Keeping SILKIES warm during the winter

SundownWaterfowl

Crowing
14 Years
Mar 16, 2008
9,764
102
456
Southern Columbia County NY
Im in upstate ny. We get very very cold during the winters. How do I keep my Silkies warm during the winter? This is my first year with Silkies. They will be in an old wood dog coop that was renovated into two breeding pens. Im thinking of stacking some hay bales around the pen to keep the wind gusts off the pen. Im also going to put lots and lots of straw in the coops. Right now the silkies are 4 weeks old. They wont be going outside at nights until at least 3 months old. Ive read that somebody on here lost 2 silkies last winter, and I dont want that to happen to me.
 
i also have 10 silkies and this will be my first winter. i also read about the 2 lost silkies. mine range from 4 weeks to 12 weeks. right now they are in coop, house, and garage. coop will be insulated but i am worried that i will do something wrong and my kids will suffer.
 
Quote:
Hi! I don't know if I was the person you are refering to here, but it did happen to me and I think that I did post about it once. In case I AM that person, I don't want you to worry tooooo much. The rooster that I lost was handicapped when I got him. He had a damaged tendon and he had to slowly hop everywhere he went. He apparently got caught out in an ice storm that came up and wasn't able to make it to the building.

After that, I am more concerned with keeping the silkies dry than warm. Mine have a small house that I built for them made from 3/4" plywood. When I built it I planned to cut those silver sheets of insulation to fit it for the winter, but they did fine all winter without it just bedded deep in straw and snuggling together. The only ones I lost were the ones that got stuck out in the ice storm. Once I covered the top and 2/3's of the side with plastic to keep out the bulk of the rain/ice/snow I haven't had anymore problems :::knock on wood:::. Hope this helps, good luck with your babies!
 
I've raised silkies for a couple of years with no problems with regards to colder temps. And we get down to -30°F quite often in the winter.
 
I am going to have silkies over the winter also. I intend to bed them in straw and pine shavings and hang a heat lamp in their house. If it gets down below freezing I will leave it on for them.
I have heard that old timers would get rid of any chickens that would not roost. because they would be first to get sick and die in the cold.
Not gonna chance losing my babes, so heat lamp it is...
 
AK thanks for posting that..I have silkies for the first time this year too so I'm keeping my eye on this thread
big_smile.png
I want my babies to be safe. I feel better now. It gets that cold her in WI too so I was worried.
 
Last couple of years y'all were colder than us here in AK... But yeah, we get down around -30°F during Jan/Feb, don't usually get above 0°F for at least a couple of months, and my silkies were out there putzing around in the yard with all the other girls. I had one heat lamp on the waterer, and one above the roosts, but my silkies never go more than a couple of feet off the floor. I really think we all worry too much. A draft-free place to get out of the elements is really all they need. Just the other day someone told my husband that they were thinking of getting chickens, and asked what we did to keep them warm. My husband, smart-@ss that he is, replied "Well, first we give them all down jackets..."
gig.gif
They really are really well equipped to handle the cold. More than we think.

hugs.gif
 
I agree AK. I had silkies for a few years and never provided supplemental heat. They were confined to their coop for winter and kept out of the elements and did very well.

Jody
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom