Silkie thread!

[sumterflfreed]

Not sure if this is the right thread for this. But I have 8 silkies and I was browsing threads about roosts and came across a post about silkies may not ever roost and they don't fly at all or not very well. So where do full grown silkies sleep? Should I make a low roost for them? I have a dark brahma that is 4 weeks old thats ready to roost so I will be putting a roost in the coop. Any advice

 

[klilly20]

Not sure if this is the right thread for this. But I have 8 silkies and I was browsing threads about roosts and came across a post about silkies may not ever roost and they don't fly at all or not very well. So where do full grown silkies sleep? Should I make a low roost for them? I have a dark brahma that is 4 weeks old thats ready to roost so I will be putting a roost in the coop. Any advice

Mine either sleeps on the ground or anything a couple feet up

 

[sumterflfreed]

Mine are still young they have basket to sleep in on the floor full of hay but they end up in a pile on the other end my best boxes are 12" off the floor and the next row is 13" above that I'm not apposed to them sleeping in nest boxes but will the be able to get to them? I have a ramp that leads to them for now but they haven't learned to go up yet I have baited it with treats to introduce them to it so we will see I guess my dark brahma will roost alone it has joined the silkie pile for now though

 

[Sylvester017]

Not sure if this is the right thread for this. But I have 8 silkies and I was browsing threads about roosts and came across a post about silkies may not ever roost and they don't fly at all or not very well. So where do full grown silkies sleep? Should I make a low roost for them? I have a dark brahma that is 4 weeks old thats ready to roost so I will be putting a roost in the coop. Any advice

It's true - Silkies don't fly but they have the cutest running jump. They will flap wings when jumping up and I've seen them jump as high as 3 or 4 feet straight up when startled. We heard tales of Silkies sleeping piled up on the floor but since our coop was 4 open wire walls we didn't want to see them on the drafty dirt floor. We were so happy to see on their first night they slept cuddled in a big nestbox. The nestboxes are 18" off the floor and have a platform row in front of the nestboxes so the Silkies jump to the platform and walk to the nestbox of their choosing. For jumping down there has to be a good clearance for them to land safely/softly so not to hit coop walls or hard flooring. We use a dirt floor for our little coop but a thick pile of shavings or deep leaves are a good cushion over hard floors. All of our breeds sleep in the nestboxes because its enclosed from the 4 open wire walls of the coop. We have an 18" high roost pole that the Silkies use during the day but at night they prefer to roost in the nestboxes. I'm just glad they don't sleep on the poopy drafty dirt floor.

 

[sumterflfreed]

Thanks for the information

 

[Sustained]

Mine are still young they have basket to sleep in on the floor full of hay but they end up in a pile on the other end my best boxes are 12" off the floor and the next row is 13" above that I'm not apposed to them sleeping in nest boxes but will the be able to get to them? I have a ramp that leads to them for now but they haven't learned to go up yet I have baited it with treats to introduce them to it so we will see I guess my dark brahma will roost alone it has joined the silkie pile for now though

Mine have access to low roosting poles but so far have no interest. They briefly sit on them throughout the day but at night they all pile together on the ground. My rir/EE mix joins them rather than roosting alone. So I just make sure that they have a nice clean coop floor full of wood shavings. I also couldn't get them to jump up into nesting boxes so I have those on the ground as well and make sure to keep fresh dried grass in them.

 

[BonRae67]

I have already moved them nest and all into my brooder room where it is warm and safe from things that may want to harm the little ones. I will keep eye on the hens if they show they are not taking care of the little ones I will take them. Thank you

Wow you have a brooder room. I will have to see about building one of those.

 

[klilly20]

Wow you have a brooder room. I will have to see about building one of those.

LOL . In the past we have had rats kill our little chicks. We live next to a small stream so we do have these varmints come thru from time to time the cat helps some. It is a 8X8 room and has concrete floors I use metal roofing along the outside bottom of the walls to prevent them from chewing holes. I purchased a temperature controller from Amazon, use a little heater it stays around 80 degrees, I also use a brooder lamp. It was a little work but it is worth it. I have a chair so I can set and watch these guys it is fun

 

[Annalog]

My Silkies roost on a 2x4, 4" side up, we put up a couple feet above the floor across from the nesting boxes just under a foot above the floor. They jump to the nesting boxes and then across to the roost.

 

[klilly20]

Wow you have a brooder room. I will have to see about building one of those.

I was able to get one of them from mama they are silkies