Help! Silkie doesn't sleep in coop. Will she freeze?

[britt6767]

So I recently got rid of most of my chickens and only kept 1 silkie and 2 babies. The silkie never slept in the coop regardless of the heat lamp. She just won't. now that it's getting colder like 25 degrees I'm guessing, I'm very worried she will freeze or get sick. She seems perfectly fine in the morning but I'm worried. Does anyone know about this?! And I'm new to this so I'm not sure where to post this. Hopefully this is the place

 

[samantha LW]

I had the same problem with a Polish hen. She did not want to go in the coop at night but wanted to sleep on top of the bunny hutch because she likes to sleep flat on her face not on a bar. Even in the rain she would be outside. Every night for a week I would wait until dark then go get her and place her in the coop. Now she just goes in the coop with everyone else.

 

[torilovessmiles]

Another breed may be fine, but silkies aren't exactly suited to live out of the coop, especially alone.Their feathers are poor at insulating them, so they lose heat easier and are very vulnerable to wind and cold. She can probably handle 25 degrees if it's not too windy or wet, but any colder and you may have to catch her and put her in her coop yourself.
Also, she actually may dislike the heat lamp in the coop, actually. They don't need it as long as their coop isn't drafty, especially if it's just 25 degrees. By giving them a heat lamp, you don't give them the opportunity to acclimate to the new temperatures. So if the power goes out when there's a -5 degree snowstorm, they will not be ready to handle it.