Rain and chickens

[Patoot]

We had our first rain since I got the girls (a month) and they are staying outside. They are soaked. I thought they would go back in their coop. For awhile they went under a tree, but now they are just walking around the yard and picking at the grass. The water was beading up at first, but now they just look drenched. I went out to escort them to the coop, but I was wearing a bright blue poncho so they were scared.

Normally they are up my butt.

Anyway, do I need to worry about them being cold or getting sick? Should I dry them off them they go to bed? I live in Albuquerque so it's not cold here, but it will get down to the high 50's or low 60's at night. There are 4 of them to keep each other warm in the coop...and they are about 18 wks old.

Thanks for the reassurance.

Bree

 

[Mahonri]

They will be fine.

Tough chickens you got there.

If it starts raining here, all of mine head straight for the pop door and into the coop.

I did have a White Rock hen though , that LOVED to stay in the rain.

Unfortunately, we don't get much rain here.

 

[OregonChickenGal]

I wouldn't worry. Since you live in NM and it's warm, they'll be just fine.

 

[cowdogcadillac]

mine Love the rain especially right at the end or after, they run around getting any bugs or worms that come out of the wet ground to get air.

 

[midd2005]

my 8 week old babies experienced sustained rain for the first time today. the rest of the summer it's only rained for less than a minute at a time and usually at night. they seemed to mostly avoid going out while it was actually raining, but judging by the looks of my light brahmas, they certainly enjoyed the mud. oddly enough, the rain also coincided with them noticing the external nest boxes for the first time. we hadn't bothered to block them off up until now as they had totally ignored them, but today i found 3 cuddled up in there. maybe the rain sets off a snuggly instinct in chickens too.

 

[Patoot]

Thanks guys. They are too cute. They are waiting for me to come out with treats. I finally went out without the poncho and braved the rain. They were just too cute there begging for some attention. I still don't know how I fell in love with chickens.

Bree

 

[galanie]

Quote:
LOL At 8 weeks,mine expect treats every time they see me as I'm sure yours do too. It's nice to be able to take them anywhere with a promise of a treat though, especially since the portable pen is separate from their coop.

 

[Patoot]

Wow! It NEVER rains ALL day here. It rains, sometimes hard, and then clear skies within an hour. It's been raining HARD almost all day. I just went out to close their door (in the torrential rain) and 3 were huddled together on one end of the roost and one was all the way at the other end. They all still looked a little damp. Are you sure I don't have to worry about my babies?

Bree

 

[ondreeuh]

Oh, I'm jealous. Where I live (Portland, OR) it seems to rain all day, every day, for months at a time. It's not unusual to get over 20 days of rain in a row. Even when the rain pauses, it's still full cloud cover. I would love to live somewhere it rained briefly!

 

[Patoot]

All 4 are happy and healthy today.

On a side note, we had record rain yesterday. We hadn't had that much since 1940-something. The coop leaked...not near the roost, but renovations are in order. Thankfully we get very little rain so it's not an emergency.

Bree