by Jennifer Sartell of Iron Oak Farm
One of my readers from the Iron Oak Farm blog recently e-mailed me with a question. She was wondering if chickens should be locked up during rain storms because she heard that they can drown simply by looking up into falling rain.
The issue of rain and farming has been a prominent subject this summer. Storms come daily, fast and stay just long enough for everything to get soaked, muddy and gross. Needless to say, we haven’t had to water the garden at all, in fact, the pumpkin patch is leggy, yellowing and in some lower areas, drowning… I can’t say the same for our chickens thankfully.
Honestly, I’ve never heard of this notion of chickens drowning in the rain until now. I thought, oh boy…somebody is playing one on a chicken newby…ha, ha! But just to be sure, I did what every self doubting chicken keeper would do…I Googled it.
And much to my surprise, this is somewhat of a common concern. I found this question asked on many a chicken forum and even addressed to other species of poultry including turkeys. So once again, there is always something to learn in the chicken keeping world.
I was unable to find a reputable source who could, without a doubt, confirm or discredit the drowning possibility so here’s my thoughts on the subject. I’d love to hear from you and what you think as well.
Many who claim that drowning is a possibility, relate it to the lack of intelligence of chickens and other farm fowl. They claim that due to the domestication of poultry, natural instinct and the common sense required to come out of the rain has been bred out of modern day poultry breeds. Others claim that the placement of the nostrils make it a perfect funnel for drops of water to flow into the nasal cavity and block it.
As for the intelligence argument, I hope I don’t ruffle any feathers, (horrible pun I know!) but here’s my two cents on the subject. I often see this claim directed at animals meant for slaughter. For years I have heard that cows, chickens and especially turkeys are dumb animals. After raising both chickens and turkeys, I couldn’t disagree more. I believe that this is something that people tell themselves so that they can get through Thanksgiving dinner without feeling guilty. And while I’m not a vegetarian, I think that many people want the domestic animals we eat to be stupid. It allows for a multitude of justification. If the animals we eat are dumb, unintelligent and unfeeling, not even smart enough to come out of the rain, then it conveniently allows for disrespect and mistreatment.
As for the placement of the nostrils, I personally have a little more faith in nature’s design than to believe this whole heartedly. For one thing, what about wild quail, pheasants and turkeys who have a similar nasal cavity and don’t have a coop to retreat to during times of rain? I understand that there are natural shelters in the woods under logs or large leaves etc. But it just seems like if this was a viable threat, that after a rainstorm, there would be hundreds of unlucky, dead birds, who just happened to look up.
The third argument is that when a chicken looks up, like when a large bird or plane flies over, it doesn’t look directly up, it looks sideways at the sky which would actually block water from entering the lower nostril. Chickens are also capable of sneezing and shaking water from their nostrils if it happens to enter. When my chickens do spot a low flying plane or a “V” shaped flock of Canada Geese flying over, they squawk and run for shelter. Proving again that even though they’re domesticated, they still possess enough instinct to survive and protect themselves from overhead threats like hawks, eagles and even rain.
My final argument is that in the 17 years I’ve raised chickens I’ve never had a chicken drown in the rain. Now I know that this alone is not concrete/conclusive evidence, and that anything is possible, but not only do our chickens not drown in the rain, they tend to really enjoy being out in it. I’m sure it has less to do with the pleasure of being wet, as chickens bathe in dry dirt, and more to do with the abundance of worms coming to the surface of the earth. But unless its a really windy, or pouring they enjoy a good sprinkle.
Now, like everything in chicken keeping, a little common sense goes a long way. First of all, allowing your chickens to get soaked in a downpour in cool weather isn’t a good idea. Chickens can get chilled which can prompt upper respiratory infections and lowered immune systems. Also, if you allow your chickens to frolic in the rain, always give them the option to retreat to shelter. If a storm is really harsh where hail, high winds or falling branches etc. might be a possibility it’s a good idea to make an executive decision to lock them up, or not let them out that day.
Really, if the idea of your chickens out in a storm stresses you out and you have ample room and ventilation in your coop, a rainy day locked inside isn’t the worst thing that could happen to your flock. They might be a little bored and miss out on some prime worm pickings but they’ll be fine.
At our farm, our chickens are let out each day and have the choice to come out of the weather if they want to. Most of the time, as a storm rolls in and the wind picks up, they will instinctively head to the coop. As the storm retreats, they will come out in the leftover, lighter rain to gather bugs and leaves that have fallen.
