Chickens won't come out in the snow to eat

[WoodlandWoman]

I'd keep a close eye on them. I'm not sure how long I'd let them go without food and water.

If you only feed and water outside and any of them don't get over their fear, I'd make sure that they are all getting food and water at least once a day. If they won't go out on their own and you absolutely don't want to feed and water in the coop, then I'd take them out. It doesn't take a chicken long to go downhill, without food or water. I also make sure broodies go out at least once a day or I take them out, too.

Should they do all this on their own? Sure. Do they always? Well, no. Most of the time, but not always. So, I usually look out for the ones that need a little extra help. Hopefully, the most frightened ones will become braver, watching the others.

At my house, I feed and water in the coop. I also have the run covered, to keep most of the snow out. Before I had a covered run, I used to shovel out an area for the chickens. It gets deep here, so you really have to do something!

 

[LynneP]

We get a lot of snow and it's often in a period of prolonged cold. The first three storms of 2008 were wet heavy snow and the first for the hens, and they didn't like it, though they are better now. One huge gift you can give them is a snow platform. They will emerge and use it gladly. There are many ways to build them, but basically it's a table-like structure which they can reach without getting wet or cold (too much). Ours is here, and the birds love it. We also added snow boards to protect the run from drifts, after the second storm. It is *so* worth it. The only day the birds voluntarily stayed in was during a blizzard when the real temp was -11C and the wind chill was -23C. Otherwise, they're *out*, their choice.

I feed and water indoors usually so they have a heated water bowl. I don't think I'd want to create much anxiety by trying to get them outside for food/water. Too easy to get them hypothermic, and then you have big trouble!

 

[quercus21]

My chickens were so cute this morning with their first real snow encounter. Usually, my rooster is the first one out the little chicken door and he came to a dead stop on the ramp with the hens all piled up behind him. They would not come off the ramp. I always bring a coffee can full of sunflower seeds and cracked corn to scatter in their run in the morning and even that wasn't luring them out.

They did eventually come out, but first they were flying from the ramp to the tree branch perch we have in the coop and flying back. One was just standing in the snow kind of perplexed.

By the end of the day, they had scratched up the area where I put their scratch, but they still avoided most of the snow.

We have NH red rooster, 8 hens and a "bonus" EE rooster. They don't seem bothered yet by the cold or rain, but they don't like to be out in the wind. Even after all day out in the snow their little feet were warm when we went out to close their coop up for the night.