Do chickens have waterproof feathers?

[valeriebutterley]

It is my understanding that chickens do not have waterproof feathers, silly girls sometimes just hang around and get soaked to the skin.
I was told that a few shakes will repel a bit of water on them, but they are not like ducks and other water birds, and lack the oily substance in feathers needed to keep them waterproof, true or not?

 

[Marigold]

Well, obviously they're not as waterproof as ducks who actually go in and under the water and have special oil glands to assist preening. And some breeds of chicken, especially Silkies with soft and fluffy feathers, aren't waterproof at all. But I would imagine most chickens are at least as waterproof as many wild birds - yes they do get wet but as you say, Val, it doesn't seem to bother them, and given the choice of a covered area and staying out in the rain, they will often choose the rain, and we all know chickens aren't stupid, even if they may appear so to non-poultry- keepers. They must be able to preen or shake off a lot of the water when they want to. We often watch wood pigeons swimming in our pond, getting thoroughly wet and spreading oil all over the surface before climbing out and shaking themselves dry before flying off. They have similar plumage to chickens in many ways, and obviously seem out this experience, whether to get their feathers clean or to dislodge parasites I'm not sure.
I suppose from the point of view of a domestic keeper its good if possible to ensure they roost fairly dry if possible, so that they don't steam up the coop too badly overnight as they all dry out, which would cause a lot of harmful condensation etc. Birds roosting naturally in tress wouldn't have this problem as they would have air all around their bodies.
Maybe, in answer to your question, Val, 'showerproof' is a more appropriate term!

 

[chrismahon]

Some are more 'showerproof' than others Valerie. The flighty tight feathered chickens we have seem quite waterproof, but the fluffy ones (Orpingtons) get waterlogged immediately. We have often had to bring the really soaked ones in for a blow dry. When they preen wet feathers they suck the water out, but there is a limit to how much they can do. The oil gland on a chicken isn't as productive as a duck and merely supplies enough oil to keep the feathers strands together. As Marigold says, wet chickens in a coop isn't desirable and can lead to respiratory problems quite quickly. We give all ours covered runs and in the larger enclosures we provide shelters -we've had enough of blow drying them! Actually, on reflection, our TNN's are running about outside in all the rain we are having and have water droplets on their backs. So they must have a more productive oil gland than most chickens. We had a Mallard in with a chick hatch (neighbour's cat caught it). The little duck spent a lot of time preening the chicks and they looked a rather oily mess at one stage, even though the duck's oil gland was not yet fully productive (male called Pluto) it was producing enough for itself and 6 chicks.

 

[valeriebutterley]

Love your oily chicks story, Chris.
I know chickens do not have very water resistant feathers, as my darlings are constantly bedraggled, but do not seem to mind too much luckily.
I very nearly gave up in despair a little while ago because of the constant saturation of the birds, and thought about getting the vet to do a cull and starting again, if and when the rain stops, but they are always so cheerful, so friendly and busy. I felt so sorry for them, and thought they deserved better than I was providing.
Crazy birds that they are, despite constant rain, an open pen, with HUGE puddles in it, they never stop greeting me cheerfully in the mornings, or stop laying eggs, they wait for my praise, and all crowd round when I tell them "wonderful eggies girls". I knew I could not part with them, and that we would see this thing through together. We soldier on, even my stingy, reluctant to part with it Legbar laid today for the first time for weeks, after a brilliant initial start at the end of the year!.

 

[tygrysek75]

10 Mine rum as fast as they can under the cover when rain starts.never seen them wet.They get used to they run being covered and watching rain from undercover.They just do not like it :lol: :lol: :lol: