Rain, 36 deg. & they won't go in the coop!

[rockinpaints]

Mine were out this week and got soaked too. I know they are not stupid, but I don't think they can rationalize that they could get sick by playing in the freezing rain. Rain is OK, and cold is OK but the 2 together is not a good combination........

I chased them in and made them stay till the freezing rain was over

 

[prairiepearls]

Aha! Black Oil Sunflower Seed! I can do that! Thanks!

 

[monathequeen]

I have very good " flock management skills" and good common sense....I also know how to spell. do you ?
You sound like a no-it-all and you have no idea where or how I buy my animals...I do research before buying...so cool your jets partner....
Quote:
I'm sorry....but you are just three shades of WRONG about this. If your chickens died after being wet and cold, you had chickens that were already immunocompromised and not hardy to your climate. Common sense to keep chickens inside during the cold and wet, just like a dog???? For thousands of years both these creatures have been subsisting nicely outdoors without human intervention and all the sudden they can't survive it?

And, before anyone pulls out the ol' "chickens evolved from tropical birds" thing...check the meaning of the word "evolved". I've been around and raising chickens for the past 33 years in a cold, wet mountainous state and never had a bird die from exposure. Neither has anyone else I've ever met. If I were to suggest people around here take their chickens inside during the winter months and never let them out folks would commit me to the looney bin.

If your birds are getting frostbit, you need to check your flock management skills. If you purchased breeds that are not hardy to your climate, you need to check your common sense. If you bring your dog inside in the winter, you need to dress in a down snowsuit, toboggan and gloves and see how you feel in a warm house all day and night. These dogs have fur coats for a reason....they are specifically designed to live outdoors.

Just because we are not and get cold and wet outdoors, does not mean these animals do. Chickens have a layer of down and then a layer of guard feathers. If they are not touched and handled too often, these guard feathers have a good coat of oil that repels most moisture. This is why people who have birds of prey do not handle their feathers...they may remove the natural oils that protect these bird's feathers. That preening you see chickens do? They reach back, get oil from a gland at the base of their tale and distribute it throughout their feathers. This is all for a good reason.


Chickens do just fine in the cold and wet weather and should be allowed to regulate their own exposure to it. Provide a nice, dry coop and easy access to it and then stand back and let them be chickens!

 

[Beekissed]

You sound like a no-it-all and you have no idea where or how I buy my animals...I do research before buying...so cool your jets partner....

no-it all? Is that your correct spelling of which you are bragging?

Don't you mean "know-it-all"?

No, I'm not particularly a know-it-all but I am a know-it-a-bunch about chickens and I felt it would be best to negate your advice about making sure chickens do not go out in the wet and cold. Apparently I am not the only one that felt that this was pretty poor advice to give to a newbie. It also passes judgement on those folks who DO NOT bring their chickens in during inclement weather by stating that it is just "common sense" to bring them in.

As for my spelling? I think, on a per word basis, my spelling averages out to be more superior to your own!

 

[montanachickie]

I'm pretty new to this forum and this is my first time posting anything. Just a funny story about my girls. I woke up to snow this morning and went to the coop to let the girls out to free range (in a fenced yard). I opened the little chicken ramp and the girls come piling out the door, get to the bottom on the ramp and put the brakes on. One look at the snow and they turned around and went back up the ramp into the coop! I found it hilarious!

 

[Katy]

Quote:
no-it all? Is that your correct spelling of which you are bragging?

Don't you mean "know-it-all"?

No, I'm not particularly a know-it-all but I am a know-it-a-bunch about chickens and I felt it would be best to negate your advice about making sure chickens do not go out in the wet and cold. Apparently I am not the only one that felt that this was pretty poor advice to give to a newbie. It also passes judgement on those folks who DO NOT bring their chickens in during inclement weather by stating that it is just "common sense" to bring them in.

As for my spelling? I think, on a per word basis, my spelling averages out to be more superior to your own!

Gotta say I agree with bee-kissed.......she is not the one who came off as a know-it-all. I don't know how long "mona" has had chickens...guess I really don't know how long bee-kissed has had them either, but I know I've had them 50+ years and haven't ever kept them penned in because of poor weather.

 

[Rozzie]

Something else that hasn't come up yet in this thread is that the type of chickens you have does play a role. Some types of chickens do better in cold weather than others. Seramas, for example, do not do well in cold weather. You wouldn't want them out in that type of weather. Some types of birds are more hardy than others.

It is important to research the type of chicken you have and know what it can handle as far as weather goes. If you have a less hardy type, then keep it in. If you have a type that people have raised in your area for a long time, in all kinds of weather, then its probably fine to let it out for the day.

 

[Tuffoldhen]

Quote:
no-it all? Is that your correct spelling of which you are bragging?

Don't you mean "know-it-all"?

No, I'm not particularly a know-it-all but I am a know-it-a-bunch about chickens and I felt it would be best to negate your advice about making sure chickens do not go out in the wet and cold. Apparently I am not the only one that felt that this was pretty poor advice to give to a newbie. It also passes judgement on those folks who DO NOT bring their chickens in during inclement weather by stating that it is just "common sense" to bring them in.

As for my spelling? I think, on a per word basis, my spelling averages out to be more superior to your own!

 

[welsummerchicks]

I'm in the cold north and my chickens go out in the rain and snow all the time and they are fine. I'm just not sure why they should have to go in. The rain slides right off their feathers like rain off a rain-x'd windshield. I've picked them up and felt under their feathers and they don't get wet. Their whole front doesn't even get wet.

 

[greathorse]

I truly feel more chickens are sickened, traumatized, compromised and turned mean and angry from all manner of over management as opposed to good shelter, good feed. fresh water and left to be chickens in their own chicken way. Can't imagine chasing a bunch of chickens in out of the rain. If they aren't smart enough to get in out of the rain??????

Leave em alone!! lol