Drenched Chickens

[SuziNZ]

Hi,
So we've had quite a bit of rain, which had gotten our chickens wet. Like completely saturated.
Well half of them are partly wet and stay in their shelter when not looking for insects, but the other half are completely drenched due to being in the rain a lot longer.

I've been told that chickens getting really wet is a bad thing, and they're not supposed to get that wet and that they could eventually die because of it. But if they prefer to be in the rain and not in shelter, what am I supposed to do??

I guess I'm worried cos I've only had them for a couple of months so this is still really new to me.

Will they be ok?

 

[HollowOfWisps]

How many chickens do you have and how big is your coop? Do they have a covered run or other areas that are covered they can go under when it rains or only the coop? If they only have a coop to stay dry and it's not that big they might be taking their chance with the rain vs being crowded all day. Chickens are fine with being in closer quarters at night, but during the day they will always choose having a little more space.

 

[SuziNZ]

We have 6 chickens and their coop is quite large (about 5meters x 6meters), and half is sheltered. Then we have hutches and nesting boxes on a table area which keeps the ground dry so they can still scratch and dust bathe under the sheltered area so there is plenty of space for them to be seperate and stay dry, though they do seem to pair off during the day and huddle up when relaxing. And it seems that 2 of them love playing in the mud.
We do have one chicken that is quite vocal and doesn't like the rain and will tell you - by standing by the gate and telling you she doesn't like the rain yet standing in the rain getting drenched in the process.

 

[ChickenLeg]

Ive had some chickens that just refused to get in the coops or shelters during rain theyd stand out in the middle of the rain and get poured on lol. Its not good for them in winter but it wasnt too much concern during summer. I have new set ups now so they dont get the chance to stand out in the rain. Some chickens just arent the brightest, thats natural selection for you

 

[Mrs. K]

You are fretting over nothing. Chickens do know what is best for them. If they have the choice, inside or out, that is what you need to do, make sure they have the choice. They produce a lot of heat, and will dry off quickly once on the roost.

Mrs K

 

[aart]

Like completely saturated.

Really?
Have you checked under the feathers next to the skin?
If they have good feathering, rather than silkie fluff, they should be dry and warm near the skin.

 

[3KillerBs]

Really?
Have you checked under the feathers next to the skin?
If they have good feathering, rather than silkie fluff, they should be dry and warm near the skin.

Just what I was going to ask.

Here are my ladies on a 40F degree, rainy day last winter: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/wet-hens.1442537/

They looked horrible but they were just fine and their surface feathers dried out rapidly when they went to roost.

 

[SuziNZ]

Really?
Have you checked under the feathers next to the skin?
If they have good feathering, rather than silkie fluff, they should be dry and warm near the skin.

She doesn't have those feathers. She does near her rear, but not anywhere else and if she's wet the top feathers bunch up leaving her skin bare.

We got her a couple of weeks ago, and even though she is originally from the original flock that our other chickens are from, her and the chicken we got with her had a really bad infestation of mites. So we ended up having to treat them before mixing with the other chickens cos we had just cleared those up with a mild case of scaley leg mites (which they just had).
But the new two had mites everywhere, and I guess that is how she lost those ones

 

[3KillerBs]

She doesn't have those feathers. She does near her rear, but not anywhere else and if she's wet the top feathers bunch up leaving her skin bare.

We got her a couple of weeks ago, and even though she is originally from the original flock that our other chickens are from, her and the chicken we got with her had a really bad infestation of mites. So we ended up having to treat them before mixing with the other chickens cos we had just cleared those up with a mild case of scaley leg mites (which they just had).
But the new two had mites everywhere, and I guess that is how she lost those ones

OK then, if she doesn't have normal feathers she does need protection from getting wet until she gets her feathers back.

 

[Roxanne06]

Hi,
So we've had quite a bit of rain, which had gotten our chickens wet. Like completely saturated.
Well half of them are partly wet and stay in their shelter when not looking for insects, but the other half are completely drenched due to being in the rain a lot longer.

I've been told that chickens getting really wet is a bad thing, and they're not supposed to get that wet and that they could eventually die because of it. But if they prefer to be in the rain and not in shelter, what am I supposed to do??

I guess I'm worried cos I've only had them for a couple of months so this is still really new to me.

Will they be ok?

I think if they get totally drenched they can get pneumonia like symptoms especially if it's cold too. I leave mine in the run. They can see the rain and feel the cool breeze. I keep them happy with a treat. Like yogurt mixed with plain oatmeal. When it's really cold they get warm oatmeal about 30 minutes before they retire to their coop. I read it helps them keep warm.