Do you let your chickens out of there in closure in the winter?

[mm22kids]

I'm curoius if you all who live where there is snow do you let them out in there run on cold snowy days or keep them in closed all winter?

 

[boskelli1571]

Mine are able to go out if they wish. However, they don't like cold feet, so will only venture out if I clear a path for them!!

Sue

 

[jetdog]

I keep mine locked up in the run all winter, they have plenty of room to run around, also hang a cabbage for a couple of days of cabbage tether ball.

 

[gander007]

Yes I do but it only snows here once every three years and they really do not like it all that much but the chickens would rather be out then in and it only gets down to the single digest for about a week out of the whole winter and below forty for about a month .......

gander007

 

[scooter147]

If it is snowing or there is snow in the run I don't. The reason is they won't come out anyway and it saves me a trip to the coop in the cold and snow to lock up. I also leave the pop door shut on days in which the temps are not going to get into the mid 20's and the wind is going to howl all day. Chickens don't seem to mind the cold so much as it is cold and wind that keeps them in. They have a heated water pan so they are just fine.
I will clear a spot in the run for them if I think the snow will last more than a day or two. Here where I live snows don't stick around all that long.

 

[bobbi-j]

I try to let them out.... I open the pop door, but they don't like the snow so they stay inside the coop. I leave the pop door open (it opens into the run) unless it's going to be double-digits below zero, or if there is a strong wind blowing in. I figure the added fresh air can't hurt anything, and they can at least poke their heads out and get some sun that way. We get enough snow in a year, that I don't bother to shovel their run. They have plenty of room in the coop, plus roosts of varying heights (from 2' off the floor to 8' high in the rafters), plus they get fresh straw every now and then to scratch around in.

 

[off-grid hen]

I have a 10x30 run that I shovel for them, and on warmer days (or the snow is under 6 inches deep) I let them out if there is a path shoveled. When they venture off the path into deep snow, they just sit there very still and don't try to struggle or fly back to the path. I watched one sit there for 5 minutes, waiting to see what she would do. I think she would have just frozen to death if I hadn't picked her out of the snow. So now when there is deep snow, I shovel the run and that's it. I hope we get our January thaw early this year.

 

[jeds chickens]

I let them out about every day unless the water in the coop freezes (wiht a heat lamp over it) Then I let them out for a little bit and put them back in.

 

[Ciqala]

My flock has a smaller run right off their coop that is completely covered in tarps/clear shower curtains, so they always have access to that. What I call their backyard is off that run, but only has a small area that has a tarp over the top. If it's snowing I don't let them back there, more so because I don't want them getting wet at all {my hens are all in polar fleece saddles}. Once it's stopped snowing, I'll shovel out some of their backyard, throw some hay down on it and then let them out there. I've only seen my flock choose to stay in their coop during the day on two occassions when it was really cold and we had very high winds, other than that they're out all day {they always have access to their coop}.