taking the good with the bad...

[mommy9994]

we're getting rain!!! PTL, it's a nice, slow, steady rain. We desparately need it. It rained all night, and should continue through the day.

HOWEVER, this year's chickens have never seen rain, and I had a pile of "drowned rats" this morning. More specifically, my 4 wo cc's

we lost 10 of the 39. They just have never had to go into thier house for shelter, and were sleeping in the corner of the run. The rest are dirt balls this morning, but, they are living dirtballs! I fed them in thier house this morning, maybe the rest will get th idea and stay under shelter to sleep.

 

[picklespickles]

wow. that's terrible. and to lose that many, too. i would have thought they would have headed up to higher ground or taken shelter or ? maybe it was just a sudden downpour and they were caught unawares.

 

[swtangel321]

How do you think you lost the 10 ???

 

[kinnip]

Sorry about your losses. Is it cold there? Mine have spent the past three days running around in the rain like idiots, especially the Marans. They love it.

 

[blue90292]

i lost my 6 week old layers that way. they were soaked and got cold. i was able to save half by blow drying them back to life.

 

[max13077]

It's rained a lot here as well the first and middle parts of the summer. So much at times I had a mud pit for a pen. However the last two weeks the rain has all but shut off. It's actually dry now. I guess it's feast or famine.

 

[mommy9994]

i lost my 6 week old layers that way. they were soaked and got cold. i was able to save half by blow drying them back to life.

I think that might have been it-- they were all in a pile in the ONLY puddle in the run, but in the corner that some of them like to sleep in. Maybe the tried to huddle closer and suffocated? maybe they just got cold and wet.

It wasn't a sudden downpour. It started with drizzle in the afternoon, and gradually progressed to a slow steady rain. It's continued all day today. The rest look good, and the big birds are loving it! They are all over the yard picking all the yummies that are comming out of the ground.​