4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[MaxBaz]

Have read several people saying the never let the girls out in the rain - not sure if this is because they get such incredibly wet feet with all the scratching about in the mud and it would get everything so dirty inside their house/run OR if there is some physical reason that

 

rain + chickens = illness/ill health?

 

As their time free ranging is limited to about an hour a day during working hours I feel incredibly guilty if I don't let them out at every opportunity - if I pop home at lunch time or when I get home at 5.00pm.

 

Don't want to inadvertently have them catching a chill!

 

Also - getting sick and tired of draining the water off the grit container due to the constant rain, it is affixed to the side of the mesh - does the water have any adverse affect - does the grit "go off"/turn sour if it gets wet? Keep a small amount in the feeder, but this is in addition.

[Tessa the Duchess]

I always thought chickens disliked getting wet. Mine however don't seem to mind one bit. The only time they go dashing back into the run is if it rains really heavily, and they really don't enjoy hailstorms. I am no expert but I am sure chickens can't catch a chill from being out in the rain. As for the grit question, grit is just little stones isn't it? I don't imagine it could go sour.

 

Tessa

[debbie26pet]

like tessa has said mine go out in it but if heavey will go bk in, not heard about a cold chill etc they quiet hard,

as for grit mine was doing same was fed up of drainig it of, hubby has drilled some little holes in my tub and it drains the water of and the grit dries of nicely then.

[Stevie]

Unless theres a monsoon going on-mine dont mind the rain.Theres always places to shelter around the garden like under shrubs,benches etc when they're freeranging,but often they choose to stay out in the open.

[Faye&Ant]

yep mine dont mind the rain either. If its heavy rain they normally take for shelter in the garden or go back to the run. I tend to give them a cuddle in a towell at bedtime if they are a bit wet which they dont seem to mind

[Hen Watch]

I've got 1 that loves rain and 3 that hide in the run under the shower curtain.

 

I don't let my girls out when it is persistant rain all day. But that is nothing to do with their welfare and everything to do with my grass. My garden soil is clay and so the water just sits on top of the grass and the chooks love it. If it's light drizzle or a shower that just soaks into the ground it is OK but with this non-stop rain my garden gets bogged down.

 

I kept my girls locked in today but then felt sorry for them and let them out for a miniscule 10 mins. They scratched a 2 meter square area of grass into mud in that short time.

[Egluntyne]

Mine love dashing about in the rain.

 

 

Re the grit question....it won't go sour.

 

I keep mine in a plant pot skewered into the ground. It drains nicely.

[Mutrix Farmers]

we too thought they hated rain and that we had the only chickens in the world that deliberately stood in it! Obviously not! I put them back in the run on Sunday afternoon when it rained really heavily (didn't fancy the thought of them going to bed wet as it was late in the afternoon and no longer warm enough to dry them off), but today they just stayed out. Henrietta stood under the table on the deck and Charlotte sheltered under a shrub in the border. Katie just stood there getting wet

[Laura & CTB]

Mine hate the rain and refuse to come out of the run. They even walk round puddles

[ajm200]

Three of mine head for cover in heavy rain, the other two who aren't blessed with brains, even for chickens, huddle down on the outside of the run against the wire.

 

A couple of days ago, they all stayed out in the rain until they were thoroughly soaked and looked really odd with lots of spikey feathers stuck out at all angles but they seemed happy enough

[Faye&Ant]

Mine hate the rain and refuse to come out of the run. They even walk round puddles

 

LOL - you have posh ladies

[cliveb]

Our two are free to come and go in the rain as they please.They dont seem to mind getting wet at all and are quite happy to carry on as usual. I have to agree it looks quite odd seeing a chicken with spikey feathers looking back at you.

[Pookylover]

Hi, my girls don't mind the rain either. When they first encountered rain they stood out in it but now if it gets too heavy they shelter under various hedges, trees, my daughters play cube slide or a bridge we have in the garden. I suppose being ex batts they never knew rain before and enjoying freedom like they do they wouldn't go in from it either! Clare x

[clucking mad]

if they dont like theyll just go back inside, whats the hassle.

they might get more confident in the rain as they get used to it.

i dont know about grit though, but im sure it wont go bad.

[Pinkfairy]

My two don't seem to mind the rain, if it gets too hevay they take shelter in the rabbit run! We let them all out but have to close up the chicken run as he likes to pop in and have a munch on their food!

 

Pinkfairy

 

Moonstone

Amber

[Mrs Webmuppet]

Mine seem to hate the rain, they only have to see a big black cloud and they head back to the run A few drops of rain fell a couple of minutes ago and they scurried back into the run........it stopped them digging up all those nice new plants I've just spent an hour planting.