# Chickens in the trees in snow storm



## Lynnya (Feb 13, 2021)

Hi all I'm new to the forum. I'm so upset. We are having a snow storm here in Seattle area with about 8 inches of snow on the ground in my chicken paddock. Some of my adult hens refuse to sleep in the coop and sleep in tall trees within the paddock. So now they are stuck up in the trees with this cold storm. They slept up there last night and have not come down at all even tho I've cleared an area for them to land on and put about a ton of scratch and hay down to try to entice them down. Nope, won't budge. It's still snowing a bit but should let up in a couple of hours. I'm so worried about them. No food or drink for 24 hours now.. what if they refuse to come down before tonight? How long can they survive - it's supposed to snow a bit more with some possible rain tonight. Looking at them in the trees they look okay but any advice or help would be so appreciated. All the others sensibly slept in the coop and are still in there with food and water. I'll wait to hear from you. Thank you.
Lynn
p.s. they are very fat hens and have really good feathers.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

If the temps don't drop too much they should be OK.

My guess is when you're not watching they've come down and helped themselves to food and water. It's usually what they do. You might have to see if you can catch them at that point and shuffle their feathery behinds into the coop and close the door. 

Do you have any other treats they can't say no to? That might be the next thing to try. 

Don't put treats outside of the coop. There's no reason for them to go in if the treats are right there on the ground.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

And welcome to the forum and the challenging world of understanding why chickens do the things they do.


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## Lynnya (Feb 13, 2021)

Hi Robin thanks for answering me. I truly don't think they are coming down at all.. they are all scared of the snow, never seen it before. I've put food, scratch and meal worms that they just can't resist but they won't budge. I've spent most of the day tramping over in the snow to check on them and give them more treats and call them... usually they come a running when I go into the paddock. My fear is they won't survive tonight and may not come down tomorrow.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

If the temps don't drop a ton and the wind isn't howling they'll be OK. Probably not happy with the situation but they should survive. If they have big combs they might suffer frostbite on their combs. 

If you're unable to do anything to drive them out of the trees you're kind of stuck waiting on them to realize they're being dumb.


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

Welcome to the forum. Chickens often have weird experiences with their first major snow. They tend to fluff up and maximize their layered insulation. My turkeys and peafowl often choose to wait out the snowfall high in the trees. Cold extreme wind or wet wind will bring them down to shelter in or around the coop.


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## Lynnya (Feb 13, 2021)

Thank you Poultry Judge and Robin.. They are still up there and it's snowing again  I managed to entice 3 down which left 3 in the trees. It's about 29 to 30 degrees here right now. I found one sitting in the snow near the coop yesterday and grabbed her and coaxed another with food.. hubby keeps reminding me that they are birds but at this point it's not helping much..


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

Lynnya said:


> Thank you Poultry Judge and Robin.. They are still up there and it's snowing again  I managed to entice 3 down which left 3 in the trees. It's about 29 to 30 degrees here right now. I found one sitting in the snow near the coop yesterday and grabbed her and coaxed another with food.. hubby keeps reminding me that they are birds but at this point it's not helping much..


At 29 or 30 degrees, quite honestly, they may not even feel that cold. I get concerned when it is eight degrees and the turkeys are still in the trees. That's when they seem to come down if there is wind.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Yeah, he's not a bird person. You can tell when they say stuff like that.

One thing that might help you feel a bit better about where they are. Where I lived in the N. GA mountains there was a wild flock of chickens that lived in the town square. They spent their entire lives outdoors and didn't suffer for it. And our temps easily got down that low during the Winter. 

Congrats on getting the three. You'll get the others. By then you'll be pulling your hair out over it.


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## Lynnya (Feb 13, 2021)

I'm already pulling my hair out.. I've been out there twice already this morning.. begging them to come down.. offering worms, scratch anything.. this will be two nights up there..a year ago I knew nothing about chickens, now I seem to know too much lol - I also have a crossed beak gal who needs special mash fixing even she went up the tree yesterday but I managed to coax her down showing her her red food bowl.. who would think chickens could be so emotionally consuming... or is it just me..


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## Lynnya (Feb 13, 2021)

p.s. thanks for all the reassurance.. it really helps.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Believe me, you're not the only one that gets that emotionally invested in them. 

The scary part is that this not the only time they'll have you pulling your hair out over something they've done.


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## Lynnya (Feb 13, 2021)

Just to finish up this thread and maybe help others if they have chickens in trees. My last 2 chickens came down out of the trees today. Nearly 4 days in the trees. No amount of coaxing, flinging of scratch, worms anything would make them budge. They seem none the worse for wear and the temperatures are warming to near 40 and the snow is melting. I guess chickens do not like snow. They seem to avoid walking on it at all costs. So the chickens in the trees had a happy ending and my blood pressure can now return to near normal. Thanks for support.
Lynn


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Thank you so much for the update. But don't get too comfortable, they'll come up with something new at some point.

Many shovel paths and/or put down straw so the prissy birds don't get their little feets too cold.


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

robin416 said:


> Thank you so much for the update. But don't get too comfortable, they'll come up with something new at some point.
> 
> Many shovel paths and/or put down straw so the prissy birds don't get their little feets too cold.


And most do get used to the snow. Most of mine are not good with it their first year.


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