Run cover that holds up to snow? Do chickens like snow?

[Noymira]

What do you use to cover your runs that holds up to snow? Our large run is going to be about 12'X18', I want to put some kind of cover over it to protect from hawks, our ladies will be locked up tight at night. We get quite a bit of snow in the winter, and I'd like to use something that will shed the snow well. I was looking at deer netting as the most economical choice, and it is easy to drape and secure over our enclosure, but the holes seem pretty small and likely to hold a lot of snow and tear from the weight.

I'm also not sure how much chickens like being out in the snow (complete newbie question!

). Once we have a foot or more on the ground will they even want go out in it? If not I'd probably just take the netting down in the winter and not worry about the snow. We also have a covered run area I want to add wind/snow blocks to that is 8'x10' they could use in the winter, but I don't know if that and a 10'x10' coop alone are enough room for 10 chickens in the winter. Between the coop and the smaller covered run they would have 180 sq ft of area, but our winters are fairly long. We have quite a bit of snow on the ground from mid-December through mid-March.

 

[hennyannie]

My netting did crash in the snow/ice.

 

[kagedgoddess]

Idk what will work for snow. But my chickens Hate snow. They wont even come out of the coop to eat the first couple times it snows.

 

[Thomas423]

Our run is completely covered with hardware cloth. We had over 2' of snow on top of the run with no problems. It is built with crossbeams to secure the hardware cloth and that probably helped with the weight.
My chickens did go out in the snow but the run roof held most of it and the snow wasn't very deep inside the run. It slowly melted and made a muddy mess which they loved.

 

[patandchickens]

Most chickens get used to snow (although it is a *process* for many -- they may be horrified at first, and need encouragement to try it and see that it isn't so bad). They differ wildly in how much they like it.

Deer netting will come down in snow.

heavy gauge 2x4 wire mesh, well-supported by posts/rafters type arrangement, is "somewhat" snowproof, in that you have to have a pretty heavy WET dump of snow (or freezing rain changing to wet snow) to have enough stick to take the run top down; but it certainly will take the run top down *sometimes* unless supported just about equivalently to a solid roof.

Some people use lots and lots and lots of crisscrossed twine, with or without CDs or ribbons hung on it, to "discourage" hawks, it doesn't keep them out entirely but many feel it helps significantly with deterrance; done right, it is relatively safe in the snow.

Or obviously a solid roof does an excellent job, but is quite expensive compared tot he other options and you gotta make sure it is engineered for snow and windload.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Katy]

I use 2" flight netting on mine and it holds up well in the snow. The holes are big enough that I've really never had much of a build up of snow on it.

Mine get used to the snow as the winter progresses. Some seem to mind it more than others.

 

[BarefootMom]

If I was going to do a covered run I would use a tin roof. You can get scraps of tin (odd colors) pretty cheap from lumberyards and such. Tin can be painted pretty easily and the snow/ice just slides off.

Our chickens free range, and this winter during the blizzard they would only come out on to the paths that I had shoveled lol But the snow was over 3 feet deep...lol

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Since you say you get a foot or more of snow on the ground, I think it's safe to say they won't be walking through that. Your covered run is a little small, but you have more than the usual amount of space in your coop, so you may do okay.

Before we covered our run, I used to have to shovel the run out, just so the chickens could get out the pop door. If your chickens start having behavior problems due to space issues, you could always grab a shovel and clear some of the snow out of the uncovered run. I still need to shovel some after blizzards, where the snow blows into the run from the side. Fortunately, that doesn't happen that often.