My DH and I just went to get the mail. I caught Ethan's cold and haven't been feeling well. I had to call him home from work yesterday 'cuz I couldn't take care of myself and my little guy. He's off today, thank goodness, and he really wanted to go get the mail and see how the roads were. WE took a family "trip" to the mailbox. Since I was out (first time since I got sick), i decided to check on my birds. Apparently, my chicken coop isn't as water tight as I had hoped. the whole south side (where the majority of my birds are) was wet. The rain was leaking in through some larger nail holes on the top and it was leaking in at the ends where there's a seam between the tin top and the wood siding. I ended up having my DH caulk the holes where he could (NOT easy in the rain) and then put some buckets in the areas where it was still dripping. I then turned the straw so the dryer stuff was on top and put the majority of the chickens ont he North side. I put the 3 I got from Danz on the south side, making sure to put the heat lamp and their food and water in the driest area I could find. I hadn't had any heat on for the birds for the last few days (lows int eh 50's high in the 70's), but today they all seemed cold. I turned a heat lamp and the sweater heater on for the bigger birds and one heat lamp for the smaller birds. I hope I don't end up with a bunch of sick chickens by the time this storm is over! The birds themselves were dry, but the straw in their coop definitely was not! It wasn't soaked, just damp. When it stops raining, I'll have to go out and try to put some dry straw in for them. In the meantime, if I try to uncover the straw bale, it'll get soaked in the process, as well as any "dry" straw getting soaked trying to move it to the coop. Ugh! Rain is nice, but it sure does cause a few extra headaches!
Now that I'm back inside, it's time for me to take a nap. This cold sure has taken a lot out of me!