How do chickens deal with snow in the run?

[chickbotfamily]

I cover all sides of my run with plastic except for one. I got in little snow in but not much. It also cut down on the wind. The girls loved it and spent many of chiller day out in the run.

 

[teach1rusl]

Mine finally adapted enough to venture out in the snow...IF it was limited to less than a half inch...lol. I had to shovel areas, throw straw down, and sprinkle treats to lure them out for a bit. I would LOVE to cover part of my run this summer...another project!

 

[henney penny]

The only way mine will go out is if I put down staw or hay for them to walk on.

 

[RocketDad]

I cleaned out the coop by shoveling the shavings into the run, covering the snow. Ended up with layers of ice and shavings. Finally had enough heat and sun the last couple weeks to dry out the run clear into the north corners, and what happens? Freaking 6" March snow after 68 degrees days.

Grump. Guess I'll go shovel out the coop tomorrow so they'll actually go outside. Could use fresh shavings anyway.

 

[Chickensman97]

i live in central CT and for the winter what i did was to cover the run with clear plastic. it was amazing no snow got in and it took very little time to set up

 

[NattiFan]

Yup. looks like it all depends on your chickens. I got a friend a couple miles from me that has birds that won't set foot in it......I do like the idea I read where they put up sheets of plastic to keep the snow and wind out during the winter months so they had a nice snow free, wind free place to go during the cold winter days.

 

[JayUmmelVT]

In Vermont, we get a fair amount of the powdery white stuff. My girls were simply unable to walk over it. They sink in too deep. I "free range" all winter, but they are forced to stay within shoveled paths and driveways. I think a covered run is your best bet, but it does depend on the depth and height of the snow I would think.
regards,
Jay

 

[CoyoteMagic]

A dusting, they run to the spots where there is none. More than that, they stand in the doorway and fuss. I guess they are more like me than I thought!!

I recommend if you put a roof on your run, you give it a good slanted angle so that the snow will slide off (on it's own or with your assistance) too much of that will bring the roof down

 

[fldiver97]

We live in Wisconsin and get a good amount of snow......Mine did not set foot in the snow for 2+ months, even with shoveled path. Eventually, about 4 weeks ago they came out a bit in the shoveled area. I did cover the run with a PVC type opaque roof that s slanted enough that ran will run off and snow can be fairly easily pushed off if needed. After we had snow and some blew into the run I was put on notice by the girls.....they wanted nothing to do with any white stuff inside the run. So I covered the hardware cloth with clea thick plastic sheeting. It kept snow and some wind out, was easy to put up and easy to take down. The girls did not mind the horrid cold as much but don't much care for snow. The coop was prepped for winter with dirt/sand/leaf mulch and the girls were happy. They stayed in when the temp was in the single digits or lower but otherwise went in and out all winter long.

 

[Montana-Hens]

My go out in the snow without any problems. They expect the door to be opened every day. I would say on snowy days they do it by excursion for awhile and then back to the coop for awhile. They do that over and over all day long. It is freezing weather that makes the excursions more inside than outside, than snowy weather.

I think a lot depends on the birds you choose. I have heavy full feathered old-fashion dual purpose ladies. Watch them and take your cue from your birds.