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

Do Your Chickens Go Inside Their Coop When It Snows?

  • My chickens are tough--they stay out no matter what!

    Votes: 7 3.1%
  • Some birds go in, while others prefer to stay out

    Votes: 68 30.2%
  • They prefer to stay outside, under cover

    Votes: 51 22.7%
  • They only go inside when it's snowing really hard

    Votes: 36 16.0%
  • My fair-weather flock returns to the coop

    Votes: 57 25.3%
  • It doesn't snow where I'm located

    Votes: 36 16.0%
  • Other (elaborate in a reply below)

    Votes: 30 13.3%

  • Total voters
    225
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.
Same softy chickens here. They just don’t like to walk into a snowwhite world. And rather stay in the coop with a small attached covered run (all together about 3 m2 for 7 bantams).

We have mild winters in the Netherlands too. Last year we had 8 days with snow and below freezing. Most winters its cold for a week or so without snow. If it snows it often melts again after a few hours or a few days.
 
oh mine were out in it, i was worried about them blowing away, fixing up the bathroom in case they have to spend the night inside, so they don'tblow away, wind howling and they are right out in it like nothing is the matter. At which point I decided that unless it's a cat 3 or higher, they can hide under the boat, or wherever, if it's a cat 3 or higher the place is screwed anyways so if they didn't blow away, they'll probably end up a meal for those of us stranded :D

Big gust of wind came up and popped their nesting box door open and they all hopped out there. I opened the coop up the regular way so they could go back in but they wanted no part of that. Ok fine, stay outside then.

Aaron

IIRC, due to ground friction the wind isn't as strong down at chicken level.
 
Mine won't come out of the coop with snow on the ground!
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0969.jpg
    IMG_0969.jpg
    845.6 KB · Views: 4
IIRC, due to ground friction the wind isn't as strong down at chicken level.
Oh i get that but they are out running around in it like nothing at all is going on. Pouring rain and they are digging around. I figure next T storm or hurricane, if it gets windy enough for them to worry, they'll figure a way back to the house !

Aaron
 
Oh i get that but they are out running around in it like nothing at all is going on. Pouring rain and they are digging around. I figure next T storm or hurricane, if it gets windy enough for them to worry, they'll figure a way back to the house !

Aaron

Chickens know how to be chickens. :)
 
A little of both. They stay inside when it’s ugly-cold, like the sub-zero temps last week. It happened to snow a bit at that time. So, hard to judge if the snow played a part.

I generally shovel an area around the coop down to mostly bare dirt so when the sun comes out, those areas melt faster. The first few hours, they stay in the shoveled spots. They slowly venture into shallow snow.

What they really don’t like is the 15-25 mph winds we get when weather fronts move through every couple of weeks. Even with wind breaks, it can be uncomfortable.
 
Mine do not like wind, they're definitely "wind wimps" but so am I...can't stand being blown sideways trying to do outdoor chores.

If it's a calm, light rain or snow they'll stay out, but when wind kicks up they go in. I've been outside gardening when wind gusts suddenly & it's hilarious how they'll cluck with displeasure as they go into the coop.

We just had the 1st snow of 2022, about 10 inches & it was windy. They hunkered down inside.

My Buff Orpington, Romeo, gazes out the window...Sweet boy must be dreaming about Spring. ❤
You & me both buddy! Planning my garden with anticipation now!

Oh, I recall the sweet sight of flowers! 💐
(Romeo prefers the bugs, of course.) 🪲
 

Attachments

  • 20210131_142529.jpg
    20210131_142529.jpg
    396.4 KB · Views: 4
  • 20210131_142535.jpg
    20210131_142535.jpg
    483.5 KB · Views: 2
  • 20220103_121053.jpg
    20220103_121053.jpg
    96.9 KB · Views: 2
  • 20210524_170306.jpg
    20210524_170306.jpg
    531.7 KB · Views: 2
  • 1601489361260_image.png
    1601489361260_image.png
    2.4 MB · Views: 5
Last edited:

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom