Free ranging in snow?

[MissKat]

We got our first snow today on the Oregon Coast. We had roofed the "playpen" with greenhouse sheets of polycarbonate earlier this week. Yesterday I surrounded the outside walls with heavy plastic. The snow gathered on the roof and the chickens wanted to go outside and see what the white stuff was!!! Four of them went out and walked in it, but the girls I let out the front of my coop took one look and went right back in. One Orp jumped off the step and YIKES what is this cold white stuff!!!! She looked at her footprints in the snow and then at me and raced back to the steps.

 

[PAchickengirl]

At this point, I'd take snow over the mud!

 

[Going Bhonkers]

Great picture!!!

 

[aoxa]

Great picture!!!

Thanks!

It;s snowing now. 15-30 cm expected.. I don't even have my snow tires on yet.

 

[marthat]

My chickens had a hilarious response to snow last weekend. My hens (3 Delawares and 3 RIR's) have a roofed run, but we had had enough snow for hubby to pull out the snowblower. He cleared an area in front of the coop and the run for about 8 feet out from the door. Last Saturday, I was home so able to open the run door and let them come out, first time in several days, and first time with snow on the ground. They were all excited for the door to open, jumped up on the wooden doorjamb, then stopped, unsure. They wouldn't step out onto the plowed snowy area. Finally, one of the white girls got brave and "flew" right over the plowed area, about 6 feet into the deeper, unplowed area (about 6-8 inches of fairly heavy snow) and landed with a plop. And she was stuck. Really stuck... She was frozen in place with her belly right on the snow and legs buried. You could just see the wheels turning in her brain - "What the hell have I gotten myself into???" Reminded me of a toddler in a snowsuit, being up to his thighs in snow and unable to move. She was immediately followed by two of the brown girls, who landed about 2 feet behind her, side by side and were stuck too. I watched for a minute, laughing, then took the compost down the back, and when I returned, they hadn't moved. Watched for a while longer and they still didn't move. So I figured they needed rescuing. I waded into the snow and picked up white girl and tossed her back towards the plowed area. She flew desperately, not wanting to touch down on the evil white stuff, and managed to land and roost on a push broom leaning up against the shed. I picked up and tossed each of the brown girls back to the plowed area as well and they weren't having any of it either. They both flew straight back to the run door and went inside. So I shrugged, picked up white girl, tossed her back into the run too and closed the door. So much for day 1 of their snow experience.

Day 2 involved some scratch to entice them out and even that was only marginally successful. Then we had a thaw and they have been delightedly ranging all over the yard, gardens, compost bin and the edge of the woods. It's going to be a LONGGGG winter if I can't get them acclimatized to snow!

 

[debir1966]

Mine have definitely acclimated to being snow birds! I will try and get some more pics tomorrow. They don't seem to like walking in the deeper snow, but will walk along the tire tracks or even the people tracks to range about.

I wanted to thank everyone who posted! I am glad it is not uncommon to free range your chickens in the snow - and have also gotten alot of great information and tips on handling chickens in the winter!

Now if I could only get them all to go back into the coop at night instead of trying to roost in the shed!

 

[trickyphish]

Wild pheasants & turkeys are out and about, so why not chickens? That's how I look at it. Mine free range everyday. I open the coop and let them out and close them in every night. It's their option and they always choose to go out scratchin'. They're happy and continue to produce for me.

 

[aoxa]

35 cm of snow.. Time to break out the snow blower.

The silkies were out, and so were the geese after I shoveled a tiny patch.

 

[Greyfox Farm]

My 16 girls (and one roo) were hatched on May 1st this year. Each afternoon when I get home form work I've let them out for an hour or so of supervised free-ranging. They wait by the inner door to the coop, I open the outer door first, stand in the "hallway" and open the inner door. There then comes a tsunami of chickens making a break for the outside. The coop empties in under 2 seconds. We just had our first snow a couple of weeks ago; THAT day was different.

The girls were their usual excited selves envisioning an afternoon of dust-bathing, scratch and treats. I opened the inner door and the wave rolled out as usual......UNTIL.... the first half of the flock RAPIDLY decided that snow on chicken feet was not for them and immediately made a 180 and charged back INTO the coop with the same vigor as they had previously exited.. The half who were at the end of the out-going wave met the head on the in-coming wave mid doorway. The resultant clash of forces formed a wave of wings, feathers, feet, and frenzy that crested at a height of several feet, and resulted in overturned farm implements, water buckets, and grain tubs. Several scattered into the trees, but despite some loss of feathers most managed to regain an upright position within the coop. After dark, and with some coaxing, the remaining revelers were returned to the roost. Since that time, the speed rate of the outgoing wave had diminished greatly. The term "snowbird" was apparently not coined to describe chickens.

 

[farmer boy]

mine were out in the deep snow the ducks went first and then the houdans group went out not many of my big ones but some went out one already has frostbite on his comb .. power keeps going out here its really annoying