Should I let my chickens out when it is snow on the ground?

[henney penny]

Mine went out yesterday only after I put straw down for them to walk on,but their door stays open for them to go in and out

 

[rmh0508]

I just open the coop door and shut it at night. Mine all go out for a while, take a break then go back out. If they are in and I go outside they come out to see what I am doing. I do put scratch in the run in the am and they are always lined up at the door to come out and eat

 

[wyododge]

Quote:
I wonder what the birds did before man started creating building for them to live in.

Let your birds decide

I meant if they forced them out in the open and shut the coop.

So they would be put in the same situation as they are designed to be in, outside in the cold and wet. They have down feathers for this very reason. A soaking wet chicken is vastly better prepared to handle the cold than you are.

As many others already have stated, let them decide. Sometimes mine go out in the snow, sometimes they don't. The first time is definitely fun to watch.

 

[annep]

We shovel a path for them and take it down to the dirt..From our coop to the rabbit shed that has a ton of hay on the ground..They love it in there..Stay in there all day when it's cold.

 

[DoubleDamage]

Year old thread, but we just had over a foot of snow. They've been literally "cooped" up for days. It seems the consensus is to let them figure it out on their own. Tomorrow I will open it up for them to explore. With highs in the 30s though I'm afraid they could get frost bite.

 

[Young Farmer]

Mine go out evey day. They are not bothered by the snow at all. And they wont get frost bite with 30* temps just make sure they can go inside if they do start to get cold.

 

[Twofast4u]

I found this very helpful as I live in West TN and we don't get that much snow. Some of them looked at me like "you want me to do what?" Haha

 

[21hens-incharge]

This is a very old thread.