Am I Worrying too Much about the rain?

[Kholts]

Alright so after a super dry spring here in Alberta Mother Nature has decided this last week to switch it up and POOR rain on us. The forecast is looking like rain for the next 4 days and we are having a down pour and thunderstorm right this minute.

My husband thinks I’m nutz as I have been locking my now 5 & 6 week old ducklings up in their coop while it rains. I have watched them during 1 light rainfall and they LOVED it. The thing is I feel their they are DUMB DUMBS as I have to herd them into their coop. I have NEVER seen them go in themselves.

Am I being crazy? Do you think if it’s bad enough they will use the coop themselves? Are they still too young to be left out in the rain?

 

[Pekin747]

R they fully feathered if not close them.in during heavy rain and if they r feathered they should be fine
Also what breed r they and r they free ranging?

 

[sylviethecochin]

They're fine. Mine are, anyway, and I bet it's colder and rainier here than there.

EDT:Okay, probably not colder. (For some reason, i read Alberta as "Atlanta." Oops.) Still, Six-weekers are fine in a downpour. They should have all of their belly feathers, and that's what really matters, with ducks. Mine are out playing in the yuck right now.

 

[Kholts]

R they fully feathered if not close them.in during heavy rain and if they r feathered they should be fine
Also what breed r they and r they free ranging?

Yes they are so close to being fully feathered. I have a WH, Saxony, Blue Swedish and a supposed Ancona mix of some sort. They get to free range during the day in my back yard. They are Urban Ducks Haha.

 

[Kholts]

They're fine. Mine are, anyway, and I bet it's colder and rainier here than there.

EDT:Okay, probably not colder. (For some reason, i read Alberta as "Atlanta." Oops.) Still, Six-weekers are fine in a downpour. They should have all of their belly feathers, and that's what really matters, with ducks. Mine are out playing in the yuck right now.

They definitely have their belly feathers. It’s just kinda their back area above their tails that looks a little downy still.

Haha our Alberta summer days are only hitting the low 20-25 Celsius so far. On these rainy days it about 15 Celsius .

 

[DuckyDonna]

I hear ya! I'm like that about mine too. They are not fully feathered by any stretch and I have to watch that they don't get water logged because they don't have the sense to come in from the pool or the rain when they are water logged! In my opinion you are doing exactly the right thing!

 

[chickens really]

Do you have a covered run?
I completely understand the rain because I'm in Alberta too..
You can set up a beach umbrella or anything for a bit of shelter if they won't go in out of the rain. Definitely they need to dry off a bit during the rain..

 

[Kholts]

Do you have a covered run?
I completely understand the rain because I'm in Alberta too..
You can set up a beach umbrella or anything for a bit of shelter if they won't go in out of the rain. Definitely they need to dry off a bit during the rain..

No the run itself is not covered for rain. Most of the time they are free ranging in my backyard and have a giant raised deck to go under if needed. I have seen them nap under there so they are aware it’s there. When it’s rainy however they just plunk down in the grass and chill. Weird lil things ducks are.

 

[chickens really]

No the run itself is not covered for rain. Most of the time they are free ranging in my backyard and have a giant raised deck to go under if needed. I have seen them nap under there so they are aware it’s there. When it’s rainy however they just plunk down in the grass and chill. Weird lil things ducks are.

Then they should be fine. I never worry too much about them.

 

[RichL]

It has been raining for days here in Florida as well. Just last night I was getting my daughter ready for bed when the sky opened up with a deluge and I remembered that I hadn't locked up our flock of 2 Pekins and 1 brown runner mix. The temp went from 33c to 23c in minutes. I looked out the window and all three ducks were standing in the doorway of their coop watching the rain. I ran out to close them in for the night and as soon as they saw me they came running over to greet me.

So now they are out in the rain and loving the evening play time. It took me fifteen minutes to round them up and get them in the coop to bed down for the night and I was soaked through. I didn’t really mind though, I won’t admit this to my wife or daughter but I had fun chasing them around and playing in the rain too.

This past Sunday I sat on the back porch under the eve watching the ducklings playing in the rain. A bolt of lightning struck about a block away. The thunder was deafening. The poor ducklings were frightened out of there minds. I had three little ducklings in my lap for the next 20 minutes.

I guess my point is, it doesn’t get as cold here, but I have observed my babies seeking shelter when they have had enough, but it is under our magnolia tree as often as their hutch.