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Ok sounds good. May have to build a ridge on the top of the run for snow to slide off the tarps. I was thinking of wrapping it in a vapour barrier to get a greenhouse effect. That may work on sunny days perhaps.IMO, a roof over the run would help the most, but you'd have to allow for snow load. Then wrapping the sides with plastic tarps, keeping several inches near the top open for ventilation. That would give your chickens a dry, draft-free place to "stretch their legs" even in the bad weather.
Ok good advice. My run really isn't built to withstand snow load. We get quite a bit of wet heavy snow. The top of the run just has 2" chicken wire covering it. It's nice when it rains cause the poo gets washed away in the sand and gravel floor that they have. Not too sure what to do now. Let it pile up with snow??How much snow can you get piled up?
Snow load, especially wet snow preceded by freezing rain, can collapse even a large mesh roof structure pretty quick.
A tarp, even with a sharp ridge in the middle, could be disastrous unless you can clear it off regularly.
Might want to get a roof rake too. ;-)
Quote: I have 2x4 welded wire on my run walls and roof...and we got 130-150" of snow both of the last 2 years.
First winter was good to go until the last wet snow when it darn near collapsed and I had to wade thru knee deep snow to knock it off from underneath.
Most the snow goes thru the wire and I shovel out part of the run, between the run door and the poop door and bit beyond......
......and a path all the way down to the end of the run so it's easier to walk down and can knock off any snow gathered on the wire when it does stick which also gives the bird more ground to wander.
Luckily with the 2x4 wire spacing, most snow falls thru it and I can throw the shoveled snow thru to outside the run.
We've had one good snow(8" total) so far this year, it was very wet and stuck.
First 4" came in overnight
Successfully cleared off..... and I had to clear it every couple hours the following day as it continued to snow.
I just walk underneath and bang the bottom of the roof with the snow shovel.
This kind of shows where I shovel between run door and pop door.