chickens and rain

[jasonm11]

Do I have the dumbest chickens known to man or is it normal for chickens to stay out in the rain when they have access to a nice warm coop? They have all been out in the rain all morning except my EE rooster. He was smart enough to stay in the coop where it is warm and dry. The rest of the flockers are out in the rain looking miserable and wet as.... well... an old wet hen.

 

[gritsar]

Ah, not dumb. They just don't mind the rain. My adult flock is out. It's 33 degrees and pouring.

 

[jasonm11]

I just can't believe they stay out in that stuff. My roo Colonel is nice and warm in the coop with a heat lamp while my other roo Sargent and the ladies are all out and about. they are fun to watch even in the rain. they just look so miserably wet right now

 

[spartacus_63]

That's pretty typical...the Colonel is dry and warm while the Sergeant is out in the weather.

 

[jasonm11]

Quote:
My 9yr old boy named them both and he got it right. The Colonel is a EE roo about 7 months old and the sargent is a Cookoo Marans that is just now starting to get his spurs. Lots of fun to watch those two. I think the sargent will be dominant once he grows up a little.

 

[spartacus_63]

Quote:
My 9yr old boy named them both and he got it right. The Colonel is a EE roo about 7 months old and the sargent is a Cookoo Marans that is just now starting to get his spurs. Lots of fun to watch those two. I think the sargent will be dominant once he grows up a little.

That too would not be uncommon...

 

[jasonm11]

Quote:
My 9yr old boy named them both and he got it right. The Colonel is a EE roo about 7 months old and the sargent is a Cookoo Marans that is just now starting to get his spurs. Lots of fun to watch those two. I think the sargent will be dominant once he grows up a little.

That too would not be uncommon...

how true

 

[wbruder17]

You have a heat lamp in texas? Perhaps the roo that stays in has not developed his natural defenses against the chill and so stays in. Imo, chickens very rarely need a heat lamp, especially if its not even freezing.

 

[MakNugget]

North Texas gets some surprisingly bitter cold winters sometimes, usually attributed to wind chill/freezing rain.

 

[sharol]

My 24 week olds don't seem to mind the rain. They were out in drizzle off an on all day yesterday. Snow on the other hand completely freaks them out. They were out in the yard yesterday morning when it started to snow (great big flakes, but not many of them). When I checked on them, they were huddled under the lawn chair up against the house looking completely miserable. I got my jar (pint jar) of "scratch 'n boss" out and shook it at them and then led them to the run and coop. They all piled into the coop until the snow stopped and then spent the day in the run in drizzle and muck. Silly chooks.