Silkie thread!

Can my silkie handle the cold at night alone? I'm in NY and have a small flock of 5 hens. My coop is not huge, just right for them. Now four of the five hens roost at night. the roost in low about 15inches. Our little silkie can't seem or doesn't attempt to go up it. Instead I find her in the nest box in a corner next to the wall. For right now we are picking her up and roosting her with the others during the night. My concern is if she falls off, could she freeze?? shes really tiny compared to others i've seen of the silkie breed. Any advice from other silkie owners.
 
Can my silkie handle the cold at night alone? I'm in NY and have a small flock of 5 hens. My coop is not huge, just right for them. Now four of the five hens roost at night. the roost in low about 15inches. Our little silkie can't seem or doesn't attempt to go up it. Instead I find her in the nest box in a corner next to the wall. For right now we are picking her up and roosting her with the others during the night. My concern is if she falls off, could she freeze?? shes really tiny compared to others i've seen of the silkie breed. Any advice from other silkie owners.

I provide a little ladder for silkies to climb up to the perch. She may still stay on the ground , in which case you could consider getting her a Silkie companion. Heating in coops can be very dangerous.
I use straw or hay bales to insulate my pens but it can also self combust if it gets wet, so it must be kept under cover and dry.
 
This is interesting to me. I let my Silkie, Grey, hatch two eggs and I thought I had a little black chick but look what happened today!
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those little brown tips are killing me! These are the parents.
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I'm terrible at trying to figure out these Silkie genetics and colors. Does anyone have an idea about what the parents could produce? She only hatched two eggs and this is the other cutie pie.
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Often when you cross blue with partridge you will get a blue with red leakage.
 
Can my silkie handle the cold at night alone? I'm in NY and have a small flock of 5 hens. My coop is not huge, just right for them. Now four of the five hens roost at night. the roost in low about 15inches. Our little silkie can't seem or doesn't attempt to go up it. Instead I find her in the nest box in a corner next to the wall. For right now we are picking her up and roosting her with the others during the night. My concern is if she falls off, could she freeze?? shes really tiny compared to others i've seen of the silkie breed. Any advice from other silkie owners.

Silkies are notorious for being bottom sleepers and seldom use perches to sleep. My Silkies from Day 1 have always slept in a nestbox and we put extra straw in the boxes for that reason - easier to clean poops in the morning. I don't force them to do what they don't want to. A small covered cat litter box or lidded Kidz Homz storage container filled with straw might be a good place for a Silkie to keep warm - that's if the other hens don't steal it from her LOL! It happens that all my Silkies and LF sleep in a nestbox - 4 hens and 4 nestboxes! A second Silkie is good for companionship and as a sleeping buddy. When it is really cold I've had 4 hens in one nestbox!
 
Thank you fancychooklady and sylvester017. I will add some straw down for her and see if she would be interested in a step ladder. I think I am going to insulate the nestbox too. I wish I could get another silkie, but right now it's out of the question. I just need to find a way to make things work with the girls I have :) I will not put in a heat lamp, due to fire hazards and other reasons. She is just such an ittybitty little girl. I have with her a speckled sussex, easter egger and 2 polish, The speckled sussex sometimes would lay in the nestbox with her, but recently she started roosting so now the silkie is alone in the corner of the box. My question is also how hardy are they with these extreme colds to come? I see lots of fluff, but does that insulate just as well as other hens feathers?
 
Can my silkie handle the cold at night alone? I'm in NY and have a small flock of 5 hens. My coop is not huge, just right for them. Now four of the five hens roost at night. the roost in low about 15inches. Our little silkie can't seem or doesn't attempt to go up it. Instead I find her in the nest box in a corner next to the wall. For right now we are picking her up and roosting her with the others during the night. My concern is if she falls off, could she freeze?? shes really tiny compared to others i've seen of the silkie breed. Any advice from other silkie owners.

I didn't even see your comment before I posted last night! Where are you? I'm in dutchess county. I have ten 6 week old silkies and seven 6 month old silkies. None of them roost. I did go ahead and put my mama heating pad cave into the coop last night. The younger ones are a little to big to fit under, but they piled on top of and around it last night. Also, I noticed it was warmer inside the coop then outside this morning, so maybe I will use that for now. I know I'll be a wreck when it starts falling below zero this winter...and snowing! How did yours do last night? Do they all go into the run, even in the cold? Mine never stay in the coop once the door is open.
 

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