If you do find yourself with a chicken that is somehow soaked to the bone, (accidents happen, coop doors are blown shut, they fall in waterers etc.) chickens love to have a warm bath and a nice blow dry. (For more on this, read my post Chicken Bath 101) One of our bantams was knocked into the goat waterer one day. I found her soaked and shivering. I gave her a nice warm bath and a blow dry, and she was “right as”…ready for it… “rain!” (more puns! I can’t stop myself…but I should, I really should.)
What is your opinion on chickens and rain? Do you lock them up or let them weather the storm? And have you ever heard of a chicken drowning in the rain? I’d love to hear from you! Leave your comments below or visit us at the Community Chickens Facebook Page.
40 Comments
We recently acquired 50 baby chickens and 2 days later it came a big rain storm with thunder. They were under a roof, but I guess the wind blew in some rain because most were wet. All were dead except 15. Can a storm scare them to death?
I have two hundred chickens mostly spring chicks . In my area we fear the Buffalo gnats because they are leading cause of chickens dieing around here . But today we had very heavy rains and we lost more than 30 chickens . I have heard that rain won’t drown chickens but today I now know it’s true . Rain can drown chickens
I found a dead chicken this morning that was completely waterlogged. It was storming very severely last night, and whenever I checked they were inside their shelter. Is it possible she was kicked out of the coop and drown in the heavy rain??
I have not heard of it in chickens , but as they said they were with turkeys which this is quite common to have happen they will extend their necks and open beaks to the rain. If they were small chicks and mimicking the turkeys they could very well. I just lost a week old chick that decided in the middle of the night to mimic the duckling that decided to try and swim, not sure how she got up into where the duckling was getting wet as it was much to high for them to get to and she didn’t even have feathers in.
Chicks like to mimic other birds around them apparently
I’ve raised chickens for a number of years. They don’t like the wet, never had one drown! They do like to play in a small stream of water on a hot day. My mom was raised on a farm & says she has known turkeys to drown in heavy downpours – don’t know if that is true or an “old wives’ tale!!”
I have chickens and ducks with a wading pool. I had people tell me that my chickens would drown, the only time I found a chicken in the water was in the high heat of summer the were all socking their feet. I also found out that chickens can float. Never had one drown in the rain. People just wonts to think that animals are stupid.
I had heard that about turkeys, but never about chickens. And then this topic came up in the Mother Goose and Grimm comic today! http://www.arcamax.com/thefunnies/mothergooseandgrimm/s-1374412 lol Snopes says that it is false http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/turkey.asp. I love my chickens, they follow me around the yard looking for corn, and I have also enjoyed raising turkeys for Thanksgiving for a number of years now.
I used to hear that turkeys would drown in rain as they look up to see what is hitting them the water will run into their nostrils and drown them. However, that poses the question, why are there still wild turkeys? My chickens are free range, running over about 2 acres with my pygmy goats. For over 20 years we have had chickens off and on, mostly on. They are smart enough when it starts raining, as it is this minute, they head to the barn with the goats. Neither want to get overly wet.
Right! Our goats hate/loathe/despise rain!!!
I had a young chicken drown in a pan of water. I felt so bad when I found the chicken. Now when I have young chickens I put up any pans of water I have setting around for the older chickens.
Aw, how sad. Unfortunately accidents happen. 🙁 but it sounds like you found a solution so it doesn’t happen again.
My chickens head under cove when pouring rain. They stay out in it when only light rain. Never had one drown. Not even when they accidently land in the pool. Anyone that believes a chicken would stand there and let water pour down its nose and beak and drown has obviously never tried to medicate a chicken with liquid medicine.
Ha! Good point! 🙂
I have never had a chicken drown. However, I have always heard that you can predict how long a rain will last by watching the chickens. If they run for cover when the rain starts, it will be of short duration. If they stay out in the rain, it will be a long one. We watch out chickens predict all the time, and they are pretty accurate.
Ok, I’m definitely going to watch for this! Like little weathermen. Ha! 🙂
my chickens line up under our covered walk when it rains- then they leave lot’s of smelly presents there for me! needless to say, they stay in their run/coop when rain is predicted.
i have heard that old wives tale about chickens drowning- actually it was told to me by an old farmer when i was contemplating getting chickens. i think he was pulling my leg!
i’ve trained my chickens to do tricks- they will hop about 2′ off the ground to take treats from my hand- homemade bread works best. they will also come to the sound of seeds being shaken in a mason jar. really good way to get them to “come when called” if you need to put them to bed early.
