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Hello and welcome to BYC! You mentioned you were in the East, can you be more specific to the region? From what I've seen, most pre-fab coops are not all that sturdy and quite small for what they think is adequate space for adult chickens. If you are in New England a 2 to 3 foot snowfall is not uncommon and that takes a little time to dig out from. Just a thought. As far as getting your chickens to like you: that takes time and patience. Sit with them an offer them food from your hands. They already know you are a food dispenser, but they need to know that your hands won't hurt them. Good luck.
 
JaimeW said:
The coop is a pre-fab from tractor supply and it should have enough room to move but not to much so they get chilly. The covered run is kind of small but I think we are going to put up some temporary shields to keep snow off larger area and we will shovel for them too..the dog gets paths so i guess they should too!!
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If you have a pre-fab coop you are likely going to have issues this winter. Those coops are not large enough to house the number of birds stated on the packaging. Ever. The runs are a joke.
You really should make a much larger run (I'd shoot for a 100 sq foot area) with a solid roof to keep the snow out. You can then wrap all but the top foot with tarps so it has a good wind block. Put a thick bed of wood chips down in the run for little and make sure the whole works is built in an area that drains away from it all the way around to prevent standing water. Add lots of roosts for them and they will do well in that and their little coop for the winter.
 
Wee Farmer Sarah said:
Hello and welcome to BYC! You mentioned you were in the East, can you be more specific to the region? From what I've seen, most pre-fab coops are not all that sturdy and quite small for what they think is adequate space for adult chickens. If you are in New England a 2 to 3 foot snowfall is not uncommon and that takes a little time to dig out from. Just a thought. As far as getting your chickens to like you: that takes time and patience. Sit with them an offer them food from your hands. They already know you are a food dispenser, but they need to know that your hands won't hurt them. Good luck.
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Hi:)
We aren’t NE but right next door - upstate NY and we are very accustomed to heavy snow, snowblower is already tuned up and ready to go. We have been working with a local organic farmer to build our area and we got our birds directly from his farm. We even get our locally grown organic feed from him too. Our coop and run got the winter approval:)
 
JaimeW said:
Hi:)
We aren’t NE but right next door - upstate NY and we are very accustomed to heavy snow, snowblower is already tuned up and ready to go. We have been working with a local organic farmer to build our area and we got our birds directly from his farm. We even get our locally grown organic feed from him too. Our coop and run got the winter approval:)
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Good to know. I cringe sometimes when I think about the cute little coops in a heavy snowfall. My coop is a converted shed that once housed the previous owners large garden tractor. Very sturdy. The run roof is on 24 inch centers and covered with corrugated metal. My birds have plenty of room to roam inside and out so as not to get too bored. We're supposed to get a lot of snow this winter. My snowblower is ready as well.
 
Wee Farmer Sarah said:
Good to know. I cringe sometimes when I think about the cute little coops in a heavy snowfall. My coop is a converted shed that once housed the previous owners large garden tractor. Very sturdy. The run roof is on 24 inch centers and covered with corrugated metal. My birds have plenty of room to roam inside and out so as not to get too bored. We're supposed to get a lot of snow this winter. My snowblower is ready as well.
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