I have heard that if chickens go out in the rain or get their feet wet they will not lay eggs.Is there any truth to this or is it an old wifes tale? Can my chickens go out in the pen when it rains? It doesn't seem to bother them so long as it is only sprinkling otherwise they go right inside the coop where it is warm and dry.
I don't think there's any truth to it. My former flock would get soaked, and still run around doing their chicken thing. They had a water dish they could wade in, and seemed to enjoy that on hot days. They kept laying through it all.
Hmmmm, I've never heard that one before. Ours lay eggs regardless of the weather but we have noticed that big temperature fluctuations/changes may cause them to slow down. Can't say that I blame them as I don't like 30-40 degree changes, myself. They'll be fine in the rain, if they choose to go out in it. We put a 15' x 20' tarp over our main coop and run so that even if it rains for days, they still have a dry area to hang out at. Hope this helps! Dawn
Thanks, I've heard that rumor more than once and was wondering. MIne r egg layers mostly and I don't want to do anything to upset their cycles. A covering for the coop tho is a good idea. My chickens seem to try to get out no matter what the weather and can run in and out when they want.This morning we purposely left them locked up in the coop while the ducks went out into the pen and a bunch of the little guys found a space between the ceiling and the netting, flew up to the ceiling beam walked across it and jumped out thru the space. Next thing I know I look out and there's 6 chickens out in the rain in the pen with the ducks.Went down and checked on them and saw all the others still locked behind the wire in their area looking out at the others that had gotten out.Guess the little guys just really wanted out!!!!! LOL!!!!!