Raining and windy weather? harmful to chickens?

[senorita05]

Hi guys,

So I have 2 chickens. They are pekin bantam and a red sex link. It has really started raining hard and storming. I am concerned if they will be ok out in the weather. I have a coop with rods and a raised platform to keep them dry from the rain. It's not made entirely of wood. It has a wood framework and mesh around the framework. The top of the coop has a thin wooden piece (really flimsy) and on top of that I have put on tin to stop rain water from dripping in and keep my chicken in the shade. I also have covered the coop with plastic wrap to keep any cold wind or water from coming in during night. I'm not sure if my chickens are okay to be outside in this weather. I'm not sure how their breeds adjust to the weather. I feel like I should be bringing them inside. Can anyone please advise?

 

[mtngirl35]

My chickens have never seemed to be bothered by wind, rain, or snow. Sometimes I even make them a puddle to play in in hot weather. They love it.

 

[senorita05]

My chickens aren't like that. When it is super hot, I see that my chickens want water but won't drink water. So I have to get a dropper and sometimes and give them extra water. I also leave a tub outside of cool water in the heat in case they want to cool themselves. They never do . As for rain, I don't think it bothers them that much. I have to force them into the coop when it rains because I am concerned. But there is thunder and lightening and they get very scared of that and run inside the coop

 

[Den in Penn]

Most chickens don't mind a little rain. It is the time when the worms come up and the bugs are easy to catch. As long as they can go to the coop to get out of the wind and rain when they need to, don't worry, As you noted they do come in when it gets bad, so give them some credit. As for not drinking in hot weather, they will drink much less then humans do because they don't use the water to sweat to stay cool. Again trust them to know how much they need to drink.

 

[aart]

Most chickens don't mind a little rain. It is the time when the worms come up and the bugs are easy to catch. As long as they can go to the coop to get out of the wind and rain when they need to, don't worry, As you noted they do come in when it gets bad, so give them some credit. As for not drinking in hot weather, they will drink much less then humans do because they don't use the water to sweat to stay cool. Again trust them to know how much they need to drink.

Ditto^^^^^

 

[andreanar]

Mine stand out in the rain and eat up all the worms, they love it. But if the wind blows too hard they get scared.

 

[senorita05]

Oh okay. Thank you