Silkies in the Deep South!

[jllynn601]

Looking for other silkie owners in the deep South such as Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, etc.

Got my first silkie a little while back and she's doing good so far in the heat and humidity but if you live down here you know it isn't hot yet!

How does your silkie fair in the summer and winter and what type of housing do you have for them?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Whittni]

Silkies do great in the cold and the heat, they are hardy too. I'm over in Utah and we get some crazy weather -harsh winters & -brutal summers. We've had weather around 115*-120* F all week and my silkie does fine. Last year, I raised a whole flock of silkies in the same weather and they were all fine. I'd suggest misting them off when it hits the hottest part of the day, maybe give them a cantaloupe or watermelon every few weeks.

 

[jllynn601]

Thanks for the response! I've read several mixed reviews on their hardiness. What kind of housing do you have for yours?

 

[flgardengirl]

I am in Florida near the east coast of the state. I have mine in houses off the ground with the houses and runs up under oak trees in deep shade. They get a little bit of morning sun and shade the rest of the day. They have cement steps so they can get up into their houses. The nest boxes are just a few inches off the ground and they finally are using them regularly instead of just laying eggs any old where lol. They seem to do okay here. I have had silkies for a couple yrs. I have lavender, bbs, partridge, buff, and white. I have to keep covered runs here due to the hawks and they have to be locked up in the coops at night due to foxes, bobcat, owls, raccoon, possum etc etc lol.

I also have learned to keep the coops as open to air as possible using hardware cloth for big windows on all sides of the coop/s. The better the air circulation, the better off they are. I use pine shavings for bedding and in the nest boxes. I rake it out about once a week or more often if it gets wet somehow (blowing rain etc) and compost it for the garden.

I never use any misters here due to the high humidity and it leads to fungal issues. I tried that with some other breeds and ended up with issues. They do way better with lots of shade, cool drinking water available, and drier air (no extra humidity added) in the deep south.

 

[jllynn601]

I am in Florida near the east coast of the state. I have mine in houses off the ground with the houses and runs up under oak trees in deep shade. They get a little bit of morning sun and shade the rest of the day. They have cement steps so they can get up into their houses. The nest boxes are just a few inches off the ground and they finally are using them regularly instead of just laying eggs any old where lol.  They seem to do okay here. I have had silkies for a couple yrs. I have lavender, bbs, partridge, buff, and white.  I have to keep covered runs here due to the hawks and they have to be locked up in the coops at night due to foxes, bobcat, owls, raccoon, possum etc etc lol. 

I also have learned to keep the coops as open to air as possible using hardware cloth for big windows on all sides of the coop/s. The better the air circulation, the better off they are. I use pine shavings for bedding and in the nest boxes. I rake it out about once a week or more often if it gets wet somehow (blowing rain etc) and compost it for the garden.

I never use any misters here due to the high humidity and it leads to fungal issues. I tried that with some other breeds and ended up with issues. They do way better with lots of shade, cool drinking water available,  and drier air (no extra humidity added) in the deep south. 

Yes, all of my runs have to be covered too because of those stupid possums and coons! I've only lost one chicken to a coon....but they seem to be more worried about getting into my feed than messing with a chicken.

Glad you told me about the mister. I have one for my RSL but they don't care for it so I quit using it. I wasn't sure how it would do with my silkie since she's already so fluffy. I'll continue to keep mine in the shade!