Silkies and the heat.

[Sylviaanne]

Because of the shape of Silkies feathers, are they called feathers? Do they get hotter than flat feathered chickens?

 

[MumsyII]

They are barbless feathers.

I live in a temperate area. PNW. We sometimes get high 80's and rarely 90's summertime weather. I have a silkie flock of around a 75 birds and a flock of smooth feathered (barbed feathers) around 20. I see no difference in their ability to stay comfortable. All free range and spend the heat of the day in the shrubbery. All have access to cool water and shade at all times.

 

[Sylviaanne]

They are barbless feathers.

I live in a temperate area. PNW. We sometimes get high 80's and rarely 90's summertime weather. I have a silkie flock of around a 75 birds and a flock of smooth feathered (barbed feathers) around 20. I see no difference in their ability to stay comfortable. All free range and spend the heat of the day in the shrubbery. All have access to cool water and shade at all times.

Apparently it wasn't the heat itself that got to my little silkie, it was that he was raised on chicken nipple waterers and had forgotten how to drink from open water. I have dipped his beak in the water but still have not seen him drink. I am continuing to watch him.

 

[Sylviaanne]

So far, so good with my new little fellow. He seems to be doing ok but I have no idea how much he should be eating and drinking. I have food and water down for him but I have not seen him eat much of the chick starter and it looks like he only drinks once a day. That can't be right because he's still alive but he drinks something like 2-3 ounces of water with a few drops of acv and then I don't see him drinking.

I have been giving him mashed/boiled egg and he eats some of that but it doesn't seem like enough to sustain him. He is going potty but not as much as I think he should. He is running around in the house and I'm not finding poops all over the place.

He seems to be missing his flock mates because when I put him up at night, he calls for them. Or at least that is my interpretation of what he is doing. He also howls. Have you ever heard a chicken howl? I never have. I thought he was dying. At first I didn't even know it was him and he was sitting in my lap when he did it, he has done it a couple of times since then, once in the floor and a 2nd time in my lap.

 

[Stiggy]

Acv can dehydrate them further, try giving him sugar water, the sugar should make him drink more as well as giving him a little energy. They can deal with hot temps as long as they have enough cool shade and cold water, they dont do so well in the wet though, their feathers clump together Luke human hair and they can't stay warm, which is when they get hypothermic, sick and die. So a rain free place is great in winter and if it's tin or something then it can make shade in summer . good luck for your baby silkie

 

[Sylviaanne]

Acv can dehydrate them further, try giving him sugar water, the sugar should make him drink more as well as giving him a little energy. They can deal with hot temps as long as they have enough cool shade and cold water, they dont do so well in the wet though, their feathers clump together Luke human hair and they can't stay warm, which is when they get hypothermic, sick and die. So a rain free place is great in winter and if it's tin or something then it can make shade in summer . good luck for your baby silkie

I didn't stop to think how they will fare in the winter. We have been getting snow every winter since we have been out here, 12 years. Sometimes enough to make it hard to get out of the driveway. Do Silkies do ok in winter and snow? Do I need to do more in my coop for winter?

 

[Sylviaanne]

With my babies and Sam I have 11 Silkies, are they going to be able to stay warm during winter?

 

[Stiggy]

If you can keep them warm and covered they should be fine, they will need over head protection from the snow and rain, and side protection for the cold winds. What kind of set up do you currently have?

 

[Sylviaanne]

I have a building but it's going to be crowded if we can't put an add on onto it before winter. If it gets cold too fast, we won't get it done. It's too hot for me and my husband to go out there and work in this heat, we have to try to catch some middle ground. Ideally I'd like to build a little coop for them by themselves but we are going to need the space added to the building anyways. I think we will have to do that first and see if we have time to build a little coop and run for them by themselves.

 

[Stiggy]

Sounds like. Good idea even a poly carb veranda could work. I used to have a 5 by 3 m tunnel house for my silkies over winter, this year they had to go without after moving nd their new shed got delayed , however they had a huge run an house that had a poly carb veranda and they could sit up on the porch as they pleased, we were lucky it wasn't a cold snow winter, just very very flooded wet and frosty . If you think that it is to small and can't do anything to it then I would suggest putting in some perch branches, multi level or something and some things for them to do it can help to erase the Bordem and stop feather plucking