chickens in below freezing temperature with rain

[babychickens321]

its super rainy and temperatures are around -4. there is ice and snow on the floor, can I let my chickens out? I kept the coop door open and they went out themselves but then got so wet that I could wring them. and stayed frozen under a tree so we had to shut them in.

 

[3KillerBs]

IMO, as long as they have the OPTION to CHOOSE shelter or exposure -- that is, as long as their is a dry, draft-free place they *could* be if they wanted to be there -- I don't worry about whether they're in or out in whatever weather.

Assuming that they're healthy, fully-feathered birds and not either tiny bantams or birds with silkied or frizzled feathers, they won't get any wetter and colder than they want to be.

Chickens know how to be chickens better than we know how to be chickens.

 

[aart]

its super rainy and temperatures are around -4. there is ice and snow on the floor, can I let my chickens out? I kept the coop door open and they went out themselves but then got so wet that I could wring them. and stayed frozen under a tree so we had to shut them in.

-4C or F?
Adding your geographic location to your profile would help.

Is your coop big enough for them to all stay in the coop during bad weather?
Pics and dimensions and number of birds would help here.

Did you stick your hand under the outer feathers to see if they were wet at the skin level?

 

[3KillerBs]

Did you stick your hand under the outer feathers to see if they were wet at the skin level?

Excellent point.

The bedraggled-looking girls in this thread were dry underneath.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/wet-hens.1442537/

Even this one!

 

[babychickens321]

IMO, as long as they have the OPTION to CHOOSE shelter or exposure -- that is, as long as their is a dry, draft-free place they *could* be if they wanted to be there -- I don't worry about whether they're in or out in whatever weather.

Assuming that they're healthy, fully-feathered birds and not either tiny bantams or birds with silkied or frizzled feathers, they won't get any wetter and colder than they want to be.

Chickens know how to be chickens better than we know how to be chickens.

Oh okay! they are pekin bantams, though.

 

[babychickens321]

-4C or F?
Adding your geographic location to your profile would help.

Is your coop big enough for them to all stay in the coop during bad weather?
Pics and dimensions and number of birds would help here.

Did you stick your hand under the outer feathers to see if they were wet at the skin level?

Was -4 Celsius but is warmer now (it was 14C today!!) ill add my location, weather here is random during winter - was snowing literally a couple of days ago and today it was nice and sunny.

dimensions of the coop is:

• Overall external (incl handles and nestbox): 124cm wide x 145cm long x 115cm high
• Internal floor: 76cm W x 106cm L
• Pop-hole: 25cm W x 31cm H
• Perch height from floor: 24cm

I keep 5 bantams in there.