Coop redesign planned for spring! Help on getting through the winter.

[chickens802]

I added 15 chickens to my flock of 7 this summer. They all range from 4 to 24 months in age. This summer we build a huge outdoor fence area that they love. My coop is currently 8 x 10 with a 6 x 10 run. We live in Vermont so as soon as the snow melts probably sometime in April we are going add and extension to the coop to be about 14 x 10 with a small storage hut on the back. I know that there is probably not enough room in the coop for them all this winter so I do have a secondary place that used for meat birds in the spring that I can move them in if needed but it doesn’t have a run that is usable in the winter and I want them to be able to go outside. I do plan to continue to let them have access to the outdoor fence all winter but I know most breeds don’t care for the snow but I can snow-blow some. Any suggestions for getting through the winter before the remodel and tips for how to help the chickens get through the craziness of the remodel?

 

[Folly's place]

Make the run as wind proof as possible, and roofing it would be nice too, if it can be done given your snow load. If the run is actually predator proof, it can be open to the coop all the time too.
At least two feeders, and three would be nice, two heated waterers maybe, and stuff to climb on and hide around. Hanging stuff, like lettuce or cabbage, carrots, anything to make things more interesting.
Mary

 

[Alaskan]

Make the run as wind proof as possible, and roofing it would be nice too, if it can be done given your snow load. If the run is actually predator proof, it can be open to the coop all the time too.
At least two feeders, and three would be nice, two heated waterers maybe, and stuff to climb on and hide around. Hanging stuff, like lettuce or cabbage, carrots, anything to make things more interesting.
Mary

X2

All of it, so good.

 

[chickens802]

Make the run as wind proof as possible, and roofing it would be nice too, if it can be done given your snow load. If the run is actually predator proof, it can be open to the coop all the time too.
At least two feeders, and three would be nice, two heated waterers maybe, and stuff to climb on and hide around. Hanging stuff, like lettuce or cabbage, carrots, anything to make things more interesting.
Mary

Thanks. Great help!