Not smart enough to come in out of the rain?

[streetglide]

O.K. this might be a stupid thing to ask. But are my chickens smart enough to get out of the rain?
Obviously not! We had the remanants of our nationwide storm pass through here this morning. During a break in the rain I ran down and let the girls out. Of course they all ran out into the run and started their normal peck and scratch routine.
A little while later the sky opened up and we had horizontal rain for almost an hour! I looked out the kitchen window and those boneheads were out in the run like it was a sunny afternoon!
What I'm concerned about actually...will it do them any harm? Obviously they must not have been uncomfortable enough to go back inside? They've got a nice roomy dry coop with free food and drinks...go figure!
Thanks for any input, Greg

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

Ours actually LIKE the rain, but if it gets too rough (ie downpour, lightning, strong wind) they will go into the coop. If it is a rain shower, they will just stay out in it.

 

[tammye]

mine stay out in the rain also, they just don't seem to mine it, unless it is coming down really hard they will wait it out under some cover like the picnic table or truck. Only time I worry about them being soaked is if is to get really cold that night, then i will get them in the coop soon enough to dry before the freezing temps at night. Do you live in a cold area? my girls don't like the snow on their feet, someone needs to invent chicken boots! I see you are new, don't worry you will become chicken crazy too. Enjoy them, you can learn alot from a chicken.

 

[Judy]

Quote:
They really do know this. Rain doesn't bother them like it does you and I. They grow their own raincoat -- and sometimes don't mind if it starts leaking. As long as they can get inside when they want, they will do fine.

Relax and enjoy.

 

[tmoore8595]

All my chickens were outside in the rain yesterday too. It was around 55 degrees and they were all soaked. I thaught I was the only one that had chickens that didn't have enough sense to come in out of the rain.

 

[abhaya]

My silkies stayed out in the rain they looked like drown rats.

 

[Chicken.Lytle]

My chickens like the rain and hate the hose at any setting.

 

[streetglide]

Thanks guys! I'm glad I'm not the only one.
I've raised these, my first flock, from two days old. They are 20 weeks old today! I have 18 Australorpe HENS/pullets...I got my first eggs last Friday...and Roscoe.
I need to send in another pic of him I/we thought he was a Golden Campine now I'm not so sure. He sure is a handsome boy in any case!

 

[SilverPhoenix]

Chicken.Lytle :

My chickens like the rain and hate the hose at any setting.

Mine, too! And even the ducks hate the hose and run away as soon as they see it, no matter how hot it is outside. Silly birds!

 

[emvickrey]

Yep, mine too. Seems that they would prefer to be warm and dry than wet and cold. When my sizzles where young they would huddle in the farthest corner away from the coop and sleep all night. Didn't matter if it rained with lightening or anything. They ust stayed in their pile. You never seen more muddy chickens than after a rain and especially the ones that where on the bottom of the pile. BTW, they are all white, well till it rained.

It took me more than 2 months to teach them to go inside the coop at night. They would pile up on the outside of the OPEN door. I owuld move each one inside and they would pile up just inside the doorway to the run. Then I decided to make them just stay in the coop 24/7 and thats when they decided to sleep outside.

I put one of my Phoenix hens inside to teach them to roost at night. It took a while but they got the hang of it. First they would pile up on the nesting shelf.