Silkie thread!

[nicky5]

I live in Michigan and you never know the winter we will have, so my question is this??? My coop is not insulated at all!! I was thinking of putting the plastic over the run so it will keep the wind out, plus it would be easier to the run then the coop. Maybe a tarp over the coop, but what kind of lamp do you use for heat, I'm sure a heat lamp might burn it down, so how do you do it? Thanks for any suggestions!! Oh I have 2 8 week old silkies and 3 standard 4 month old chickens. The big girls might be ok but the silkies I'm thinking not, to cold

 

[phoenix-silkie]

I live in Michigan and you never know the winter we will have, so my question is this??? My coop is not insulated at all!! I was thinking of putting the plastic over the run so it will keep the wind out, plus it would be easier to the run then the coop. Maybe a tarp over the coop, but what kind of lamp do you use for heat, I'm sure a heat lamp might burn it down, so how do you do it? Thanks for any suggestions!! Oh I have 2 8 week old silkies and 3 standard 4 month old chickens. The big girls might be ok but the silkies I'm thinking not, to cold

i would personally put a heat lamp in it but if your scared of it burning up, then have it in the middle of the coop and up high. the heat lamp doesn't need to be close to anything, its just to heat the place.
and you shouldn't be wearied about the silkies unless the silkies are picked on by the other ones, because they all will huddle together.

 

[nicky5]

Ok that's what I was worried about was the silkies and the cold, the one problem is with putting it in the coop anywhere it's not very tall, it's long but not tall at all, they would prob get burnt. I will figure something out by winter!!! Thank you!!!!

 

[phoenix-silkie]

Ok that's what I was worried about was the silkies and the cold, the one problem is with putting it in the coop anywhere it's not very tall, it's long but not tall at all, they would prob get burnt. I will figure something out by winter!!! Thank you!!!!

how tall is it, and you always can put wire around it

 

[nicky5]

You know I'm not sure I will check once I get back from camping on Sunday!!! Thank you!! Are you good at sexing silkies?

 

[TherryChicken]

Does anyone have fertile eggs? I'm in del valle, tx

 

[Fancychooklady]

I live in Michigan and you never know the winter we will have, so my question is this??? My coop is not insulated at all!! I was thinking of putting the plastic over the run so it will keep the wind out, plus it would be easier to the run then the coop. Maybe a tarp over the coop, but what kind of lamp do you use for heat, I'm sure a heat lamp might burn it down, so how do you do it? Thanks for any suggestions!! Oh I have 2 8 week old silkies and 3 standard 4 month old chickens. The big girls might be ok but the silkies I'm thinking not, to cold

I personally don't think that chickens require artificial heat unless they are chicks, once they are feathered in and aclimitized and have appropriate housing, they do just fine. If you go to the search bar at the top of page and type in ' coop fires ' or ' barn fires ' you will be able to read many heartbreaking stories of loss. The one that stays foremost in my mind is the story of ' les farms '
This article has many important points on what you should consider when using artificial heating.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/745178/fire-safety-in-your-chicken-coop-barn-important


And this is the story, heartbreaking.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/les-farms-the-barn-of-all-barns

 

[emvickrey]

He's prettier when he's been groomed. He just got a bath and manicure last week. He and George (which is a hen) are in a different pen now and they have dirt to roll in so he's a mess again but he's happier on the ground. He's not real steady on his feet and being on wire makes him leary of walking around. I had an over abundance of roos left over from last year and I had to get them new homes so I could put others in better pens.

Bebe loves attention but he can be a bit of a bully when it comes to sharing food. George used to be that way but since she's been with Bebe he's taken the role of glutton. He looks like a roo in every way other than missing the spurs and crow.

 

[Gremores]

Just got home from work and found out Thelma (splash silky) hatched one of her 3 eggs! It seriously might be the cutest thing I have ever seen!!!

 

[emvickrey]

As far as heat goes for silkies

I wouldn't use any heat excpt for young birds. I use the standard clamp on lamp. But I wire it to a board so it won't fall off and start a fire. I also put wire mesh over the wide open end the bulb is in. That way if some reason it gets broken or the bulb falls out (which I've had happen) it won't land on the wood shavings and start a fire or on the birds if they're under it.

We cover our pens with fiberglas sheeting when it gets cold so they still have light but are protected from drafts. All our runs are covered with chicken wire to keep predators out and we don't cover them with plastic or tarps. The weight from the snow will cave in the run right on top of the birds if they are outside at the time.

None of my pens are insulated. It don't normally get real cold here but last year and year before it got very cold and we got alot of snow. My chickens got snowed in their pens and couldn't go into their runs. We of course got into them to be able to feed and water and they didn't act as if the cold bothered them much. I did have a few that got colds but those few usually do in winter. A draft is worse than the cold I've heard. Mine have been out in the rain when it was cold and it didn't bother them either. We normally tend to have ice storms instead of alot of snow here. We've had our pens encased in ice many times and had to chip our way in.

I wouldn't worry too much about providing heat. They should do fine but if you feel better about providing heat just make sure that you protect them against fire. Thats the biggest worry. I put my lamp on a timer so it only came on when it was at it's coldest which is a few hours before sun up.

I also put my heat lamp near a corner so they could huddle together in the corner and it would hole more heat. You don't want any chickens to even think they can perch on it so it should be in a spot they won't even try to. I've had chicks peck at the bulb in a brooder and that can break the bulb. The mesh over the opening prevents that from happening.

Don't forget to leave an open area for venting if you choose to cover up your pens. They get very smelly in the winter and the amonia isn't good for anything to breath.

I hope some of this helps give you an idea of what you want to do.