It rains a LOT here... how much do chickens hate the rain?

[yoyosma]

I've seen conflicting things in books, about whether they just shrug it off, or are really miserable.
It's not usually super cold here- usually 40s - 50s in the winter, but quite wet.
Just read Carol Deppe's great book, and she strongly recommends ducks for here in the Pacific Northwest...
What do you think?
Thanks!
Robin

 

[CapeReds]

Our chickens don't mind it at all. It can be pouring outside and they're out in the run doing their thing, even in cold rain 40's.

 

[diggerthechickenman]

i do not live where its really rainy but when it does my birds dont seem to care at all. as long as they have somewhere to get under out of it i guess.

 

[silkiechicken]

Hello from across the water. They will be just fine.

 

[aoxa]

as long as their coop is nice and dry, they should be fine. We have TONS of rain here too. My run was so mucky that I had to put down 5 large bags of laves. Now it's dryer

Don't get silkies or polish.. Anything with crests are not the brightest things in the rain. Mine will stay out and get drenched. It's especially bad when it's cold and raining. I have to lock the crested ones in the coop. Good thing I have two coops that share one run!

 

[AinaWGSD]

Mine don't seem to mind the rain at all. They have access to their coop, the space underneath their coop (which stays dry in all but the nastiest weather) and a covered (but far from water-proof and not really dry) run and most of the time if it's raining they're out in the yard looking for bugs. You might want to stay away from feather footed breeds (those foot feathers can trap mud and really bog a chicken down if it gets bad enough) and birds with abnormal feather mutations (ie silkied and frizzled birds). But most chickens will do just fine in the rain as long as they have access to a dry shelter should they decide they've had enough. You might also want to make your coop or covered run a little on the large side in case they do choose to spend a lot of time under a dry roof.

 

[cmom]

I agree with the other posts. I live in north central Florida but it gets cool here. My birds don't mind the rain either. In the summer when it is hot they have sprinkler. They love it when I turn the sprinklers on.

 

[stilldeb]

Yes, Polish, Silkies, Sultans, etc., are miserable when they are wet. Their crests get wet and flop over their faces - not happy. My Polish just walks around shaking her head like she is saying, "my hair's wet!"

 

[7L Farm]

I don't know it never rains here.

 

[mamabigbird]

West Coast chickens are tough birds.
Please Lord ... don't anybody out there start designing gum boots or rain coats for chickens.
They can look a little miserable but they're fine.