beach chick Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 sorry no photos, but a question o omleteers!! I got my 3 silkie bantams end of May, aged 8 wks, so I suppose they are now about 20 wks. Apricot is about twice the size of Muffin and Crumpet, and has a much much more developed comb-y bit (except its kind of flat and lumpy rather than a standy-up comb). S/he also has very dangly wattles and very blue ears. the other 2 have nothing of the kind... behaviour is fine, no noise or anything, the odd bit of facing up to the others but no aggression. cant see any sign of spurs. will s/he be ok just to carry on in the run with the other 2 banties plus 6 big girls if s/he really is a boy? or is she just much more mature than the other 2 girls? really dont want to get rid of him/her! but hadnt bargained on keeping a cockerel, even if a miniscule one, particularly if the neighbours get upset... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 Without a photo it is difficult to tell. You might have to wait till she crows or lays an egg to be certain. One thing interests me....and that is the blue ears. If she is a she and not a he, it sounds as if she will lay blue eggs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeckyBoo Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 Our silkie had blue ears but laid white eggs. Lovely little pure white ones, only when she felt like it though Hope it's a girl, sounds a bit boyish though, would you be able to post a picture? (anything for a gratuitous chick shot! ) Mrs B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beach chick Posted August 26, 2008 Author Share Posted August 26, 2008 need a break from work, so will go out armed with the camera! the breeder said they would lay little white eggs, about half the size of a normal chook. as egluntine says, I guess time will tell... bless her/him, we love Apricot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAB Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 The first we knew that our mini silkie was a HE was when he crowed for the first time - all the chooks looked baffled, him most of all!!! Fortunately we have been able to keep him as we only have neighbours to one side and our hens are at the other side of house. I don't think he is any noisier than the local wood pigeons and is certainly less noisy than the vast majority of kids toys! We are also lucky that he does not crow too early in the morning. Wishing you luck with yours and hope you can keep her/him either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beach chick Posted August 26, 2008 Author Share Posted August 26, 2008 well, failed with the gratuitous chick shots as got waylaid. however, I googled silkie pics and think my suspicions could be correct. still, Apricot is an androgynous name; I think they are far enough from neighbours not to be a prob; and they are certainly MUCH quieter than the children!!! let's hope s/he rules the roost! very funny though, as current top bird Paris is about 4 times his/her size: I look forward to seeing what happens!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAB Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 Yes, Apricot is much more androgenous than our Gloria! (though the wee fella who used to do drag in "It Aint Half Hot Mum" was known as Gloria! My OH tends to refer to our Gloria as Dave! It will be funny to watch yours if it is a he - ours (very mini) is hilarious as he keeps trying to mate with our very tall exchequer leghorn - he hasn't managed yet but is a trier if nothing else! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinkychick Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 i hope your chuck is a girl. Im still waiting on two of my girls to prove they are! I recon Pecky GG and Alfred are girls... but Pecky is very dominant even though the other 2 are standing up to her. Does anyone know when they start to crow if they are boys and what other signs do i look out for? The chucks are about 15ish weeks old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAB Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 Ours was at least 20 weeks before he began to crow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedusA Posted August 28, 2008 Share Posted August 28, 2008 One thing interests me....and that is the blue ears. If she is a she and not a he, it sounds as if she will lay blue eggs. The blue ears thing is weird. Is it specific to Silkies? But both mine also lay small, very pale (almost white) eggs. Definitely not blue. I've got the Araucanas for those (hopefully). I hope your Silkie does turn out to be a girl, beach chick. Eggs are definitely better than crowing but the girls make enough noise anyway, if my two are anything to go by! I'm sure you'll love him/her come what may. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen Pimlott Posted August 29, 2008 Share Posted August 29, 2008 http://www.postimage.org/aV5eldS.jpg Click on the link, this is a gold bantam male owned by a top silkie breeder. Blue lobes are charicteristic to the breed as are 5 toes & black skin, & a mulberry comb, less prominant in the female. They dont lay blue eggs. Silkies cannot be sexed until 16-18 weeks of age. Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bondinho Posted August 29, 2008 Share Posted August 29, 2008 Yeah I'm afraid you might have to wait until 'it' decides to prove it's sex to you! I originally had 2 silkies and aged about 24 weeks or so - on my birthday I might add - one of them decided to start crowing so I had to return him to the farm. One quite easy way of telling a Silkie cockerel is the hair-do is a little bit more slicked back than the hens who have proper fluffy afros. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
