Okay now it is too cold, My barred Rock Roo is in the house too:>)

[MorelCabin]

Okay this is getting ridiculous, now I am starting to worry. My silkies actually have frosted feathers. I kid you not. I just wnet up there to see how everyone was doing and noticed that one of my silkies looked a little strange. The barred rocks are doing fine, but every one of the silkies for some reason has frosted tipped feathers! I put two that are broody in a cardboard box with alot of bedding together, and tried to put the third in but the third will not stay because she is not broody. I am thinking I should bring the broody ones in the house for a while but I don't want to be stuck with them in here till spring...and broody poops smell terrible. I wish this house was bigger sometimes...I need an extra room that I can keep cool but not too cold.

 

[annmarie]

Do you have a basement, or unheated entryway in your house, or even a room that you can close the door to so heat doesn't get in there for the night? My plan is to box up my three chickens tonight and put them in our mudroom, which isn't heated, but will be significantly warmer than it will be outside (-20F). That way they shouldn't get adapted to overly warm temperatures and I can put them back out when it warms up a little tomorrow morning.

 

[MorelCabin]

I live in an 840 sq foot house...no cool rooms and no garage. I'm trying to figure out what I can do for them without bringing them in:>)

 

[PamsPride]

Didn't you build a guest house? Is it finished enough to put them in there in a large dog crate or something for now?

 

[MorelCabin]

No it's not near finished...it still needs insulation and everything. The coop is better, at least it is double walled...but where the silkies are laying in the corner the frost is building up around them and on the wall...humidity I guess. I think I might see what I can do about putting them into a smaller compartment I have available in there with maybe a light bulb for heat

 

[annmarie]

I wish I had some brilliant piece of advice but I'm stumped. I do understand your concern though as I'm dealing with very similar issues. My breeds are normally cold hardy, but 2 of them are molting right now! I have a cool room to bring them into tonight, but my problem is that I have to go to work tomorrow morning and it'll still be 20 below when I leave for work, so I can't just plunk them back out in their coop. Can't wait till this "arctic blast" is over!

 

[MorelCabin]

Me too! This is crazy! It is supposed to start warming up by Saturday...I just hope these silkies can hold on that long. The problem is that they are broody so they aren't running around like the rest of them to stay warm. I jut just bring them in and put eggs under them LOL!
I wonder if it would be possible to keep them clean enough for my liking in the house for the next two months??? Problem is I KNOW I will regret it!

 

[keljonma]

Morel, do you have some straw bales that you could use to line up along the walls of the hen house to provide some additional insulation? Or you could build an igloo out of straw bales for your silkies to stay in. Make a 3 sided box out of the straw bales, maybe two bales high, and top with a tarp or piece of plywood. The straw would provide extra insulation and there would be less space for them to heat with body heat.

ETA: When we bring broody hens in, we put down newspaper or cardboard and some straw or wood chips on top of that for ease of cleaning.

 

[patandchickens]

You know, you CAN always shut the vents on the coop (Or staplegun something over 'em if they lack covers)

Particularly if you have good conditions in there to begin with (not excessively pooey or damp) they will be FINE that way for a short while, til it warms up.

If you can make a little 'hut' or hover for them to get into/under, that would further concentrate their body heat. You got a spare plastic doghouse or such type thing lying around anywhere, that you could put in the coop with bedding in it for them?

Good luck,

Pat

 

[MorelCabin]

Thanks for all the great ideas! I don't have straw. but when I was little my dad used to pile snow up against the house as an insulation factor, so, since that is plentiful I used it:>)
I also gave in and brought my three silkie hens and roo in the house...I'm sure I would have probably lost them tonight if I didn't. I put them in my pantry/sewing room, and if I close the door it stays really cool in there since we don't have central heating...so they should be good for a couple of days in our extra large dog pen until it reaches -10 outside and then they will go back out. Poor things were SO cold!
My barred rocks are cold as well, but they aren't covered in frost... so I did what I said I would NEVER do, and hung a heat lamp over thier roosts I am just hoping it doesn't make them sick to do that, but I don't think it will if it is just for a day or two, will it?
Pat I've had a box in there esp for the silkies to be able to get into and huddle up in but only one of them appreciated my efforts and used it for the last week:>) Next year I have a few ideas that I am going to put together in the summer...one is a roost hood...to keep the heat down when they are roosting at night...and the silkies are getting thier own double insulated pen with a very low ceiling so they can keep the heat in better.