Not seeking shelter in a storm

[Beaker99]

Girls are 19 weeks old.
We had a very severe storm move in about an hour before dusk. Most of the girls went to the coop but two did not and suffered in the wind, hail and torrential downpour. It was awful to watch.
I waited until the lightning died down and got them into the coop and locked it up for the night. They were pitiful looking.
We have lots of storms in this area, often lasting for hours, but this was the first one in a long time.
Will they learn or do I need to plan on herding chickens before severe storms?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Most will learn to take shelter somewhere.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

You should plan to herd them before storms, if you can safely. Also give them a doghouse, lean-to, wheelbarrow propped like a tent, anything under which they can take shelter if they won't go into the coop. With a little experience, they'll go in on their own.

 

[3KillerBs]

As a general rule, chickens know how to be chickens better than we know how to be chickens.

I have seen mine out foraging in the rain, even between the heaviest rain bands of a tropical storm. They have taken shelter against hail though -- but not necessarily in the coop since I have a fair amount of "clutter" in the run and some preferred to be under the pallet-on-blocks or even under an overturned lawn chair to actually going inside.

 

[Mrs. K]

I have shelters outside in my run. My chickens use them a lot. Just something to get under.

 

[RubelliteRose]

If the storm is during the day, our chickens seek shelter on their own around the yard. If it is later in the day and will still be bad close to sunset, we put them in the run so they don't bed down in their hiding places overnight.

 

[ANightPerson]

They will find their own shelter, but you should try to lock them up just to be safe. Some of mine would sneak off into the woods to hide and stay there for hours afterwards. I'd spend hours looking for those damn birds thinking they got blown away or crushed by a branch, and then they'd pop up out of nowhere at feeding time.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

I also watch the weather a lot. If there are going to be thunderstorms starting in late afternoon or early evening, I won't let them out to range at all that day. When storms are arriving just before dusk, before they usually go to bed, I do NOT want to have to go out IN THE STORM to lock up their coop! Or slopping through the mud with a flashlight to pick them out of their hidey-holes in the dark. And we have far too many predators to risk leaving them out for the night, or leaving the pop-door open. So they get herded into the coop, all 70-ish of them, like it or not. (Our run is about 50-ft x 50-ft, with a camper trailer on blocks in the center for their coop.)

How it works for me: I have a long skinny stick made of some sort of fiberglass material with a handle, and the other end has several long splits. It rattles when I tap it against the ground or an object. The birds have learned that when I start making rounds around their coop and run, tapping the stick and saying, "Go to Bed! Go to Bed!", that I won't let up on them until they're inside and safe. The older birds are smart - they sense the coming storm and are inside already, or they head inside when they see that stick and hear me call. The younger ones generally follow suit... might take me 15-20 min or so, and 8-10 circuits around the coop and run, but it works - for me, anyway.

Patience is KEY. Don't chase them, move slowly, stay relaxed and calm. Act like a rooster who's herding his girls to the coop. He makes noise, might peck them a little, and then stands by and waits patiently until they finish investigating that interesting spot on the ground. Slowly he pressures them towards the door.

I'm reminded of a technique I learned for herding cattle - it works because cattle are "prey" animals - and of course, so are chickens. It's called "pressure and release". Prey animals want to move away from a threat. Predators move and think differently. If you are placed behind the prey animal, it will move forward. If you are in front of it, it will move backwards or sideways. If you are beside the animal, depending on whether you are in front of its shoulders or behind the shoulders, it will move appropriately in relation to your position. That's using pressure. Release is backing away or standing still when the animal is moving in the desired direction. Then keep applying pressure or release as needed, moving in a zig-zag pattern, to keep them moving.

If all else fails, those who refuse to be herded inside or are hidden too well can spend the night under the camper coop. The axles are still in place, so they can roost off the ground under cover. No matter how bad the hailstorm or flooding, they're safe from weather (if not predators, but I can't cover all the bases).