Oh......I kinda messed up. Sorry chickies.

[mrbstephens]

So I let my 15 weeks olds out of their hen house into their run today. I left my house and while I was gone it started to rain. When I returned home maybe 6 hours later it was still raining. I neglected to go out and check on the chickens. I did notice from my back door that they were all standing under the hen house for shelter like they always do when it's raining. They always look so miserable like that.

When I went out to lock up the hen house at 8:30 it was raining hard and it turned out that at some point the chicken door had swung closed. 4 chickens where roosting on the chicken ladder and two were still under the hen house, standing ankle deep in a puddle. It had gotten quite dark already and I could tell they were having trouble seeing. I opened the chicken door and they were all listless and wouldn't move so one by one I had to push them in. Once in, they were having trouble finding the roost, so again, one by one I had to put them on it. I hope they'll be ok. They sure were really went and pretty cold. I also don't know at what point today the chicken door closed, so I don't know when the last time they ate was. They must really hate me right now and I don't blame them one bit for it. Will they be alright???

 

[vnploveschickens]

They'll be ok. Just take them some yummy treats tomorrow. Hopefully you'll have a dry day.

 

[zavierchick]

awww, poor things! Hopefully they just need a good night's sleep and will forgive and forget by tomorrow! Totally sounds like something that would happen around here!

 

[johnwilly1962]

Who would admit to doing that to their poor chickens? Am sure it was an accident, but I wouldn't spread it around. They will be fine I'm sure.

 

[2boxers]

That would never happen at my place

Y'all believe me, right?

Half the time, my chickens can't remember where the door to the run is when I open it to let them wander around the yard. I predict that this morning, the chickens have already forgotten all about the trauma of the day before.

 

[The Zoo]

I have a latch on my chicken door (just a hook and eye hook) so that it CAN'T ever swing closed. Easy enough to install.

I think that if that happened to my chicks, I'd have ended up bringing them inside and drying them with a towel and trying to get their body temps back up.

I hope they're ok!

 

[ksbmom]

Glad I'm not the only one with intelligence-challenged birds! Mine were standing outside (in the run) during the hail storm we had a few weeks ago! I thought about going out and making them go inside the coop (which is all of 3 yards from where they were standing) because they looked so pathetic, but I didn't want to get beaned by hailstones! They were all fine, and I'm sure yours won't even remember that it rained, let alone that they were miserable.

 

[Chicks R Friends NOT Food]

I had sometihng similar yesterday evening. It was pouring in the afternoon. I had just gotten home from a 2 day trip (my mom had cared for the animals) and I went out to close the birds in for the night, only to discover that my Tom was soaked and trapped outside. The bird netting over the turkey run had fallen and blocked the door. He was so drenched I went out and dried him w/ a towel. I felt bad for him, but he's fine today. It happens to all of us... well maybe just a lot of us.

 

[NarleevilleClucks]

My chickens are semi-retarded too...I worry for their safety - from themsleves...