Five of my hens were just sitting in the rain and snow after dark!

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you al for the advice. I have several dog kennels, I set two of them up in the basement. Our heating system is in the room that I put them in. I finally had the all dry by 2:00am. It was raining, so I left them in there for the night.
I can't do anything about the poop until I have some help. My husband said that he would hold them for me when he gets home today. I plan on trimming their booties, if there are any that need a soaking, I'll bring theme in and put them in the kitchen sink. I hope the trim will do it! I will take some pictures of before and after. The five that were wet last night, were really hard for me to catch. To bring them in. That's not the way they usually act, so I know they were traumatized. Damn possum! I'm going to have to set up some kind of camera out there so I can keep a closer check on them. I feel so bad for letting that happen to them. I love my girls so much. I cried and apologized the whole time I was drying them. When they settled down a bit, they seemed to enjoy it! I was thankful for that.
I'm going to scramble eggs for them now. It's so cold, I know they will appreciate something warm. Thanks again! You guys always come through when I have something I need help with. You're the best!

It does sound like they were a bit traumatized, I hope all goes well for you.
These things happen, you took care of it so don't beat yourself up.
Do they have a secured coop for nighttime? Possum will kill chickens, but they are also attracted to feed and eggs. If you leave a feeder outside that the possum can get to at night, I suggest you bring that in.

I do sometimes resort to trimming, especially in cold weather, but hopefully you can get most of the poop worked out of the feathers another way. I do prefer to rinse the poop out since they will be "trimmed" until they go through a molt, cut feathers don't grow back I've found for "poop balls" that are very hard, crush those with a pair of pliers, much easier to get out. Wear a mask.

I also prefer using a tub instead of the sink, so in the future you may consider a sturdy plastic dishpan. You can find these in stores like Walmart or online. I keep a couple of dedicated pans for chickens, you can bleach them after you use them and don't have to worry about all the kitchen cleanup
Look forward to your photos.

 

[tacothechicken]

My polish are terrible about rounding up at night and getting under cover. Sometimes I think it's purposeful so I bring them in and give them a haircut while I blow dry em. They love it :/...