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

[cluckmecoop7]

@BYC Project Manager could you please add my suggestion?

 

[cingarb]

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.

Boise:I live west of you near Marsing. My hens were cooped up when the deep snow hit but as soon as the sun came out so did they. Four hens and one rooster..I am still getting 2 eggs most every day. They are tough old birds!

 

[CoconutCoffee]

Snow doesn't happen much where I'm at so that's what I voted. We mostly get flurries. If it were to snow though I think mine would stay in the coop. They venture in and out as it is on colder days. My first birds stayed in, couldn't stand it.

 

[Boise-girls]

Boise:I live west of you near Marsing. My hens were cooped up when the deep snow hit but as soon as the sun came out so did they. Four hens and one rooster..I am still getting 2 eggs most every day. They are tough old birds!

Boy, yours are definitely tougher than mine!

 

[Farmgirl1878]

Mine only ”free range” under adult supervision because we are in the middle of a hardwood tree farm, aka predator central. We have everything from bears, bobcats, and yotes, to two kinds of eagles, five kinds of hawks, and black headed vultures. That said, my girls are out when it’s a light snow, but large flakes or heavy snow will bring them inside the roofed run. If I’m out, they’re out. My blue Cochin is the only one who doesn’t like to get her feet wet, or as I like to call them, her fluffy bunny slippers!

 

[3KillerBs]

Well, if they don't want to go out they'll have plenty to do rearranging 5 carts of fresh pine straw in the coop and if they do go out they can rearrange a couple more carts in the run.

 

[3KillerBs]

Actually, I may not find out. It's not supposed to be snow so much as freezing rain and ice.

I have several days worth of feed and water in the coop and brought the solar fence charger into the house for a plug-in session -- figuring that it wouldn't be worth much under a layer of ice anyway.

I may or may not collect eggs -- depending on how safe I feel trying to navigate the stairs and the hills according to how much ice is on the ground.

Yet another reason to have a good, BIG coop. 10 square feet per bird in Neuchickenstein (also glad that I got the extras sold), and 16 square feet per cockerel in the bachelor quarters with one of them sold. Though they don't have any clutter in there, they do have weeds and garden mulch to scratch through so they ought to be fine.

 

[flumpus]

all of mine will stay outside under cover, except for Puff the silkie. she stays in the coop all by herself the whole day because she refuses to touch snow lol. if the chickens wake up and it's actively snowing, however, they won't come outside until it's done.

 

[3KillerBs]

I will not find out with this storm because it's raining ice.

The chickens are safe in their coops. I am safe in my house. No going out for anyone when it's raining ice.

 

[SueT]

They won’t come out if there’s snow unless I throw down shavings AND treats....this was yesterday:

And I swept paths in the snow