People with intense winters: Runs + Snow Load?

[lefttowrite]

3 feet of Michigan snow is usually VERY heavy. (Hi from another Michigander!) We don't get the powder they get out west very often, we get snow with a lot of moisture, and it sticks to everything and together. Good snowball/snowman snow. (OP, I know you know this.)

Forget C. I have seen snow stack up on netting, fill in the holes, and bring it all down.

If you have the resources, ie, money, A would be my choice. I have a peaked roof on my run, and I use a push broom to pull the snow down whenever we get snow. Otherwise, the snow will pack down, stick to the roof, freeze solid into ice, and be impossible to remove.

B would be a good choice if money is tight. An arch will shed snow well, and cattle panel is strong. So is the arch shape. What will eventually give way is the plastic, due to UV, but you can get some that is for hoop green houses that will last pretty well. Putting hardware cloth over the arch first will spread out the weight of the snow.

That's basically what I have on half of my run. It's not an arch or cattle panel, it's the metal frame of a green house. I have chicken wire laid over it, then a heavy duty tarp. (The black/silver ones from TSC.) The chicken wire supports the tarp between the metal frame poles, so it doesn't sag very far. It's held up to two winters so far, no problem.

On the other half of the run, I have polycarbonate panels. They're the kind used for green houses, but slightly opaque (83% transmission). They let in a lot of light, but it doesn't get unbearably hot. I also broom it off any time we get snow. They were about $55 each, so not cheap. They are holding up very well.

Thanks for the encouragement! B sounds like it’s a good option, with the right equipment and a bunch more hardware cloth.

Your description of our snow fits to a T. Glad to know other folks who get it!! (I’m also glad it’s still just June lol.)

 

[mowin]

I hear ya! Still plan to predator-proof the run (HC apron around the perimeter…not done with hardware cloth yet, much to my chagrin ) but I’m just saying that I’m not as worried about it as I am with the coop. Hopefully the coop itself will be like Fort Knox!

I really like the person-sized door you have built around the chicken door. Was that hard to do? The way my layout is situated, I’ll have to go alllll the way to the end of the run to access a door if I do the hoop design. This would be a nice fix to that issue!

Well, to be honest, I messed up. I built everything in my shop and once the coop was leveled out, the hoop covered the top of the door. So a dutch door was created, lol. That door was really only used when I cleaned out the coop. There's a man door on the backside also.

Back to a predator proof run. I didn't want rats, squirrels, weasel, ECT getting in the run. A weasel will wipe out a entire flock, and seeing I'm not home all day, I want them secure, so I covered the entire hoop with HC.

 

[Jcbaker]

Hello to the fellow Michiganders!! I am a chicken momma from South West Michigan in the heart of the snow belt so we get the lake effect snow. We just built our new 30x40 run and a 12x16 coop this past year for our 15 girls. Our run is open on the top except an 85 lbs strength net with wood supports throughout for arial predators which we have a ton of. The net has held up to the snow so far pretty well but, of course the run is covered with snow due to the snow storm that rolled in this weekend. We have cleared the netting and shoveled the run but, my girls are still walking on snow and I am concerned about frostbite on their feet with the single digit temps coming this week. We have the sides of the run wrapped in heavy duty tarps but, the wind still seems to make its way in the run. Any suggestions for run floor coverage to help with the cold ground?

 

[tripletfeb]

Hello to the fellow Michiganders!! I am a chicken momma from South West Michigan in the heart of the snow belt so we get the lake effect snow. We just built our new 30x40 run and a 12x16 coop this past year for our 15 girls. Our run is open on the top except an 85 lbs strength net with wood supports throughout for arial predators which we have a ton of. The net has held up to the snow so far pretty well but, of course the run is covered with snow due to the snow storm that rolled in this weekend. We have cleared the netting and shoveled the run but, my girls are still walking on snow and I am concerned about frostbite on their feet with the single digit temps coming this week. We have the sides of the run wrapped in heavy duty tarps but, the wind still seems to make its way in the run. Any suggestions for run floor coverage to help with the cold ground?

Straw or pine bedding

 

[aart]

Mine will walk on snow no problem.
(ETA: this is after I shovel most of the snow out)
Will toss a few pine shavings and/or sand on ice tho.
Single digit temps I usually leave them confined to coop.

 

[Jcbaker]

Straw or pine bedding

Have you ever had any issues with the straw and them getting impacted crops? We currently use pine shavings so I am thinking of using that over straw.

 

[Jcbaker]

Mine will walk on snow no problem.
Will toss a few pine shavings and/or sand on ice tho.
Single digit temps I usually leave them confined to coop.

Is your coop insulated? We have walls in our coop but, the wall cavities are not insulated. Do you have any form of heat in your coop at all?

 

[aart]

Is your coop insulated? We have walls in our coop but, the wall cavities are not insulated. Do you have any form of heat in your coop at all?

No insulation, no heat(except for the waterer).
Just gave them a dose of electrolytes tho, IME it really helps with cold stress.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-extreme-weather-spiel.75893/

 

[Jcbaker]

No insulation, no heat(except for the waterer).
Just gave them a dose of electrolytes tho, IME it really helps with cold stress.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-extreme-weather-spiel.75893/

Awesome!! Thank you so much for the feedback and advice!!! I am new to this and there is so much information out there it’s hard to tell what’s the best. Our fours two year olds were in a much smaller coop and run that we could easily wrap and kept them warm but, chicken math got us and we now have 15 so needed a much bigger coop and run which is why we are just now dealing with the winter weather issues. Thanks again!!

 

[Penpal]

I am in the Thumb. My two Brahma chickens will not come out of their coop. They did with the first snowfall, but now I have to bring breakfast and dinner out to them. My Rhode Island Reds were completely different. Fearless. Snow did not defeat them, except when elderly. You just have to be aware that if you feed outside the coop there may be one staying inside.

Chickens don't have feet like ours, they can tolerate walking in the snow. Because of the shape of their feet/toes, they will not fall through to the ground, so that is a plus. Think "snowshoes".