Worried about my bantams with weather drop

[maddiexo]

I have have 10 chicks I got about 6 months ago so they’re not full sized but one of them is a duccle and she’s about the size of a fist and two two year old silkies who have lost some weight recently and I’m worried about them freezing. I live in Georgia so the chicks are used to warm weather but it’s down in the 30s tonight. I have a jersey giant and some Orpingtons in there that are bigger than the silkies and pretty fat so I’m wondering if they’ll be warm enough with them

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

They will be fine. Good ventilation and no drafts are key. I've kept both breeds here where -20 degrees is normal in winter.

 

[Chelseyb123]

Usually if they get cold they will huddle together for warm.

 

[Chelseyb123]

Also I got five of my roos babies after I got him and i live in Maine and the past two months have been hot like 90 and cold to 30 and they are 5month now and still small

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I've never had any problems with my Silkies and cold...and I often only keep 2 or 3 bantams in the brooding hutch.

 

[ThenNotSoChickenMaster]

Hi! Trying giving your chickens some corn (cracked or whole). You could also buy some scratch feed. According to a website I found, "Corn itself does not raise a chicken's body temperature. It is a carbohydrate source providing energy to the chicken's body. There is an increased energy need during the winter and adding cracked corn (or scratch grains) to the diet in winter provides the extra energy the chicken's body needs to keep warm. It is used in place of adding additional heat to the poultry house....", just don't give it to them as a full on diet, they still need feed (https://ask.extension.org/questions/310101). If you think your chickens are skinny give them more protein in their diet. I buy feed that has at least 18% or more. Not sure if silkies are a bigger breed than Jersey Giants and Orpington but all breeds are different. It may be that silkies are just not a big breed.