Letting my birds out when it's cold

[Ridgerunner]

I've never had silkies but my understanding is that the silkie feathering gene is recessive so your silkie crosses should have regular feathers. Also silkies are supposed to have a rose or cushion comb. Those are dominant and smaller than a single comb. Your crosses should be as or more cold hardy than many other birds. I wouldn't worry about that. Yes, I'd call them mutts.

Cold is not the enemy, wind is. I always leave the pop door open and let mine decide if they want to go out or not. If a cold wind is blowing they stay inside. If the wind is calm mine go out in any temperatures, even below zero Fahrenheit.

If you provide a wind block on the bottom of that they will be using that area a lot. They do need decent ventilation so I'd leave some areas up high open. The issue with that is that they won't like snow and snow can blow in from the side. You might want to wrap it fairly high to deal with snow but leave some openings up high.

That 4" open area at the top of the wall between the run and coop is probably enough ventilation if it runs all the way across. Not sure you need that rubber flashing. The kind of wind you are trying to prevent is a wind that will ruffle their feathers. A little air coming in is a good thing as long as it is really gentle. I don't think you are in that bad a shape. Good luck!

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

You'll do fine. The first winter is always a scary one as you are dealing with so much new stuff. Wrapping the run in heavy plastic is fine. Just make sure there is adequate ventilation. Chickens don't mind cold so much, but they really don't like the wind blowing on them. Remove the water at night and replace it in the morning. My concern with the prefab coop is the strength of the hardware cloth wire. If possible, I would at the very least cover it with some 2" x 4" dog wire fencing for a little added security. I've left my pop door open all Spring and Summer, but just started closing it when the temperatures dropped. I suspect the neighborhood predators may be a little more motivated to try for that free chicken dinner when other food sources are scarce. Best of luck with your wee ones. Oh, and a little corn before bed time helps to keep them a bit warmer on cold nights.