Rainy in Ohio... My birds won't stay in!!?

[ohiobirdmom]

I'm in in/near Youngstown Ohio and it's chilly and rainy today. I still have the heat on for my birds but I keep their run door open unless it's below about 35. Today is going up to 53 but it's a little windy and still kind of chilly out but my birds won't stay in. They're out and about scavenging and scratching like it's any other warm day. (In Ohio warm days don't come very often this time of year. Yesterday was sunny and 51 tho) do I need to worry about them getting a "cold"? Should I lock them back in? They are going inside every so often but I worry about the back and forth and warm and cold thing (like they say about other animals/people.) can anyone give me a tip on what to do and maybe why they like being out in the rain?

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

If they have access to the coop and are choosing to stay outside, I'd leave them to it. They're probably sitting though dirt/leaves to find any bugs that came out of the ground because of your warm weather. Or, maybe they just feel cooped up, who knows?

They'll be alright

 

[ohiobirdmom]

Okay! Thank you! I feel bad that I have wet chickens running around but I can't keep them in! They must like it!

 

[donrae]

I always let the animals decide for themselves. Mine have access to the outdoors at all times. They can go back and forth between shelter and weather as they please. Trust the animal....they've been living without electricity a long, long time and doing just fine.

If your birds are older than 2 months, they don't need supplemental heat anymore.

 

[ohiobirdmom]

Alright. Thanks for the input. And I didn't know about the heat thing. With the negative temps I thought we needed to keep heat for them.

 

[Rick&Chris]

This is such a great site!! I had the same question about my 6 week old girls! They won’t stay in the coop - they are in and out even when I don’t want to go out!