I posted about a week ago about transitioning my two 8 week old Easter Egger pullets from the basement to outside (https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=590418)
They were doing ok, seemed to be tolerating the cold, active, eating / drinking... They did seem to favor the front corner of their run and would hang out there most of the time. The run is 8ft long / 4ft wide. About 5 feet of it is covered w a tarp to protect from the rain.
I got home tonight and went to put them up in the roost (they havent figured that part out yet) and close them in for the night. There they were SOAKING WET huddled in the front corner. So, I brought them in the basement to spend the night. It is 45 degrees out now and probably will get down to high 30's so I didnt want to leave them outside to get even more chilled.
My other chickens never had a problem figuring this out. These two girls run around scratching and playing in all parts of their run all day so I dont think they are spooked by anything under the tarp.
So here are my question:
How do I "teach" them to go under the cover when it rains?
Should I try to dry them off? The basement is about 65 degrees.
Thanks for any suggestions.
They were doing ok, seemed to be tolerating the cold, active, eating / drinking... They did seem to favor the front corner of their run and would hang out there most of the time. The run is 8ft long / 4ft wide. About 5 feet of it is covered w a tarp to protect from the rain.
I got home tonight and went to put them up in the roost (they havent figured that part out yet) and close them in for the night. There they were SOAKING WET huddled in the front corner. So, I brought them in the basement to spend the night. It is 45 degrees out now and probably will get down to high 30's so I didnt want to leave them outside to get even more chilled.
My other chickens never had a problem figuring this out. These two girls run around scratching and playing in all parts of their run all day so I dont think they are spooked by anything under the tarp.
So here are my question:
How do I "teach" them to go under the cover when it rains?
Should I try to dry them off? The basement is about 65 degrees.
Thanks for any suggestions.