Silkies and cold weather!!

[jackson41]

Hope this is the correct place to post. Can silkies handle cold weather with an insulated coop but no added heat?

 

[love-my-wolves]

Well, I'm no expert, but I have 2 silkies, and 7 other breeds, and they handle the cold here in VA with no problem. We got down to about the teens this year. Of course, I still worried, and put a lamp in later in the winter, for my own piece of mind, but before that they were fit and happy!

 

[jackson41]

Thanks, We got down to 20 below zero this winter our big girls were just fine. The silkies would be in a seperate coop very well insulated.

 

[emys]

Yes. absolutely they can. Wind and moisture effect them more than other breeds due to feather type, but the cold itself is not any more of a problem for them than for other chickens.

 

[JulieNKC]

It got down to around -15 or so with the wind chill here. My silkies went out in December at about 10 weeks old. Their coop is not insulated, but draft free and had a thick layer of bedding. They did fine, slept all piled up. They still do, lol.

 

[jackson41]

Great, I can't wait to have a little group of silkies! Do they need the same 4square feet of floor space per bird or can you go smaller?