Regarding the chickens - since they are not going to need the pasture anyways because of the snow/ice this winter, Richard Perkins in Sweden moves his chickens into one of his greenhouses. This accomplishes not only helping with temperature/elements, but by having them closer to your house, maybe you can run an extension cable out to avoid needing to buy a solar panel/light combo and then just invest in a heat lamp since temperature is also a factor that plays into production output. Not to mention, having the chickens in a greenhouse vastly improves the soil. A win-win!