Poultry Talk Ontario (pto.ca)

Hopefully I can explain this well . I've notice that all the coop bird entrance /exit doors be it large chicken coops or small stand alone duck pens are just holes cut to size in middle of pen so critters including wind etc can just blow straight in . Instead of this try making a wood "tunnel " type , length is variable entrance , keeps wind out & can deter larger predators . Used this all the time on our off ground Beagle pens .
Make a wood tunnel bx slightly taller than exit door 3 long PCs top,side,bottom then cap on left or rt end & screw nail to wall . Bird walks up to frt of coop turns rt or left down tunnel to end then into pen. If on a above ground on legs duck/chicken pen put opening on rt or left side not in middle , depending on prevailing wind then attach tunnel . No snow/rain or direct wind can get in this way . I'll try do a pic . Luck
PS some training with feed & gentle persuasion may be necessary .

Great idea!

You can also put the tunnel on the inside of pen /coop which gives you a flat perch inside & sometimes is easier for birds to figure out how to navigate . Luck

Great idea Ross!

I had this exact problem last week with the strong west wind blowing snow right in the coop... entrance is on the north. my quick thinking was to put a piece of plywood up on an angle facing the west... problem solved. so now as a permanent solution I will build an a frame shelter prolly 5 feet high and 4 feet wide it will still be open to the north but so far i havent had a problem with the wind coming from the north. thats probably because the house blocks the north wind. the other thing im guna do with the A frame is put a turkey sized nest box in the top and hope they use it. so far iv only had them nest on the ground.

We did this for our dogs as well when we kept a Dobie out year round. Never thought of connecting the concept to the coop. Many thanks for doing the connecting!

As I go to show the resident builder, he reminds me we had the zig zag part internal to the kennel. As the dog entered the kennel, he had to bend into it. Also he insulated that first internal short side wall. Would the external zig zag (high tech term) prove more detrimental for keeping larger animals out? Plus I'm thinking the external would be more effective in blocking drafts.

Could long as chickens didn't get lost . My thought was more to keep weather out . Predators it's hard to say . Most time unless caught or killed it just slows um down & hopefully they'll go somewhere a else . Luck