The Square Foot Question

[MamaBear46]

Frozen thank you for posting this I have learned alot .

 

[laura625]

I think a couple of hrs a day out of the run will be nice for them.and add a little variety to their diet.
It will be interesting to see how the grass and plants fare.
They are certainly way better off than commercial chickens.
And there are backyard chickens who never walk on grass.
It sounds like a Great set up for 5 . You'll just have to see if 8 is pushing it too far. As a newcomer to. Chickens i.was.surprised at how well they do with cold not so keen snow though.
If there is anyway to cover some of the run, they would have more time out in the sun and frezh air during the winter.
Otherwise, its just the bit under the coop and whatever you shovel.
Chantecler is a breed of chicken developed in Canada.
it is white, pretty goodegg layer i think, and Very cold hardy.
One thing about chickens designed for cold is they have small combs. You will want to keep an eye on the combs of your hens in the winter. You can look up a pic of frostbite. With 8 ckns in the coop you might have fairly moispt air which increases possibility of frostbite. We put medicatex petroleum based ointment on our frostbittepn roosters comb, and plain petroleum jelly to prevent the others. Seemed to work.