes for Silkies to mature.  They are usually around 8 months of age or more before they crow or lay an egg making it more difficult to determine if you have a hen or a rooster, which can be a bit pesky for the urban backyard chicken enthusiast where they do not allow roosters.  The birds are very popular, sometimes difficult to find as confirmed pullets or hens, and can be expensive once they reach that age, so getting them as chicks is an easy and cheap way to enjoy this wonderful breed of chicken.  BUT Silkies are notoriously hard to sex.  That is why I was very thankful to find this nice article with a great picture to help me out with determining the sex of Silkie chicks, from chooktrader.com.  Take a look!

http://www.chooktrader.com.au/blog/2012/04/sexing-silkies/#comment-503

 

My reply to the article below…

 

Elly May on said:

Hello! Thanks for sharing this great info. Its been super helpful for me, as I have been able to pick out some Silkies from the feed store that I feel (a bit more sure) are girls. One of the babies that I picked up before I found this info has a comb that looks like the boy in the picture above. He is the largest one in my group and seems to be a bit more aggressive in nature (jumping on others). It really is nice to have such a good picture and description of how to sex Silkie chicks because there really isn’t that much info out there. Thanks again!

Added: June 4th, 2012    

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One Response to “How to determine the sex of Silkie chicks”

  1. Tracelaine says:

    Thanks for the article link here. If I ever get the nerve to start my backyard roost, II’ll likely be purchasing from the farm supply store, and knowing how to sex these littles will be good to know!

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