Keeping chickens dry when its raining?

[ChickenLilly]

while most people are worrying about heat, i still worry about rain. when it rains, my 2 chickens just stand there and get poured on. i have to keep on moving them to shelter and drying them off with a towel. is there any way i can keep them from getting wet?

 

[gamebirdsonly]

I wouldn't worry about it. Most of my birds hide under something if it's raining but their are a few that don't seem to mind it and they just keep on doing what a chicken does

 

[Peeps61]

Same here. When my hens are out and it rains, they carry on until they get tired of it, then they seek shelter. It's warm enough that by the next few hours or so, they've dried off pretty much. They've never had any ill effects from being rained on.

 

[donrae]

Agree with the above posts. Your birds will know when to go in. As long as they have access to shelter, let them chose where to be. I'm in the PNW and many of my animals chose to be out in the rain. I even have one barn cat that stays out until it really, really pours!

 

[Peeps61]

Hi Donrae,

All of my animals are like that - I have shelter for my horses, dogs and chickens, but most of the time (at least in the warmer months) they chose to stay out in the rain. If it's cold, and it can get bitter in NW Florida, they may chose to seek shelter rather than get wet and stand in the cold wind.

 

[ChickenLilly]

I guess, but every time i come out when it is pouring my chickens are just standing around. after a couple days of constant raining my oldest hen started to sneeze a little. I even put them into shelter and they just jumped out! they never really seemed dry until the day after it stopped raining. i worry about them because they get soaked beyond belief, and they might get cold and sick. but we recently moved here so they aren't used to the rain. i guess they will get into their right minds and seek shelter sometime.

 

[GuineaFowling]

I have a run attached to my coop and when it rains they are not allowed to free range. My hens do take cover from the rain under trees and such but they wont go to the coop and that's where the feed is. They don't mind getting wet when its raining but if its summer and I try and give them cold baths then all hell breaks loose. If you have a large coop and run just let them stay in. Of course, provide lots of treats so they don't get bored! I give lots of fruits and veggies and seeds. I also throw some fresh hay on the coop floor so they may have fun scratching in it and looking for seeds. My guineas absolutely loathe being out when it rains so the hens have company.