When do you let your hens out

[NYRIR]

I give the option every day.Here right now we have 4-5 foot banks of snow.My DH shovels a small area in front of the coop and they also have the area under the coop as it is a foot or so off the ground.They do tend to wander in and out and some seem to prefer staying in more since it's been so cold for so long here.They also venture through the "snowy canyons" (paths from their coop to the duck run and to the garage).They are starting to go a bit stir-crazy now though...it's just boring for everyone with soooo much snow

 

[OrphanNanny]

In northcentral Wisconsin here...and I figure if it's warm enough for our cows to be outside I leave the coop door open too. We plow or shovel enough snow away to give them plenty of room to roam during the day and if they seem really reluctant I'll throw some straw or hay down on the path to coax them out for some fresh air. Just 2 days ago they's found a spot where a little bit of snow had melted and caught a bunch of them dust bathing...must've been a real workout to dig up enough dirt to do so

We have a windchill warning right now for a few days, I'll leave their door open while I'm going to refill waterers and such, but the cows are "cooped" up in the barn and I don't expect my feathered girls to venture out for too long or too far so I shut 'em up tight and wait til it's warm enough for the Moo-ers to be out, then I give them the option again.