Our four chickens love the rain but our neighbours chickens don’t! Each chicken is unique and will let you know what their preference is.
These handy tips will help you decide what is best to do for your flock.
- The worms come out
I think the reason my chickens love the rain so much is because they love to scratch at the ground and forage for the worms that come to the surface as the rain falls. The rain causes the ground to soften which makes it easier for the chickens to dig a little deeper to find the fatter, juicier worms!
- Feathers will keep them dry
Chickens feathers will keep them dry in light rain but unlike ducks, they don’t have waterfowl feathers that are waterproof therefore, in heavy rain chickens can run the risk of getting wet-through to their skin. In warmer weather this won’t do any harm as the chickens can hide undercover and easily dry out. In colder weather there is a risk that the chicken can’t get itself thoroughly dry and it may get too cold, too fast and this can lead to complications and sickness.
- Waterproof chicken coop
We have a warm and cosy cocoon chicken coop that provides two nesting boxes, two large perches and an integrated run. We find this is more than adequate for our 4 chickens for feeding and laying and it provides them a safe and secure place to sleep away from predators at night.
This coop has a roof that fully covers the nesting boxes, perches and run but if the location of your coop is at particular exposure to harsh weather, you could also purchase the Cocoon rain cover to provide additional protection.
- Provide adequate cover when free-ranging
We let our chickens roam free range around our garden almost every day of the year but we ensure they have a variety of options to stay undercover if they want to. Some of their favorite dry spots in the garden are:
- underneath trees and bushes
- in the small gap between the fence and the shed
- under various garden furniture
- in between plant pots
- A safe environment to free-range in bad weather
If the weather is particularly bad, we won’t let our chickens free-range in the garden but we don’t feel our chicken coop on it’s own is large enough for four chickens to spend the whole day. Therefore we have also provided them with a large enclosed area underneath our kids trampoline that gives them plenty of extra space to roam freely and safety throughout the day, without having to enter the garden and be at risk to the elements. It gives them a similar experience to free-ranging in the garden but keeps them relatively dry. Read our blog ‘How to create a chicken enclosure underneath your trampoline‘ to see how we made it.
