Should I allow my poultry livestock area to be covered by snow?

Get a chicken coop. make sure you have proper climate control mechanism to avoid frostbite. Make sure the door is closed at night to prevent cold winds from blowing through the coop while they are roosting.

If snow collects in the chicken yard, shovel it out so birds will be able to walk around without sinking in the snow. They will go into the yard during the day if a door is opened in the coop from which they can come and go. They prefer to be outside during the day, even in very cold weather.

Yes. Cold or not they like to roam around. But if it gets really cold don’t let them outside [when it’s really freezing].

I don’t have a roof for my chicken area; I just shovel it out after snow. It’s a bit of a nuisance, but if you had a roof, you would need to remove snow from it so the weight wouldn’t cause it to collapse, and the ground is easier to reach:-) One mod I am making this year is to put a board across the front of the coop for them to sit in the sun on. Last year they were always jostling for position to sit on the ramp.

My experience is that birds like to have a place to hide once in a while.