Newby in NW Oregon...free range hens and rain

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KMSonthecoast

KMSonthecoast

In the Brooder
6 Years
Feb 21, 2013
45
2
24
Astoria, OR
HI,

I have 5 hens now and I wonder as they free range is it ok for them to be out in the heavy rain?
...the two older girls hide in the bushes or return to the coop but the 10 month old RIR girls (3) just wander around and get wet...

Also I was given two older birds a Barred rock (Rocky) and a Red star ...I think the Red Star is still laying but I cannot tell if the barred rock is at all..I have not seen her in the nest box...I am getting a large brown egg with darker speckles from the Red and once in a while there is a large brown egg so I don't know if the RIR's are laying a bigger egg or if Rocky is still laying...

I think she is about 3-4 and healthy shouldn't she still lay eggs once in a while? or maybe she is off for the winter and will lay when it warms up...any ideas due to her age and breed?

TIA, BYC
 
Hello and welcome to BYC
frow.gif
My chickens often run around in the rain and it hasn't done them any harm, so I won't worry about that. Just make sure they have some kind of shelter they can hide under if they don't want to get wet.
I can't really tell... How long have you had her? The stress from being moved could've causes her to stop laying temporarily, the shorter days could be to blame, her age... Some hens continue laying until they are 10 years old (yes, really!) and some stop much earlier. Thing is hens are born with a set number of egg cells and once those are spent it's over, no more eggs. If she'd been laying regularly up to recently, without a break, it may be possible that she's done. I'd say feed her well and give her time, you never know.
 
Greetings from Kansas and
welcome-byc.gif
! Great to have you aboard! I also have birds that seem to almost enjoy the rain - others in my flock are much fussier and hardly leave the coop when it sprinkles. And I agree with Sumi on the egg laying - some time will tell you. Good luck to you and have fun!
 
Thank you both for the welcome and advice. I have had the RIR girls for 3 months and the two older girls 3-4 weeks.

The older Red Star is dominant and picked on the three RIR girls a bit, so I am not sure if the pecking order or move could have put Rocky off laying. The owner said she was getting 5 eggs a week for the two through the winter, but I bet that could just be the red star. The RIR girls are laying 2 a day between the 3 of them.

I thought I would wait until it warms up and they move in to their bigger coop to see what happens. I just wanted to confirm she could lay at 3-4 yrs old. I heard it slowed down but I did not expect it to stop at that age.

Happy March!
 
Hi there!

We live in NW Oregon as well. While 7 of our chickens free range, most hate the rain..which has been constant of course. They tend to hide from it or go to the coop until the rain stops.
We get 1 egg from our Barred Rock (about 5 months old) a day. She lays small-medium, and her eggs are tannish, and sometimes speckled with dark freckles.
 
Thank you for the information... The red star girl also lays tan eggs with speckles so it is hard for me to tell if the BR is laying but I hope she will feel spring and show us an egg...;-)
 
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Hello from another Oregon chicken owner :) Glad you joined us. My hens do not seem to mind the rain but i dont let them out in really heavy rain. They have a covered run attatched to the coop for bad weather.
 

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