We have 10 hens in a 8x6 coop with a 10x10 run ( coverd) and we let them range most of the day. Will they still go out in the snow? I mean can they go out? Im worried they may start to pick at eachother if they r cooped up all winter. What do you guys do in the winter?
Mine don't like snow. When I opened the coop door on snowy days they might try to fly from grass patch to grass patch or up into the un-snowy trees but they really weren't keen on snow. So I free-range mine, weather permitting. They were and will be coop bound for the snowy part of the winter. (It also freaks me out trying to get them back into the coop when it's snowy.)
Mine do not like snow. But with a covered run, you have an advantage, as it'll keep a lot of snow out, so they have space to walk about. I would affix a tarp to the prevailing wind side of the run, to help keep blowing snow and cold winds blocked as much as possible. This will help encourage them to go outside more. Buy a bale of straw or hay and toss some about every few days (rake it up if it starts getting yucky and put down fresh) in there to scratch around in. Hanging a head of cabbage in the run gives them incentive to come out... They will stay indoors quite a bit, but they still enjoy coming out for fresh air and treats...
None of my flocks have ever liked snow. They put up with walking on shallow amounts of snow, only because they don't want to be indoors for 5 months straight. Deep snow? No way! We have a covered run, to avoid having to shovel all the time. I still need to shovel after bad storms, when it blows in. Our house is at the edge of a little glen in the woods and the snow tends to swirl and drift a lot in the yard. At least I don't have to go shovel just to let them out in the morning anymore. I've gotten too old and decrepit for that.
No. They hate snow. If there is so much as a dusting of snow on the ground my hens won't leave the house. That makes for a long winter up here in NH.
last winter we had more snow than normal so my girls would walk in it if it was lower than the rest, ie only the shoveled spots. the flying from grass spot to grass spot is funny to watch.
Guess I have weird chickens. My adult flock (all brahmas) don't mind the snow at all. They go about their usual business of free ranging. Can't say what my baby flock will think of it, but it doesn't bother the big birds. During an ice storm year before last I saw my rooster walking around with icicles hanging off his tailfeathers. Funniest thing.
I pile up hay inside the run, then the next morning after the snow stops, I flip it over on top of the snow. Then they are just fine, mine spend most days out side the coop. The advice about the wind shelter is good! mk
I collect bags of leaves from the curb in the city in the fall. When I can not shovel anymore I throw a bag of leaves in their run. It keeps them off the cold ground and they love to scratch in it. In the spring you most lightly will have to peel it off in layers, but great compost with their droppings
In the winter, we're going to put a heat lamp in the coop and put petroleum jelly on their combs so they won't get frostbite. I'm not sure how cold it is where you guys live, so it may not be necessary.
