Chickens and Rain

[Dvroenen]

I live in east Texas too and my chicks are 7 weeks this Sunday and fully feathered. It looks. Like a light rain for the rest of the day and I laid a big plastic crate on its side so they have shelter! They really want out of their little coop

diane

 

[Blooie]

Mine figured out that rain brings worms to the surface. No idea where the expression, "madder than a wet hen" came from....mine are anything BUT mad when it's been raining.

 

[Dvroenen]

What about a north wind? It's around 60 today? I don't want them to get sick

 

[Blooie]

In Wyoming we consider a day with winds of 20 - 30 relatively calm - rain, shine or snow. Right now it's the nicest day we've had since October of last year - it's 59 degrees. In March of 2014 in Clark, Wyoming, not too far from us, winds were measured at 110mph. The chickens are smarter than we give them credit for....when their survival instinct kicks in (and it does, even if it takes a while) they'll go back into their coop. We even had snow this week.

They were 5.5 weeks old when we put them outside. It snowed the next day and for a couple days afterward. They went in and out of their coop like they'd been doing it all their lives. All 22 of them are healthy, beautifully feathered, strong, and content. They were 11 weeks old yesterday. We tossed a roll of landscape fabric over their run in a couple of places and if it rains too heavy they go under there, but as soon as it lets up even slightly they are back to scratching. I am constantly amazed at their resilience. Of course, it does help that I have mostly cold hardy breeds and varieties. I think I'd be a little more concerned with the more gorgeous, less cold tolerant ones. (That said, I must confess that if someone handed me a brooder of Silkies or Frizzles I wouldn't turn them down and I'd find a way to make it work!

)