Ok so my silkies always sleep on the floor in the corner (an arrow pointing to where they sleep) by the door. They have been sleeping in the same spot since I got them. I leave the door open 24/7 and its getting cold and windy here so I dont really want them by the door cause I think they might get sick if they sleep there. So pretty much how do I get them to stop sleeping there? Maybe stacking something there so they have no choice but to move? What kind of nest or area do silkies prefer?
My silkies used to do that as well. They were too timid to go into the coop until the very end as it gets dark so they didn't get harassed by the other chickens. So then it was too dark for them to find their way over to the low roost I had prepared for them. This happened about half the time- the other half the time, they did manage to get on the low (6 inch high) roost I had prepared for them. So they were at the door- I even had a hard time getting the pop door to close sometimes. What improved things was to put a light on inside the coop in the evening. But that made it so that the other chickens were often stuck on the floor of the coop when I turned it off. They couldn't see their way to the roost. Silkies can't fly and thus need a low roost- something they can just hop onto. They often will make it up to the higher roosts if you give them stepping stones, so to speak, but they fall with a horrible thunk- I witnessed that once and no more- I fixed it. You can block them by putting something there- I tried putting cardboard boxes to no avail next to the door- they just slept beside them. I had hoped they would get inside them for warmth. If it were me, I'd simply put one of those totes upside down like this: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=606806&p=2 see post #18 to give them some wind protection but I still don't know if that will be warm enough for them in your climate.
