SNOWSTORM! HELP!

[BackyardCountry]

It just snowed about 4 inches overnight and i didnt put a tarp on the run roof! Their coop is so filled with snow that they cant walk outside!! What do i do? Shovel out the run and put a tarp over it or just leave them inside the whole day and until it melts??? Help this is the first time i've had this happen!

 

[LauraG]

I would shovel it, but thats just me....
Then, I would get a cover up pronto.....

 

[EweSheep]

Leave it be. I have an open run too and the snow fence on top holds the snow in however the sheer weight of it can only stretch it so far.

Once it melted off, make plans to get cover if you really want to do it.

I never cover mine, never saw the need for it.

 

[NovaAman]

Shovel paths around the run. If its mostly an open air run, they are going to get snow anyway, so, I'd just shovel paths so they have places that are out of the snow. Mine walk in the snow from the coop to the house if I have a path shoveled...

 

[keesmom]

Shovel it if you want, or just leave it. They'll be fine either way. Four inches isn't much. I wouldn't bother with a tarp as they get weighed down easily and often collapse anyway.

 

[centrarchid]

Place a couple straw bales in run. About one bale per 10 birds. They can flutter / fly to them and stand there.

 

[madamwlf]

I just shoveled my run this morning from the snow last night. I have no intentions of letting my girls stay in doors. They have the option of going out if they too. As soon as the snow was cleared, they all came out. Just another task I do for my girls.

 

[bobbi-j]

Apparently you don't live in an area where snow happens on a regular basis.

No reason to panic, they'll be fine. I live in MN where we do get snow. My chickens hate it - won't leave the coop with snow on the ground. In the past I have tossed straw or hay over the snow and then they'll go outside and walk on that. This year, after reading the suggestion from other BYCers I kept the bagged leaves from the fall and just yesterday I spread some of those on the snow for them. Then today I tossed some corn on the leaves and they came right out to scratch around. Usually, I give them the choice to be in or out. I don't know how many chickens you have, or how big your coop is, though. Mine is big enough for them to spend the winter inside if they so choose. It's an 8x8 shed and they have plenty of roosting space (most of them roost in the rafters) and floor space.

 

[ALRwild]

I would shovel if I were you. I guess it really depends on what your forecast for the rest of the week is. If you're going to get more snow then I would put a tarp up and shovel the existing snow out. If there is no more snow in the forecast then I would just shovel it and not put a tarp up. (duh) Keep in mind that your run will be even more muddy if you just let the snow sit there and melt.

 

[azygous]

If you live where it snows on a regular basis, you might wish to build a permanent roof over the run. (You can see mine from my avatar) If you live where it snows once every few years, I'd forget it unless you get so much rain that the run is a constant mud wallow.

Chickens hate walking on snow. I've seen them go to extraordinary lengths to avoid it. One young cockerel attempting to fly over a drift ended up stuck head first in it, feet fluttering madly in panic! Usually, just shoveling a pathway around the area will satisfy them.