I just love silkies. Most likely, aside from test hatches, I'll only be selling hatching eggs. And we have lots of 4h-ers around here that keep show flocks. Really, I know silkies don't lay well - my lazy full grown hen lays only an egg or two a week. I just love the breed - which is why I think most people breed the birds they do.
I installed a poop deck under the roost beams and under that I have the food and water. Almost all of the poop is contained on the poop deck which is made with melamine board for easy cleaning and eliminates the need for wood chips since the chickens never actually walk directly on the poop deck. I use wood shavings for the rest of the coop and only have to remove the occasional turds every once and a while. But my girls spend the entire day outside free ranging and only come back to grab some food or roost for the night. I'm sure things will be different when we get snow and colder weather.
Last year for the 1st time, I went around my barn & put up plastic over wall cracks, etc. used foam calk to fill other holes, and had a terrible winter with birds getting sick. Needles to say, I've pulled down the plastic & opened up the holes again. Chickens are ok as long as there are no large holes that drafts can come through directly at the chickens. Sometimes there is actually snow on the floors of the coops ifs it is very windy & snowing, but it never seemed to bother them up on the roosts. MY chickens won't go outside when snow is on the ground...whooses!.
