4wk old - First Thunderstorm!!!!

[Diesel84]

I've had my girls out in their coop/run all week and they've been transitioning great!!!! I heard it was supposed to rain last night so I thought - "Well they'll have to get used to the rain at some point, so let's try it out"
HUGE MISTAKE!
I kept thinking about them all evening so I covered part of their run with tarp and moved them into the coop, soon after I changed my mind, left it covered but locked them in.

Fast forward 4 hours at I am woken up at midnight w/terrifying thoughts of my beautiful lil black babies being struck to death by lightning.. But still, I went back to sleepp - until the crakc of thunder and lightning woke me up 45 mins later.... So.. I woke up my partner, threw on a hoodie and scrambled to grab my babies from their coop and put them back in their old brooder in the garage for the night. They were all huddled in the corner of the coop - not even on their roosts like usual, they looked SO scared!!!

I felt like the WORST chick mom EVER!

How do you deal with inclement weather like that with your chickens? Here in FL we are constantly having heavy rain/thunderstorms and I worry my babies won't be able to deal!
They have a reinforced dog house style coop and a run .. but.. but.. STILL! I felt like wrapping them all in a cuddly blanket and letting them sleep w/me in my bed - but soon the thought of waking up in chick poop wasn't as enticing.. lol Any thoughts?

 

[Chook-A-Holic]

The best thing you could have done for them was to leave them outside. They will get used to the noises of nature and other outdoor happenings. They will be OK. I raise mine around mowers, chainsaws, power tools etc. They don't even pay it any-mind after awhile. I have to admit I do worry about mine a little bit their first night or two outside, but it's because I'm use to them being inside in my incubator/brooder room where I can easily check on them anytime.

 

[95yj]

my brooder is in our workshop, right under the chopsaw. the first couple of times they hear us doing stuff they freak out but after awhile they calm down. They may not have been as scared as you think, just a little nervous, at that age any change in their enivironment will cause them to huddle together, but they'll outgrow it. its like the fear stage in dogs.