I like the idea of chicken paths. Since my girls live on the second floor of the barn, if I just let them come out on their own, they have to go down a chicken ladder (which I bring inside so it is not covered in snow) and then fly down from about 5' up to their chosen place of landing.
The snow scares them, and they can't tell how deep it is so they don't want to land ANYWHERE. So they walk down the chicken ladder, and then they don't fly down - they just walk back up and hang out in the coop all day.
The other day I threw them (gently) out the barn's hay door. They all flew and landed right next to the house where there was very little snow. It was a nice day-- sunny and getting warm-- so the snow started sliding off my metal roof and landing on the chickens. Just like the fairy tale, the chickens claimed the sky was falling.
The metal roof over the chicken area has snow guards so they are unlikely to get buried in an avalanche, but it still would not be good if a big icicle hit them from 20+ feet up.
So, I think keeping them on separate chicken paths away from falling snow sounds like a good idea. I'll have to carry them down from the coop, but that is OK. I hope they will get SOME exercise over the winter. I'm going to have to try the hanging treats.
The snow scares them, and they can't tell how deep it is so they don't want to land ANYWHERE. So they walk down the chicken ladder, and then they don't fly down - they just walk back up and hang out in the coop all day.
The other day I threw them (gently) out the barn's hay door. They all flew and landed right next to the house where there was very little snow. It was a nice day-- sunny and getting warm-- so the snow started sliding off my metal roof and landing on the chickens. Just like the fairy tale, the chickens claimed the sky was falling.
The metal roof over the chicken area has snow guards so they are unlikely to get buried in an avalanche, but it still would not be good if a big icicle hit them from 20+ feet up.
So, I think keeping them on separate chicken paths away from falling snow sounds like a good idea. I'll have to carry them down from the coop, but that is OK. I hope they will get SOME exercise over the winter. I'm going to have to try the hanging treats.
