How wet is too wet for Poultry?

[416bigbore]

I have to ask this question because of yesterdays substantial rain fall from another tropical storm that has passed over us again this year. This has been a crazy year for above normal amounts of precipitation in our area and yesterday it rained nonstop all day.

Our ducks and chickens have been out in the rain before, no serious storms or anything like that just your normal rain fall that will usually pass after a few minutes and all has always been fine. The ducks love it and the chickens never seemed to mind and would stay out in it also with the ducks. Yesterday was a different story with the chickens, they were getting soaked and wouldn't go back to the coop to get out of the rain to dry off. I know the ducks were fine and loved all the rain and extra mud they got to play in, but the chickens were drenched and looked awful.

Once I looked at the weather radar and seen the rain wasn't going to stop anytime soon, I went out and put the four chickens in the coop so they would have time to dry off before the 65F decided to start dropping for the day so they wouldn't get chilled and possible sick? Our one hen was so wet she couldn't even jump up to her nesting box to drop her egg for the day and that's only 24" off the ground. So I have to give her credit she used one of the ducks little nests on the ground in the straw to lay her egg, that was a first. LOL

Knowing a healthy duck is waterproof for the most part and if hypothermia is not a factor, how wet is to wet for a chicken? I realized these four little Turkeys weren't smart enough to get in out of the rain on their own.

 

[Aapomp831]

Chicken feathers are naturally partially waterproof; my chickens are out in the rain all day.... they love it bc it brings the bugs up out of the soil. It’s really nothing to worry about. They will warm themselves back up naturally - just provide a coop with proper ventilation and they will be fine. They are barnyard animals and remember - they survived and evolved for hundreds of years before humans started caring for them and building them coops. Back in the day chickens used to roost up in the trees / roofs of houses and what not. And I know the storm you’re speaking of; we had the horrific rain here for two days and as a matter of fact, my smallest bantam decided to roost on the top of our aluminum shed all night during the heaviest of the rain. She was perfectly fine in the am (I am in Lincolnton NC).

 

[416bigbore]

Hello Neighbor Creedmoor here, thank you for your reply, I do understand what you are saying.

I understand they can get wet just not sure on how wet? I look at it this way, there is a big difference between something being water resistant and waterproof. A duck being waterproof and a chicken water resistant, Not? I am guessing the feathers are made of the same material and it's the birds natural oil that is the deciding factor between the two?

I have seen one of our chickens slip off the edge of the pool into the water trying to get a bug, and as funny as that was to see happen she was back out in a split second. I am not trying to start any negative post debate, unlike a duck, chickens don't have webbed feet for a reason. The girls looked awful from being soaking wet yesterday and I didn't know how concerned I needed to be?

https://www.hzo.com/blog/waterresistant-waterrepellent-waterproof-whats-difference/#:~:text=Water-resistant: able to resist,Waterproof: impervious to water