Need advice on Silkie coop

[stilwellchick]

I now have a new coop for some Silkies and need some advice on the inside finish. How high should the roost be and will they use nest boxes at the same height as the roost? I don't know if I should apply the same ideas I have used in my heavy breed coop which turned out very well. Some say their silkies all sleep on the floor. Do they also prefer nests on the floor? Thanks all coop builders for your suggestions.

 

[silkiechicken]

I say just treat them like your regular birds... mine all sleep on roosts now that they are adults. Took them ALOT longer to figure it out though.

 

[stilwellchick]

My bigger girls sleep and nest 3 feet off the ground. Can Silkies get up that high?

 

[therealsilkiechick]

i made homemade wooden next boxes for mine, they have never cared to really roost. they sit on the floor of the coops to lay so i made floor boxes and i put shaveings in them. they are made a big 4 sided box then put a divider in the middle. the top is open and the front has a lip so eggs don't roll out. they are 10-12" tall and if they want to roost they just sit on the dividers or sides.

i've not figured out how to put roosts in yet and even if i did i don't see them useing it.
silkie

 

[Dawn419]

We have the Silky nest box sitting right on top of the pine shavings, on the floor...

We had a roost set-up for them, but they never used them, so I took them out. Their favorite spot to roost is on the top rung of the ladder, in the doorway...as modeled by Blackbeard...

The chickens have me well trained...

Dawn

 

[silkiechicken]

Might want to put roosts down a foot. Mine roost on a roost that is either 6 inches or 2 feet from the ground...

 

[woodenart]

For Silkies, our perches are 9 inches from the floor, hope this helps.

Mark.

 

[stilwellchick]

Thank you all for the info. If they don't care to roost and their nest boxes are on the floor, do they sleep in the nest boxes too?

 

[Dawn419]

I've never caught ours sleeping in the box.

Be warned though, once they hit laying stage, you may end up with a bunch of broody girls who refuse to leave the nest...whether they are sitting on an egg or not. I think ours would hatch air, if I let them.

Dawn

 

[mtnchicks]

Mine roost about 3 feet off the ground, with the others. I just made the rungs on the ladder closer together (maybe 9 inches), and they hop right on up and then walk across the roost boards. The non-silkies just skip the rungs that they don't need to get up. It definitely took them longer to figure it out though. Having the others helped: the Silkies knew they should go up there and be with the others, they just had to figure out how.