Snow birds

[Estelleannette]

so we live in the up( upper Michigan) and this is my first year with chickens. I worry about winter and snow. As I look at the coop I know it’ll be completely buried by snow come December/January. I didn’t realize when we first moved here why every house had an exterior door on the second floor leading to the roof. Now I know why. What do you do for your birds in the winter?do you think moving them into the garage would be a good idea?? Thanks

 

[21hens-incharge]

I have 2 coops and 2 flocks with 2 very different runs.
My big run has some metal roofing secured at an angle to provide a dry area but it cannot stop all snow. I end up shoveling that run out.
Not my favorite thing to do.

My smaller run is a hoop run. I zip tied 1/2" pvc to it and secure plastic over those with greenhouse clips to keep snow out. I do have to be mindful of ventilation on that run so I don't make it hot and humid.



As you can see the sides can be raised or lowered as needed.

Even with snow and raised sides 99% of the run was dry.
I do have to remove the snow but that is extremely easy to do.
High wind does cause some of the clips to pop off....that is easy to fix too. More clips when I put it on in year 2 prevented clip popping.

Many people use plastic on the sides of their roofed runs to keep it dry.

 

[Estelleannette]

I have 2 coops and 2 flocks with 2 very different runs.
My big run has some metal roofing secured at an angle to provide a dry area but it cannot stop all snow. I end up shoveling that run out.
Not my favorite thing to do.

My smaller run is a hoop run. I zip tied 1/2" pvc to it and secure plastic over those with greenhouse clips to keep snow out. I do have to be mindful of ventilation on that run so I don't make it hot and humid.


View attachment 1788756
As you can see the sides can be raised or lowered as needed.
View attachment 1788757
Even with snow and raised sides 99% of the run was dry.
I do have to remove the snow but that is extremely easy to do.
High wind does cause some of the clips to pop off....that is easy to fix too. More clips when I put it on in year 2 prevented clip popping.

Many people use plastic on the sides of their roofed runs to keep it dry.

I only have 4 birds so I only have a small space for them. The snow was past the handles on the shed this past winter. Just trying to get ideas on how to protect them. Still pretty new at this. Thanks for the photos!

 

[21hens-incharge]

A lot of folks put that kind of coop under a hoop run to protect it and the birds.
A hoop run is about 6 feet tall and 8 feet wide. They can be as long as you need them to be.

They are also eat to build and don't need posts driven into the ground.

Might be worth considering.

 

[Alaskan]

With only 4 birds...you could move them into the garage... but then your garage would become a coop.

I wrote an article on cold and snowy climate coops:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/cold-weather-poultry-housing-and-care.72010/

Do you have a greenhouse or shed?

Because yes, a tiny little coop will get buried alive if you live in a snowy area.

I would recommend building a nice walk in coop this summer. Yes, way overkill for 4 chickens.... but it could be beautiful and be used for many things. Make it half chicken house and half greenhouse, just lock the chickens out if the greenhouse in the winter.