Windy Conditions Outside - Are Chicken Better Off in Coop?

[Jack and Sara]

@Jack and Sara, welcome! Where are you located? Climate makes a big difference in the advice people give. What works for me in Michigan doesn't work for someone in Florida, for example.

You can add your location to your profile. Just the state is fine, or country if you're outside the US. Then it's always there so people can tailor their advice appropriately.

Thank you for your post. I will update our profile. We are in the Sacramento Valley.

 

[Jack and Sara]

Why not just let the birds decide where they are more comfortable. Mine have all day access to the coop and run and are constantly moving between the two as they choose. If it's too windy or raining too hard, they just pile up in the coop until conditions are more to their liking.

That was the conclusion we came to as well. Thank you for the advice.

 

[Jack and Sara]

Mine love getting their feathers all ruffled by the wind! If it were mid-winter, I think the answer may be different as they'll likely seek shelter in your coop. But in the Fall like now, they love it.

Haha, that's great. Thank you.

 

[Jack and Sara]

The most important thing you can do for their health is provide as much fresh air as possible. Sneezing can be a sign they have been too closely confined. All sorts of pathogens can prosper in a closed coop with moisture, soiled bedding and insufficient influx of fresh air.
They are not cave dwellers.

Thank you for you post. The sneeze was when they were chicks several months ago because one of them somehow got a perlite pebble in their nose or something similar.

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC.

My philosophy in re: chickens and weather is this:

Chickens know how to be chickens better than I know how to be a chicken. Therefore I give them options -- inside or out, shelter or exposure, wet or dry, etc.

Chicks I protect from the weather but fully-feathered, standard-size birds^ should be capable of seeing to themselves when I give them the ability to seek shelter if they want it. I've seen them outside foraging in the gaps between rain bands of tropical storms and outside looking like drowned rats in 40F rain and they've been fine -- their feathers are highly protective.

^I don't keep silkies, frizzles, or miniature bantams, all of which are reputed to be more fragile in terms of what weather they can tolerate.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Your lows are in the 40's from what I saw. With their down coat that's not very cold for a chicken. There is a reason down is used in winter clothing, it can keep you really warm.

The way down works, it traps tiny air pockets which does the insulating. If the wind ruffles their feathers that can let the air pockets escape so they lose insulating effect. My chickens seem to enjoy a breeze in hot weather but really don't like a cold wind. I leave the pop door open and let them decide if they want to come out or not.

I took this photo when it was +4 Fahrenheit. That is ice on the ground. The wind was not blowing so they decided to come out to enjoy the sunshine. If a wind strong enough to ruffle their feathers had been blowing they would not have been out in the open. They would have been in the coop or, if the wind was from a certain direction so the coop blocked the wind, they may have been up next to the coop and still enjoying the nice weather and sunshine.

Mine seem to enjoy a rain, I think they are looking for worms or other creepy crawlies that come to the surface. In a heavy downpour they will probably seek shelter. I let them decide what's good worm hunting weather and what is a heavy downpour. I let them be chickens and let them control that.

You may worry about their feet getting cold since they don't have feathers down there. It didn't bother these walking in snow or the ones in the other photo when it was even colder. They can handle cold a lot better than many people think. If they have options they are perfectly capable of deciding where they want to be.

 

[Mrs. K]

Put up some more wind shelters in your run. I have several scattered around the run.

 

[Jack and Sara]

Thank you all for your comments. They have put my wife's worries to ease. Seems "free-choice" to roam outside or inside their Coop/Run is the way to go.

Thanks for the pictures too!

 

[chickencoop57]

I'm with Chicken Canoe, all the way! When I see most of my chickens in the coop (I have about 20) I run them out. They have a partially covered run and have plenty of protection there from the rain, heat....