[QUOTE
I'm not worried so much about the cold as the rain & wind. There were a few days when it got really windy & it seemed to freak them out..[/QUOTE]
I worried about the same thing -- those first rainstorms took us all by surprise (as my hens are still young, and had never seen *rain* before!).
I guess I thought that they would naturally just hang out in their spacious (8X10), warm coop on bad days, but NO! The girls want out, rain or shine. If it's raining, they come barreling out the coop door, and race to the new covered patio we just built *for me*. We put hay under the built in bench seat, and have put up really unattractive wind breaks around it. When the rain is splashing in on the patio sides, and the wind is whipping around, I find the ladies nestling under the bench, against the house. I'm contemplating hanging old shower curtains or plastic around my beautiful new patio to make it more weather proof and warm. It's not like Sunset Magazine is going to put my patio on it's cover anytime soon now. (I just need an old fridge, and dueling banjos to complete the picture!)
When there are breaks in the rain, they cruise the yard. They also make dashes to the coop to lay eggs. They're adapting to the rain, and becoming Oregon Chickens.
Maybe you build some little forts for them, where you stash some treats? Give them some incentive to be out and about.
And then, be ready for the snow! Here in Oakridge the longest it "stuck" last year was about a week. This will be interesting!
(ps, I don't have a large yard -- less than a quarter acre lot, and most of it is filled up with the house and mother-in-law unit/garage)