Official BYC Poll: Do Your Chickens Go Inside Their Coop When It Snows?

[BYC Project Manager]

It's winter - meaning it's snowing in some areas. Although the common expectation is for all your chickens to hurry on inside the coop you might get a few rebels since each chicken has its own personality, just like us humans. So: Do Your Chickens Go Inside When It Snows?

Place your vote above, and please elaborate in a reply below if you chose "Other".

Further Reading:

• Caring For Chickens in the Winter
• Top 10 Favorite Backyard Chicken Breeds
• Top 5 Ways Of Keeping Your Flock Warm In Winter

(Check out more exciting Official BYC Polls HERE!)

 

[Silkie Princess]

Inside the house or coop? Lol

 

[OzarkChooks]

My chickens stay out in rain and snow. The only ones who like to take cover are the youngest. I have a bunch of evergreens that they like to hang out under.

 

[BYC Project Manager]

Inside the house or coop? Lol

Their coop...

 

[cluckmecoop7]

Add "They go inside if snow is covering the ground".

My chickens are ok with it snowing, but if is starts really covering the ground they retreat.

 

[NC_Quail]

I agree with Cluckmecoop, my chickens don’t like it when snow is covering the ground and stay in their coop. Fortunately for them, we don’t get much snow here in North Carolina, and even then, it often melts and does not stick.

 

[Boise-girls]

Mine generally only go into the coop to roost or to lay. If the weather's bad, they snuggle into the deep bedding of their covered pen, which has weather-proofing on the sides. If it's only a little bad, they have covered places outside the pen that they prefer, as long as I make a straw path on the snow for access.

 

[3KillerBs]

Due to my location they haven't had to cope with significant snow. The half inch we got one day last winter didn't impress them. The flurries on Monday kept most of them inside either the coop or the other shelter while the "rooster" (7-month-cockerel), stayed out to keep an eye on the situation.

Rain rarely phases them. The original 5 happily foraged in their pen between the rain bands of multiple tropical storms during the summer of 2020.

 

[Sally PB]

We're getting a winter storm today, and the wind is blowing snow into the run from just about every direction. Only one chicken came out for chickie snack. It was a nice warm treat, and I wanted them to eat it up, so I put the pans in the coop. Nobody came out after that.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I picked a bunch of options.

If there's already snow on the ground when they wake up, they will not come out of the coop. I need to shovel some pathways or throw down some litter, and then kick them out for them to come out and stay out.

If there's not already snow but it starts snowing, some will stay out and huddle under cover, others will start making their way inside, depending on how heavy and how long it lasts. But their preference is to remain out whenever possible.