Rain and chicks-can they get wet or will they get sick

[centrarchid]

Note hen below. She is brooding 11 chicks that are 2 weeks post-hatch. Normally this time of day she would be foraging with brood. She is forgoing feeding to protect chicks from weather. She is in barn yet she is keeping them covered. She is going to great lengths to keep them dry even at the expense of foraging they really need to do. Those chicks would do poorly without her covering them.

By five weeks post-hatch the down that does not work well as an insulator when wet has been largely replaced by feathers. By that time the young birds are much more resistant to rain but they are still a far cry from what they can handle later. Effort to keep the birds dry hen young. Mine do not get really tough in the face of wet until about 10 weeks of age. Keeping them out of direct rain is advisable.

 

[jeria]

I'm thinking -- keeping the area under the coop protected on the west and north side until they are older would be wise. My run will be covered and storms generally come in from the west/southwest this time of year and can sometimes pop up during the day even if not in the forecast. No one is home during the day Mon-Fri.