It's chilly out

[Jimmyg101]

Hello everyone, I have a small 72 sq ft run with a raised hen house. Operating windows on all four sides. It's a walk in run with good head room. So, in that area I have all the screens covered with clear plexi glass. It's comfortable in there for my girls . I also have a 100 sq ft outer run attached so they can come and go as they please.
My question is do I need to cover the outer run or will they know when to come in out of the elements. Thank you for any suggestions.

 

[Ted Brown]

Cover to protect from predators is a good idea. Your chickens will go into the coop when they want - either to roost or in weather they do not like.

 

[DobieLover]

How many birds do you have?
Do you have the top portion of the 72 sq ft run open for ventilation?
Can you post pictures of your set up?
MY flock uses their coop and winterized run freely during the winter but if there isn't heavy snow on the ground, the door to the run remains open and they can go out into their pen as they wish. And they do. They don't spend as much time out there during the coldest parts of winter but they do wander out.

 

[Jimmyg101]

Cover to protect from predators is a good idea. Your chickens will go into the coop when they want - either to roost or in weather they do not like.

Thank you Ted, I do have chicken wire on the outer run. Also predator appron around the entire perimeter .

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC. Where, in general, are you? Climate matters.

Hello everyone, I have a small 72 sq ft run with a raised hen house. Operating windows on all four sides. It's a walk in run with good head room. So, in that area I have all the screens covered with clear plexi glass. It's comfortable in there for my girls . I also have a 100 sq ft outer run attached so they can come and go as they please.
My question is do I need to cover the outer run or will they know when to come in out of the elements. Thank you for any suggestions.

Could you show us photos of your setup? It sounds as if you've closed all the ventilation in your coop, which is much more unhealthy than exposure to cold would be.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/

 

[Jimmyg101]

How many birds do you have?
Do you have the top portion of the 72 sq ft run open for ventilation?
Can you post pictures of your set up?
MY flock uses their coop and winterized run freely during the winter but if there isn't heavy snow on the ground, the door to the run remains open and they can go out into their pen as they wish. And they do. They don't spend as much time out there during the coldest parts of winter but they do wander out.

7 chicks in total. Photos attached. Covered roof is ventilated.

 

[linguini]

We have similar set up - coops attached to a run that's a cube 8x8x8, like a bird cage, all wrapped up and with tarp as inner roof. And the entire set up is inside an extended fenced in area 30x50 (chicken wire + deer net).

Our "cube-cage" run is covered with marine vinyl for the winter, leaving top 1 to 2 ft top section open for ventilation, also surrounded with hardware cloth apron - complete predator proof. The cube is attached to the coops that chickens can go in and out freely any time. The cube has a full human size door that leads to the extended run, which we close up every night.

The extended run is covered with aviary nettings (we have hawks), and hardware cloth apron (we have foxes) all around. It is as much as we can do for predator-proof, but it is probably not enough for determined racoons.

Chickens can go freely during the day wherever they want in the entire fenced in area no matter what the weather is like, but at night, they are locked in the cube/coop (the coop door is open 24 hr since the entire cube/coop complex is predator proof. Unless it is really rainy or stormy, or with hawks around, they like to be out in the extended area. They have good innate judgement for weather and hawks, but not foxes!! We've seen our chickens do nothing when the fox was outside the fence staring at them, or walked by the area!!!

 

[Jimmyg101]

Welcome to BYC. Where, in general, are you? Climate matters.



Could you show us photos of your setup? It sounds as if you've closed all the ventilation in your coop, which is much more unhealthy than exposure to cold would be.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/

Middle of Delaware. Photos here. Ty

We have similar set up - coops attached to a run that's a cube 8x8x8, like a bird cage, all wrapped up and with tarp as inner roof. And the entire set up is inside an extended fenced in area 30x50 (chicken wire + deer net).

Our "cube-cage" run is covered with marine vinyl for the winter, leaving top 1 to 2 ft top section open for ventilation, also surrounded with hardware cloth apron - complete predator proof. The cube is attached to the coops that chickens can go in and out freely any time. The cube has a full human size door that leads to the extended run, which we close up every night.

The extended run is covered with aviary nettings (we have hawks), and hardware cloth apron (we have foxes) all around. It is as much as we can do for predator-proof, but it is probably not enough for determined racoons.

Chickens can go freely during the day wherever they want in the entire fenced in area no matter what the weather is like, but at night, they are locked in the cube/coop (the coop door is open 24 hr since the entire cube/coop complex is predator proof. Unless it is really rainy or stormy, or with hawks around, they like to be out in the extended area. They have good innate judgement for weather and hawks, but not foxes!! We've seen our chickens do nothing when the fox was outside the fence staring at them, or walked by the area!!!

Your set up sound great. Like yours I have a door to allow the girls access to the great outdoors lol. We do close that door up at night even though it's safe.
But, we do have stray cats that sit there dreaming and salivating. The chickens at first are on high alert but then go about their business.

 

[3KillerBs]

Middle of Delaware. Photos here.

I used to live in Millsboro.

Your photos look good. Some kind of windbreak on the upwind side is probably a good idea. Many people use clear plastic.

I wouldn't fully wrap the run in Delaware since I know that you *can* get some remarkably warm weather in mid-winter and you don't want to create too much of a greenhouse effect.

 

[Jimmyg101]

I used to live in Millsboro.

Your photos look good. Some kind of windbreak on the upwind side is probably a good idea. Many people use clear plastic.

I wouldn't fully wrap the run in Delaware since I know that you *can* get some remarkably warm weather in mid-winter and you don't want to create too much of a greenhouse effect.

We're in Viola just north of Felton. Just our coop / run are covered and all is covered by the plexi glass as shown.
We do get alot of wind here, too much wind. West, north and a lot of east. These are our first chicks and first winter with them.