Anyone else's chickens afraid of snow.

[Mvan42]

Here are mine. Opened the run up for them to free range today. They stood and stared at the snow... normally I have to move or the run over my feet to get out..

 

[Padfoot22]

Mine are petrified by snow. They won’t walk on it. I’ve had to dig paths from the coop to their favorite outside bushes they love to hang out at during the day under my deck. But then they won’t return at night no matter whether there is a path or not. I’ve had to carry them back to get them to roost. Otherwise they would stay under the deck all night.

 

[Maggie13]

Mine put a toe in snow once and decided it was not their thing so they stay in their covered run all winter. The door is ajar in case they change their minds and want to wander around the driveway but they have not ventured out since.

 

[gtaus]

Does anyone have chickens that are scared of the snow?

I live in northern Minnesota. My chickens will not go outside into the run if there is snow on the ground. We got our first snowfall around mid-November this year and my girls have stayed in their coop since then. They did the same thing last year and did not come out until almost all the snow on the ground had melted.

Fortunately, I anticipated that behavior from talking to other chicken owners before I got my chicks. So I built their coop about twice the recommended size of 4 square feet per bird. I have just under 8 square feet per bird in the coop and they all seem to get along without fighting. Size matters.

And I will add that it is not the cold weather that my chickens don't like. They will stay out in the run all day in the bitter cold, but if there is snow covering the ground, they will stay in the coop even on a warmer sunny winter day.

 

[Papa peeps]

My Orpingtons stayed in the coop & squawked loudly until we came out & removed the snow from their ramp and put down some hay & straw for them to walk on so they could get to their favorite roosting spot

 

[Laura Anne]

Today was the first significant snow we've had since we got our Buff Orpingtons last spring. They didn't even want to stay in the covered run for too long. Spent all morning in the coop. We had a lull in the storm this afternoon. I opened up the run door, to let them out, and they freaked out and ran into the coop. . My rooster pecked at the snow that blew into the run, but that's it. I guess the term "chicken" is justified. Does anyone have chickens that are scared of the snow?

Yes!!! Mine pop right out into bitter cold wind, but if there's snow on the ground, forget it! It's hilarious! I'm trying to toughen them up as snow is a pretty regular thing here -- but it's not easy, even when I put treats down the length of their ladder!

 

[Laura Anne]

My Orpingtons stayed in the coop & squawked loudly until we came out & removed the snow from their ramp and put down some hay & straw for them to walk on so they could get to their favorite roosting spot

Mine also will fly straight to the roost from the ladder, but they won't walk in that snow!

 

[DoozyWombat]

If the raspado cart guy has mealworm flavor, get that one for the chickens and a watermelon one for you.

Just don't mix them up.

 

[DoozyWombat]

My Dark Brahmas are terrified of the snow. I got them to get a little bit onto the snow by trampling, then scattering pine shavings so only half the ground was snow, then scattering cracked corn. My one Leghorn got almost all the cracked corn the first day.

Another odd thing is that they have stopped laying. Seven hens, and four straight days of no eggs. This is in mid-February, and they've been producing about four per day, but as soon as the snow fell, no eggs and no leaving the coop.

 

[DoozyWombat]

My Dark Brahmas are terrified of the snow. I got them to get a little bit onto the snow by trampling, then scattering pine shavings so only half the ground was snow, then scattering cracked corn. My one Leghorn got almost all the cracked corn the first day.

Another odd thing is that they have stopped laying. Seven hens, and four straight days of no eggs. This is in mid-February, and they've been producing about four per day, but as soon as the snow fell, no eggs and no leaving the coop.

Follow-up. After several days of tempting with treats, I now have all the flock foraging out on the snow. The White Leghorn was the leader, but after a couple of days, the others have followed.