Coop + covered yard

[TranqW]

Good morning,

This is my second post but we had a rough night. One of our rescue cottontail kits died last night so I got to worrying (evan a word?) about our chickens.

We have 8Leghorns chickens which just began laying eggs. Except Sophie who appears to be a rooster. My husband and brother built the coop and covered yard. The yard is surrounded and roofed in chicken wire and stands prolly 4 feet tall. My brother decided to save us money so we are now all hunched back.

What bothers me most is our coop and yard were built to accompany Texas heat. We live in Texas hill country. We have flash floods. We live on top of a hill. And last two years we have had snow. How best do I prepare? Just add more straw? Raised plat form? (Hubby would kill me giving them their own chicky porch so water would flow underneath it.)

I appreciate any advice or suggestions. Thanks.
The crazy animal Lady
- Tranq

 

[3KillerBs]

How much snow? Do you measure in inches or feet? How long does it last?

My in-town chickens coped fine with the small amounts of snow that I get here in central NC. My run was half roofed and half covered with wire. I put a couple intact straw bales into the run for the winter to give them a place to get out of the wet, though my sandy soil and deep litter never really get soggy.

 

[TranqW]

Not enough to call it snow usually. 2 years ago it was enough to make snow angels and make the dogs go crazy...measured in Inches.

 

[3KillerBs]

Not enough to call it snow usually. 2 years ago it was enough to make snow angels and make the dogs go crazy...measured in Inches.

Should be fine then. Maybe a tarp partially covering one end and some of the windward sides to give them a place to be outdoors without being fully in the weather?

 

[Sonya9]

If you get tired of bending over in the run you can just put avian netting over it with a couple of poles to suspend it. Probably would set you back $50 or so (just buy good quality net).
Chickens do not want to walk on snow so keep that in mind. If water is a problem maybe you could get some free pallets to use as a porch?

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Just saying!

 

[RojoMarz]

We got our first snow of the season, last night...wind was blowing and we now have a couple of inches in the run. I could see chicken tracks that went out the pop down and down the ramp, about 3 chicken feet, then turned around. I put the girl out in the run, at the feeder. They (this will be their first winter) better get used to the snow quickly, as they will be seeing a lot of it.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

We got our first snow of the season, last night...wind was blowing and we now have a couple of inches in the run. I could see chicken tracks that went out the pop down and down the ramp, about 3 chicken feet, then turned around. I put the girl out in the run, at the feeder. They (this will be their first winter) better get used to the snow quickly, as they will be seeing a lot of it.

Mine don’t like to walk in freshly fallen snow. But after 12 to 24 hours they don’t care. I try to shovel a path for them and make sure a little grass is uncovered for them.

 

[rosemarythyme]

We have flash floods. We live on top of a hill. And last two years we have had snow. How best do I prepare? Just add more straw? Raised plat form? (Hubby would kill me giving them their own chicky porch so water would flow underneath it.)

How bad's the flooding? And is your coop elevated?

I had 2 floods last year about 2-4" deep and thankfully as my coop is slightly elevated the water went under it and did no damage to coop (our landscaping was torn up and my shed got flooded though). Not sure why your hubby would be upset at building a platform for the chickens, realistically if you don't provide them somewhere safe to stand during floods, you will need to go out during the flooding to provide it.