Rainy Day Chickens?

[sgvpollo]

I know this may seem silly coming from a Californian, but seeing how we may be headed for the mother of all wet seasons, what sort of preparations should I make for rain days? My birds get a fairly free reign of about 1000 sf of yard, but there isn't any hard cover in these areas, just all tree canopy, so if it comes dumping down, they've only got their coop for shelter. What does everyone else who has normal wet seasons do?

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I use concrete blocks and roofing tin to make rain and hawk shelters for my chickens. This is an old photo of one. The blocks on top are to keep the wind from blowing it away. I use approximately 10 blocks and two sheets of tin.

If you would like to make something more permanent you can easily build a shelter with 2 x 4s and roofing tin.

 

[sgvpollo]

OK, pretty much confirms what I figured on... they need a secondary shelter. Maybe nothing extravagant, but enough to be out of the rain.

I'm thinking that when the time comes, I may just plan on putting up an EZ Up right outside of their coop and run so that they can run in and out at their leisure.

Thx!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

OK, pretty much confirms what I figured on... they need a secondary shelter. Maybe nothing extravagant, but enough to be out of the rain.

I'm thinking that when the time comes, I may just plan on putting up an EZ Up right outside of their coop and run so that they can run in and out at their leisure.

Thx!

I googled EZ up- hmm here the winds would carry it away. Hopefully you don't get high winds where you are.

 

[sgvpollo]

No, winds are almost never an issue in my area, and when they are, it's usually not raining. The CMU and corrugated is cheap and easy, and I'll probably put something like that up soon, just to give them and myself options.

 

[evitachu]

I am in LA and we just got rain all night and possibly all day today. My chickens are wet!!! Although they have shelter and in coop all the time, i found leaking (i have replaced bedding with dry shavings and covered the leak roof with tarp). But i have to go to work.....is it ok to leave the chickens kind of wet??? Helppp helpppp first time mama chicken!!! I am freaking out. These are my favorite chickens!!!!

 

[Spartan22]

I am in LA and we just got rain all night and possibly all day today. My chickens are wet!!! Although they have shelter and in coop all the time, i found leaking (i have replaced bedding with dry shavings and covered the leak roof with tarp). But i have to go to work.....is it ok to leave the chickens kind of wet??? Helppp helpppp first time mama chicken!!! I am freaking out. These are my favorite chickens!!!!

They should be fine, birds get wet and they will dry themselves as long as they have a place to take shelter. My chickens got wet few days ago when we had the downpour and strong winds. My run were soaked, I was worried about them that day since I had to work, when I came back they were all fine and dry, I just replaced their beddings.

 

[sgvpollo]

Yeah, we finally got a good dousing all last night. I think they were hesitant to come out in the rain, but they eventually did even with it still drizzling. I bet they're going nuts right now scratching all that nice, moist, warm soil and litter picking bugs, now that the rain has tapered off

 

[Peeps61]

I live in NW Florida, and sometimes we get rainy weather that socks in for a week or two. Mine have a closed coop they can get in if it gets bad with wind, etc., but for the most part, they run around in the yard and forage until they are tired of being rained on. Then, they come up under our pole barn and find a nice dry place under farm equipment or machinery and dry out. They return to their roosts at night and are nice and dry. I've found that some animals, chickens included, don't mind getting wet as long as they have a dry place to retreat to when they are ready to bed down.