This is my first winter with my "girls". I have 5 hens. How will my hens fair with all the snow? We will plow a path to them and shovel around the doorway. Of course there will be no grass so what else should i feed them besides laying pellets? Is there anything else i should do for them? They have a coop with food water and hay. They cant get to the ground so what do they do? Now they spend most of the day scratching the ground. Thanks for the patience im really worrying about the winter. Thanks Sandy from Maine
My little flock (11 hens and 1 rooster) usually rush out of their coop to freedom in the morning. But not for the first snow day! I opened the door and they all stayed on the roost! "Don't you want to go out" I asked. "We don't think so" - they told me. After a while they wandered reluctantly out.
As far as feed, I give them the same pellets year round. I also give them table scraps and leftovers. To help break the boredom, I hang a bird seed block for broccoli for them to peck at. My girls went outside yesterday, some of them any way, for the first time since snow arrived. They stayed within a foot of the door/coop, not wanting to venture too far into the snow. The snow is plowed all around the coop, so it wasn't as though they had to trudge through it. I'm not sure if it is the cold or the color they don't like. In past years I threw some hay in front of the door and they were more willing to come outside.
Watch that they don't freeze their feet. I have one with swollen feet. If they can't get to gravel you need to put some in their coop. Feed them the same as you always do. I feed laying pellets, grains I mix, table scraps, and oyster shells. Make sure they have water too.
My chickens won't walk in the snow either, even if it is shoveled. Sprinkle hay around and they will walk on that, but it will be a mess after the next snow and shoveling and you'll have to do it all over again. Perhaps you can set up some sort of shelter for a snow free area.
I agree. Maybe the addition of a covered run would do the trick. We dont get much snow in WA, but when we do the roof over the run gives them the protection they need.
