Rain Advice please

[ncmtnmama]

My 8-week girls have just moved into the coop full time, now, of course, it is raining and slated to rain all week. They have gone under the coop in the run, but will they know or choose to go up into the coop on their own?

Or should I bring them inside again... It feels so mean to watch them looking at the house for me...

 

[Tre3hugger]

I think at 8 weeks they are probably sufficiently feathered to handle some rain. Especially if they can escape the worst of it under the coop. Is the coop well ventilated? That will be key to them drying off/maintaining body temperature at night when they go in. What breeds are they?

 

[TK421]

Rain or no rain, you may need to put them inside on your own for a little while. I can’t remember how long I had to do it, but I clearly remember a routine of putting them in the coop. Maybe a week or so? 2? They’ll figure out the routine and go in by themselves after a little while.
I don’t know if others do this but I did. My run was safe but not predator proof so I needed them to learn to go into the coop on their own where it was Really safe.

 

[ncmtnmama]

I think at 8 weeks they are probably sufficiently feathered to handle some rain. Especially if they can escape the worst of it under the coop. Is the coop well ventilated? That will be key to them drying off/maintaining body temperature at night when they go in. What breeds are they?

They are EE, RIR and BPR's. Yes, the coop is well ventilated. I had just let them out a bit early this morning because I knew the rain was coming, so at least the had about 20 minutes to stretch their wings...

 

[ncmtnmama]

Rain or no rain, you may need to put them inside on your own for a little while. I can’t remember how long I had to do it, but I clearly remember a routine of putting them in the coop. Maybe a week or so? 2? They’ll figure out the routine and go in by themselves after a little while.
I don’t know if others do this but I did. My run was safe but not predator proof so I needed them to learn to go into the coop on their own where it was Really safe.

I help the first four go in last night (night 1) and number 5 was standing at the base of the ladder when I picked her up to go in and number 6 went up the ladder on her own, I just gave her a little lift on her bottom to get her to go in with the others.

 

[SegiDream]

Mine are the same age or younger than yours. They've been outside for a couple weeks and they have figured rain out on their own. I put an old tarp over the run near the pop door to give them shade and a little rain protection (also I don't want them tracking a whole lot of water into the coop when they come and go). When it rains/storms really bad or anything scares them they go straight in the coop. They're getting very good at going into the coop on their own in the evening.

They really can be smarter than you might think. They recognize the difference between me and my daughter, if I walk towards the run I they're chill. But if I walk to the side of the coop they think something radical is going to happen and they swarm around to check it out. When my daughter comes outside they follow her around the run, shamelessly begging for wild strawberries/flowers/bugs she finds. She's spoiling them rotten.

 

[ncmtnmama]

Mine are the same age or younger than yours. They've been outside for a couple weeks and they have figured rain out on their own. I put an old tarp over the run near the pop door to give them shade and a little rain protection (also I don't want them tracking a whole lot of water into the coop when they come and go). When it rains/storms really bad or anything scares them they go straight in the coop. They're getting very good at going into the coop on their own in the evening.

They really can be smarter than you might think. They recognize the difference between me and my daughter, if I walk towards the run I they're chill. But if I walk to the side of the coop they think something radical is going to happen and they swarm around to check it out. When my daughter comes outside they follow her around the run, shamelessly begging for wild strawberries/flowers/bugs she finds. She's spoiling them rotten.

I just wish this rain hadn't followed their first night in the coop. Mine are all in the covered area of their run, but I am not sure it matters the rain is so hard. We are hoping for a break in the rain to take a tarp out just for extra protection. Right now I am not sure about food. We had planned to put their food only in the other part of their run during the day, but that part is not covered. So now they are in there without food and water, although they certainly should be able to get some water right now!

Glad your girls are friendly with you and your daughter Ours are too, we have a tree area in their larger run for crossing and three of them run right to the tree and get in the branches closest to the wire where I can scratch their backs!

Thanks for the rain advice

 

[SegiDream]

I just wish this rain hadn't followed their first night in the coop. Mine are all in the covered area of their run, but I am not sure it matters the rain is so hard. We are hoping for a break in the rain to take a tarp out just for extra protection. Right now I am not sure about food. We had planned to put their food only in the other part of their run during the day, but that part is not covered. So now they are in there without food and water, although they certainly should be able to get some water right now!

Glad your girls are friendly with you and your daughter Ours are too, we have a tree area in their larger run for crossing and three of them run right to the tree and get in the branches closest to the wire where I can scratch their backs!

Thanks for the rain advice

Oh wow I didn't realize they moved outside that recently! I kept mine locked up tight in the coop for 3=4 days so they would get used to it as their new "safe zone". I consistently feed them in the evenings when it is time for them to go back in the coop so they are learning that ritual.

Funny story. The roof on the coop isn't installed yet but it is covered completely with hardware cloth. I think on their 2nd day out there it stormed and I had a tarp over the top not realizing it isn't 100% waterproof. It rained, I went to check on them and the poor babies were soaked! And the coop was flooded! It was still drizzling outside! I threw a plastic table cloth over the top and then there I am on my hands and knees in the mud and muck trying to scoop out bedding and poo (soup mix ugh) apologizing to them the whole time. Gosh knows my neighbors across the street got a good show. They're always lounging on their porch with their binoculars, gossiping and enjoying the show...

 

[rosemarythyme]

We had planned to put their food only in the other part of their run during the day, but that part is not covered. So now they are in there without food and water, although they certainly should be able to get some water right now!

Guess you need to rethink where you want the food to go, now that you know the spot you chose isn't going to work with rainfall. This is why my feeder ended up inside the coop, because it's one of the few places I can guarantee stays dry.

As far as the chicks in the rain, they're old enough to stand some rain. As long as they don't get completely soaked, and have some place they can take shelter, they should be fine. If they can't figure things out, it's fine to herd them into shelter to help them figure it out.

 

[CatsandCrops]

Mine were scared of going out from under the coop, up the ramp and into the coop during their first rain storm. That day we realized the coop overhang wasn't large enough to cover the small chicken door from sideways/hard rains so we added additional wood beams to the roof of our covered run to provide them with more shade/dry areas. Once we did that, they started using their ramp and going into the coop. I think they were scared of getting wet while attempting to use the ramp while it was raining/they were getting wet.