Aw, that’s adorable! I wonder if it’s a generational belief (or joke). Most of the people I’ve (since) heard it from have been farmers for a LONG time.
Personally, knowing farmers and their dry sense of humor, I’ll bet it is something they tell the “newbies”, so they have something to chortle over at dinnertime.
I have an old cow bell hanging in the coop that I ring to get everyone in when I need them in early. They have learned that when the bell rings I am going to throw a little scratch. If they want some they have to come running.
This did happen to a new flock of half grown chickens I had. We had a light on in the hen house to keep them warm. It was getting late in the spring so I turned the light thinking it was unnecessary. We had a lightning/thunder storm that night. The next morning all 10 chickens where in the outside pen dead with no signs of being mauled. We came to the conclusion that they mistook the lightning as daylight, went outside in the rain and drowned.
Hmmm very interesting. Maybe the fact that they were young had something to do with it too. Thanks so much for the comment! 🙂
It is so funny to me that you bring this subject up! My mother is in the early stages of Alzheimers and tends to repeat herself quite a bit. She also isn’t real fond of chickens. This is a subject I have to avoid because it never fails, if I say something about my chickens she will start in on how they are too stupid to come in out of the rain and they’ll drown. I’ve heard it so many times I could lip sync it while she tells me lol! I would read your blog to her to prove it false but she’ll never remember it lol! 🙂
Aw, that’s pretty cute! 🙂
My chickens are very intelligent and love people. But when it comes to rain – they do not like the rain – they beg us to put them to bed – they find us and stand around whining or crowing until we take them to the coop. They follow my brother every place he goes and they love music. He plays the radio for them all the time – when they were babies, we put the music on and they grew up with it and love it. They love to be told they are beautiful and one even begs me to pet it like a cat. She just stands and lets me stroke her – they love to get on the tractor and when I go to get in the car, they think they can go with me – once I found two of them hidden under the seat of the car when I accidentally left the door open.
Ive taught one of my chickens to do tricks. It only took a couple of days. Chickens are as smart as some people I know. :).
Ha! I agree! That’s so cool that they do tricks, what kind of tricks? I’d love to see a you tube video!!!
I have heard that turkeys are so stupid that they will look up during a rain storm and drown. We raised turkeys two years in a row and had to buy a few baby chickens along with them. The purpose of having baby chicks with the turkeys was to teach them how to eat. They take a little longer to figure things out.
Hmm interesting! Thanks for the comment!
Mine will not go into the coop if it starts raining; they stay outside & get soaked. Therefore, I don’t let them out if showers predicted.
Oh wow! They all have such different personalities and habits. Thanks for the comment!
Here in Washington state my chickens would never get to go outside if I kept them in every time rain was predicted!!! I have had 24-48 chicken for over ten years, no drowning.
I’ve never heard of that concern with anything but turkeys. Wild ones are supposedly smart enough not to stare at the heavens, tame varieties, maybe not so much. I’ve never talked to anyone whose turkey drowned in the rain, though. Perhaps the story got started from taurkeys that died of EXPOSURE, NOT drowning.
That could be the case. Details get left out of storied until the story gets changed. Thanks so much for the comment!
my grandfather (born in the late 1800s) firmly believed turkeys could drown in the rain. He said he had some tilt their heads up and drown from the water running into their sinuses. But I don’t know…I’ve kept poultry for 30 years and I haven’t ever worried about my various fowl in rain except to pen them up in violent storms so they don’t get caught up in hard winds.
my grandfather (born in the late 1800s) firmly believed turkeys could drown in the rain. He said he had some tilt their heads up and drown from the water running into their sinuses. But I don’t know…I’ve kept poultry for 30 years and I haven’t ever worried about my various fowl in rain except to pen them up in violent storms so they don’t get caught up in hard winds.
This is a new one on me. 12 years, no drowning. They do love to be out in the rain but if it gets stormy they are intelligent enough to go inside. Must say I never thought of giving a chicken a bath, tried it with a cat once, wouldn’t recommend that! Love your sight.
Thanks so much! I had never really thought of giving a chicken a bath either but turns out…they love it!
Good article, Jennifer Sartell of Iron Oak Farm.
40+ years keeping chickens … never had one drown in a rain storm or puddle or pool. But thanks for the initial laugh.
Thanks so much! I think they’re sturdier than people give them credit! Congrats on your 40+ years of chicken keeping 🙂
Turkey’s will drown their self, stick their head through a cow fence and drown or will not back up too get free.