Vent protection from blowing snow

That was a storm unlike any other! Almost 24 hours of continuous snowing, over 2 feet of snow accumulation, and winds so high that there’s no snow on any of the house roofs or trees! It blew in drifts 4 feet high, and got UNDER my fancy awnings and into the coop!!! So I kept having to go clear snow from INSIDE the coop despite the only unprotected vent being completely sealed with plastic. This coop has been through a lot of snow, but I’ve never had to clear snow from inside of it like this 😱 I don’t know if this is preventable either, short of sealing all the vents, but a full 24 hours of them pooping and breathing in there… with no ventilation… can’t be good either 😖 How can I prepare better for next time?

I had sectioned part of the coop off to jail a bully, and since the partition was under the roosts, I’d put plastic under them so she doesn’t get pooped on. With everybody being shut in for the day, the rest of them were too cramped for space with the bully taking up almost half the coop. So I moved her to a wire crate in the basement to open up more room for the flock. That made them so much happier! As a bonus, the poop guard ended up doubling as a snow guard, too, creating a dry safe space underneath, which they snuggled in for a while. I cleared the last of the snow before they went to bed, and the snow stopped shortly after. So at least they won’t sleep in snow or get snowed on while sleeping. They handled their first ever cooped up day very well! I’ll shovel their run tomorrow morning (no more snow in the forecast), so hopefully things will be back to normal.

Look at the snow that blew in from under my new awning! Grrrr 😣
235802F3-21CF-44E2-A9F5-030EF00FFFD1.jpeg
 
That was a storm unlike any other! Almost 24 hours of continuous snowing, over 2 feet of snow accumulation, and winds so high that there’s no snow on any of the house roofs or trees! It blew in drifts 4 feet high, and got UNDER my fancy awnings and into the coop!!! So I kept having to go clear snow from INSIDE the coop despite the only unprotected vent being completely sealed with plastic. This coop has been through a lot of snow, but I’ve never had to clear snow from inside of it like this 😱 I don’t know if this is preventable either, short of sealing all the vents, but a full 24 hours of them pooping and breathing in there… with no ventilation… can’t be good either 😖 How can I prepare better for next time?

I had sectioned part of the coop off to jail a bully, and since the partition was under the roosts, I’d put plastic under them so she doesn’t get pooped on. With everybody being shut in for the day, the rest of them were too cramped for space with the bully taking up almost half the coop. So I moved her to a wire crate in the basement to open up more room for the flock. That made them so much happier! As a bonus, the poop guard ended up doubling as a snow guard, too, creating a dry safe space underneath, which they snuggled in for a while. I cleared the last of the snow before they went to bed, and the snow stopped shortly after. So at least they won’t sleep in snow or get snowed on while sleeping. They handled their first ever cooped up day very well! I’ll shovel their run tomorrow morning (no more snow in the forecast), so hopefully things will be back to normal.

Look at the snow that blew in from under my new awning! Grrrr 😣
View attachment 2977567
I wondered how bad you all were going to get it! Heard it was going to be bad! Hope it gets sunny now.
 
That was a storm unlike any other! Almost 24 hours of continuous snowing, over 2 feet of snow accumulation, and winds so high that there’s no snow on any of the house roofs or trees! It blew in drifts 4 feet high, and got UNDER my fancy awnings and into the coop!!! So I kept having to go clear snow from INSIDE the coop despite the only unprotected vent being completely sealed with plastic. This coop has been through a lot of snow, but I’ve never had to clear snow from inside of it like this 😱 I don’t know if this is preventable either, short of sealing all the vents, but a full 24 hours of them pooping and breathing in there… with no ventilation… can’t be good either 😖 How can I prepare better for next time?

I had sectioned part of the coop off to jail a bully, and since the partition was under the roosts, I’d put plastic under them so she doesn’t get pooped on. With everybody being shut in for the day, the rest of them were too cramped for space with the bully taking up almost half the coop. So I moved her to a wire crate in the basement to open up more room for the flock. That made them so much happier! As a bonus, the poop guard ended up doubling as a snow guard, too, creating a dry safe space underneath, which they snuggled in for a while. I cleared the last of the snow before they went to bed, and the snow stopped shortly after. So at least they won’t sleep in snow or get snowed on while sleeping. They handled their first ever cooped up day very well! I’ll shovel their run tomorrow morning (no more snow in the forecast), so hopefully things will be back to normal.

Look at the snow that blew in from under my new awning! Grrrr 😣
View attachment 2977567
It was definitely like no other. It snowed in my coop too. I think I finally got it to stop about mid afternoon for the most part. UGH! going by your totals I am going to guess you are in Eastern MA?

are those cochins? what is the one that is by itself in that picture?
 
It was definitely like no other. It snowed in my coop too. I think I finally got it to stop about mid afternoon for the most part. UGH! going by your totals I am going to guess you are in Eastern MA?

are those cochins? what is the one that is by itself in that picture?
It was quite a storm. Sunny now. Our coop got no blow in. The run got a little snow
 

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That was a storm unlike any other! Almost 24 hours of continuous snowing, over 2 feet of snow accumulation, and winds so high that there’s no snow on any of the house roofs or trees! It blew in drifts 4 feet high, and got UNDER my fancy awnings and into the coop!!! So I kept having to go clear snow from INSIDE the coop despite the only unprotected vent being completely sealed with plastic. This coop has been through a lot of snow, but I’ve never had to clear snow from inside of it like this 😱 I don’t know if this is preventable either, short of sealing all the vents, but a full 24 hours of them pooping and breathing in there… with no ventilation… can’t be good either 😖 How can I prepare better for next time?

I had sectioned part of the coop off to jail a bully, and since the partition was under the roosts, I’d put plastic under them so she doesn’t get pooped on. With everybody being shut in for the day, the rest of them were too cramped for space with the bully taking up almost half the coop. So I moved her to a wire crate in the basement to open up more room for the flock. That made them so much happier! As a bonus, the poop guard ended up doubling as a snow guard, too, creating a dry safe space underneath, which they snuggled in for a while. I cleared the last of the snow before they went to bed, and the snow stopped shortly after. So at least they won’t sleep in snow or get snowed on while sleeping. They handled their first ever cooped up day very well! I’ll shovel their run tomorrow morning (no more snow in the forecast), so hopefully things will be back to normal.

Look at the snow that blew in from under my new awning! Grrrr 😣
View attachment 2977567

Wow.

I didn't worry about a little snow in my Open air coop last week, but what you got in a much more protected coop where the consequences are more severe is CRAZY.

If those awnings couldn't protect the vents I don't think anything short of a roomy barn would have done the job.
 

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