When do you let your hens out

[stilldeb]

Oh ours are out in their run every day and they always eat outside under the covered part. But there is a big black cat hanging around "observing" them - and one day I saw him trying to open the door to their pen - and the other day I also saw an opossum, and there's no way I'm leaving them out on their own loose without me out there with them. And it's too darned cold for me.

deb g

 

[spartacus_63]

As long as the coop temp stays above 20*, I open the door. The girlz don't like the snow, but their coop is elevated and they can get under it and scratch in the dirt. I also shovel the snow out of the chicken yard (partially) They like the sun and I think it is good for them to get direct sun exposure.

 

[abqferreira]

We let ours out on weekend afternoons when we're home. If they go out around 3-4 pm, they have a few hours to scratch in the compost before it gets dark, and then the best part is that they put themselves to bed! It took us a year to figure out that we don't have to go chase them all down again.

 

[TreeHugger]

Mine are in an enclosed coop and run so they go out as they please and are safe. However, they will not go outside with snow on the ground. It's been over a week since they've stepped foot outside the coop.

 

[Judy]

It doesn't snow here and mine are out every day. Even on a stormy or windy day I let them choose. But from reading on here I'd let them out anyway, maybe with the exception of a blizzard or something. I'd be shoveling them a couple of paths, blocking snow from a few places for them, scrounging pallets to lay on frozen or snowy ground -- something. I hate the idea of keeping them cooped up. To my mind they let us know they want out by pecking and feather pulling and such.

 

[Olive Hill]

Everyday when the sun comes up. Rain, snow, sleet or hail. Wind, well below zero temps... doesn't matter. The door gets opened as soon as it's light out.

Seems to me you may be falling victim to that age old quandary; failing to take one's own advice. Nice sig.

 

[Kansaseq]

My main coop has hardwarecloth on top of the run, so that pop door is left open most of the time. I stopped letting the girls out to free range in the back yard when all of the grass died last fall.

 

[blefky]

The pop door in our coop is on an automatic timer, and when it opens they invariably come out to greet the day. Depending on the weather, they may or may not stay out for long. Their run is covered so they're free to be out there at any time. I don't let them out of the run to free range unless I can be outside with them - way too many red tails around here. So it's really not about what kind of weather they can tolerate - they seem to tolerate most weather pretty well - it's more about what I can tolerate, and I'm gettin' old!

 

[AinaWGSD]

Between 6 and 8 am. Except when the wind chills are below -10. Then it's cold enough that none of mine will go out so I leave the pop door closed with the theory that opening it will just make the coop colder. But even when its really cold, my girls still insist on going outside. They'll go back in the coop if they get cold, so I figure why make them miserable just because I'm uncomfortable? If there's snow on the ground, I'll shovel the run and stir up the straw (or throw down new straw). If there's more than an inch of snow on the ground they stay in the run, otherwise I'll let them out to "free range" in the backyard around lunch time, sometimes sooner.

 

[pattgal]

Quote:
I know you have a lot of snow right now (more than we have in N.S.), but open the door and see if they want to go out...some will, some may not.

the snow started to weigh down on the netting we used to cover the top part of their run. It ripped right off the posts and is now blocking the chicken doors. Not to mention the work it would take to shovel a way to the back of the shed.

I had no idea ppl would let their chickens out in the winter
I have chicks hatched from December in there, Would that be safe for them?