Chicken run in winter?

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Quote:
All I can say is I'm speaking from my own experience. I've had chickens (and a Muscovy) lose toes & feet and most of their combs to frostbite. My coop is insulated, free from drafts and dry on the inside.

And my birds don't range at all. They do have access to large runs which have snow in them.

 

[teach1rusl]

I do wrap part of my big run and all the way around my bantam run to block freezing winds.

 

[teach1rusl]

Okay - I see you have more than one question post - just saw your 2nd one. Is there ventilation in the coop other than what you've blocked off with bubble wrap??? You do want some air openings to allow warm moist air to escape, which is why many recommend ventilation up high - where icy wind can't blow on the roosting birds, but where it'll allow that warm/moist air to escape (warm air rises). The gaps around your door will (most likely) be okay if it's not right there at the roost. And it's kind of hard to tell how wide the gaps around the door are. If it's a sliver, no worries really. Not sure if there were other gaps.

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
All I can say is I'm speaking from my own experience. I've had chickens (and a Muscovy) lose toes & feet and most of their combs to frostbite. My coop is insulated, free from drafts and dry on the inside.

And my birds don't range at all. They do have access to large runs which have snow in them.

I'm wondering why any duck or goose in the wild has a foot left under them, if the mitigating factors are wet, cold, windy? Same with wild birds of any kind. Maybe because they don't live in insulated coops? Exposing your animals to the cold and wet and then providing heat or insulated buildings in which they sleep is asking for problems....they fail to develop tolerance to the cold and are left exposed to the elements when they need to be the toughest.

When I was growing up, our ducks didn't even have a building to return to...ducks are very adaptable and thrive well in the winter. They never got frostbit, never suffered one iota...they swim in cold water, for pete's sake! They thrived, reproduced and suffered no ill effects and all without a house or bedding.

Your animals suffer when you treat them like humans and imagine they are cold as you are in the wet and cold.

 

[Chemguy]

I think that the issue is one of evaporation. The water on wet feet in a protected coop (no drafts) will freeze. The same wet feet outdoors (with wind/draft) will dry. So, I think that you may be right about the effect that a coop can have.

 

[Nonny]

I'd be worried about the chooks pecking at the bubblewrap out of curiosity or boredom and accidentally swallowing some... is it safe for them to eat stuff like that?

 

[flyingtnh]

Looking at some options for ours. After the freak snowstorm we had a couple days ago (18" overnight), the chickens didn't venture out at all though the Muscovies were quite happy in the snow and especially some mud puddles that resulted. I may create a small covered area outside the chicken door to allow them some extra space so they don't go stir-crazy in the coop.

 

[AnimalsComeFirst]

Ok, this is for EVERYONE to know. My 2 hens are disabled chickens. We rescued them from a abusive home. One has a broken foot (because it was stepped on by a horse) and because of that she limps. My other hen is partially blind. NEITHER one roosts, they aren't energetic, they aren't like your chickens... they are basically in a retirement home. (LOL)
And they can't reach the bubble wrap without difficulty.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I wouldn't seal a run completely with plastic, just like I wouldn't seal up a coop completely. You need to allow for ventilation.

There are advantages to a roof on a coop, if you live in an area that gets an unusually high amount of precipitation. A roof can also provide shade in the summer.

If you live in an area that gets a lot of snow, you either have to shovel, roof the run or keep the chickens confined in the coop when it gets too deep. It's not so much that you have to confine them, it's more that they won't be able to physically get out.

In the old days I had to shovel, just to get to the elevated pop hole door, to get the chickens out. I'm really at a stage in life where I just can't physically do that anymore, so now the run has a cover over the wire roof, except for the far end.

Runs should all have good drainage. Some areas get a lot more rain than others. There are times and places when protection from rain can be a good thing. Sometimes you need to get a muddy, stinky run under control temporarily and a cover can sometimes help do that. I also find that having a little of the run next to the coop under cover can get the birds outside on more of the stormy days when they would normally hang back inside the coop. Again, some areas get more frequent, heavier and stormier rains than others.

I normally have the sides to my run open. I'm thinking about adding a clear tarp to the sides next to the coop this year. I did have to shovel out the run after last year's blizzard. At this point in my life, I think I need to have a set up where that doesn't need to be done, at least not in a timely manner.

I think there are a lot of benefits to having an open run, too. Precipitation is very cleansing to the run. For awhile, we tarped the run in winter and removed it at some point in the spring. That's more work for my husband, due to the size of the run. Eventually, we decided not to do that anymore. We split the difference and left the end at the coop covered and the end away from the coop uncovered. So, only one end has plants growing. The other end has sand.

I don't think any one run is perfect for everyone. It just depends on your individual situation.