Why Some Chickens Just Don't Like Being Wet

With all of the hot weather we have been having and temps reaching triple digits, chicken owners everywhere have been frantically trying to find ways to keep their flocks cool and alive in these extreme conditions.  Most everyone has agreed that ample shade, watermelon, bottles of ice water, fans, cool fresh drinking water, electrolytes, and frozen vegetable treats are proven safe ways to help chickens combat the heat and keep their body temperatures lower.  But one tip and trick that seems to  have caused quite the stir within the chicken community: The homemade "MISTER."
I saw quite a few concerned chicken owners asking advice online worried that the use of "misters" could cause respiratory distress, elevate their birds body temperature even more, and ultimately in some cases cause death to the animal.  I realized that while a high pressure mister would work great for chickens on a hot day by cooling the air and not getting them wet, a homemade "mister" would indeed cool the air, but if not used properly and with caution, would also soak the chickens.  Something about a wet chicken on a hot day seemed like a great idea to me!  After all, the first place I would want to be when the temp outside is 110 would be in a pool!!  But was that the same for a chicken?  I spent a good hour the other day in the hot sun adjusting our homemade "mister" just right so that it would hit the girls and every time I put it near them they took off.  Trying to prop it up, pin it up, point it this way, point it that way, turn the spray higher, turn the spray lower and the only one who got even remotely close to the water was Janis....go figure.  I myself was wet and annoyed and ended up turning off the water.  So I left it at that and wasn't too concerned about the risks involved with using a "mister" because, well....there was going to be no use of a "mister" at our house.  I did however begin to wonder why our girls disliked the water so much.  I mean, we are talking about chickens that feel A DROP of water, and high tail it out of there so fast you would think they were going to be eaten alive....by water droplets. Was there scientific or structural reasoning behind this strong hatred towards water that my girls seemed to have.  I searched and searched and could not find anything that would even suggest a reason as to why chickens didn't like to get wet, only other owners accounts to their own personal experiences.  Feeling a bit defeated and convinced I would never find an answer, I e-mailed our friends over at My Pet Chicken and explained why I was writing.  I did not want to put out any bad information and I had heard everyones opinions,  from "My chicken loves it," to "My chicken hates it," to "It can kill your chicken,"  to "That is ridiculous!" but what  I wanted to know was WHY most chickens didn't like to get wet.  So this morning I got a wonderful response from Laree who explained everything beautifully and I would love to share the information with all of you.

Hi Emily,

Thank you for contacting My Pet Chicken.

As with most animals, chickens are individuals--and I do have several silkies (especially a little silkie roo) that do like to be misted in the extreme heat.  However, silkies have a different feather structure than other birds, so they probably don't count ;)

The reason most chickens don't like to get wet it because the water prevents them from regulating their body temperature.  Sudden temperature changes causes stress, and  can be detrimental to a chicken's health.   While warm-blooded, birds cannot regulate their temperatures with the same efficiency as mammals. (They are missing several glands mammals have, but I don't know them off-hand.)

The feathers help insulate the chicken, and keep the chicken cool in the summer, as well as warm in the winter. 

When the barbs of the feather get wet, they collapse on top of themselves, and allow air to circulate next to the skin.  The water also becomes trapped in the downy barbs, under the feather barbs, which prevents the water from evaporating.  I suspect this then raises the humidity within the chicken's feathers, which then warms up the trapped water from both the air and the chicken's own body heat. 

The chicken has gone from hot, to wet and cold, to wet and hot---without any hope of relief.  It would be like walking around in a thermal tank top and a sweatshirt on a hot day.  As long as you walked in the shade, the heat would be bearable.  Suddenly, you fall in a lake, and get chilled--so you sit in the sun to dry off.  The outside of your sweatshirt might dry quickly, but your tank top would stay wet and clammy and you'd start to overheat.  Sitting in the shade would make you cold and uncomfortable, while moving into the sun would make you too hot.

Mmm...clammy humid chicken smell.

Also, water would leave calcium and other deposits on the feathers, which would make the barbs stick together after the water had dried.  Have you ever tried to wash a feather?  They never quite look the same when you are done.  The chicken would have to spend a significant amount of time preening to restore their feathers into working order.

When I read Laree's response it all began to make sense.  After all, that water ride at the amusement park seems like a really refreshing idea until you get off and have to walk around in wet clothes for the rest of the day.  We have ALL been there and know that feeling and it is naaaaaasty!! The point I'm trying to make is that homemade "misters" are not going to kill your chickens (I don't think) if used properly.  Intentionally soaking your chicken might.  Use them in a way that they will cool the air near your chickens but not close enough to get your chickens wet. Do not force your chickens into a mister, do not place it where they can not access food or water without entering it, do not put them in a position where they will get wet OR ELSE.   MOST chickens do not want to be wet because it will cause them some discomfort, please do not force them to.  On another note, you may happen to have chickens that love to get a good spray on a hot day.  If your chickens want to play in your homemade mister and soak themselves silly, well, people are still going to go on the water rides and walk around in sopping wet clothes all day.  May the mist be with them.