Need a plan help

Jesusfreak101 · Oct 23, 2015

We expecting up to if not more then 12 inches of rain thanks to the hurricane hittting Mexico. So flooding a good chance, we have lots of clay so it takes some time for it to soak into the yard. But we wont be able to look the hens in the coop as we have yet to finish remodeling it and it was only meant for them to sleep and lay eggs in. So my question is outside of confining them and i plan to allow then access to the roof of the coop (its underneath a metal canopy) as thats going to be the safest from the water just like inside their coop. But will they be ok with this much rain, i really cant to much but what can i do to help them get through this storm?

Oglan · Oct 23, 2015

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...re-storm-preparations-for-your-flock-and-coop

Chickens can be quite sensible when it starts to rain and most chickens are relatively hardy but you will still need to give them some form of shelter in addition to the hen house so they can shelter from the wind and rain, particularly if they are kept out in the open where there is little natural cover.
Experienced birds will run for cover if they think it’s going to be more than a light shower and will often huddle under a hen house or bush to keep themselves from getting too wet. There are however exceptions to the rules.
Chicks that are old enough to be outside and young birds in their first year do not usually have the sense to shelter, they will stand around getting wet. Other birds that haven’t learned to shelter from the rain are Ex-battery hens as they have spent so long inside sheltered buildings and to be fair to them, they don’t really understand what rain is as they have never experienced it before. Some breeds / hybrid chickens can handle the wet better than others and are more hardy in the poor weather conditions but breeds like the Poland (the one with all the head-gear) or the Silkie can suffer and need to be either kept in a covered run or you will need to keep an eye on them.
Birds that get soaked through can be at risk of hyperthermia. Their body temperature soon drops, especially if there is added wind chill factor involved.
It is a good idea to provide some form of shelter from the rain and the prevailing wind if possible for your chickens. Many birds will either not use the hen house, or, due to their position in the pecking order will not be able to go inside when the higher order birds are just inside the doorway.
Shelter can be quite basic, corrugated sheeting over a run, or a house lifted 40 cm off the ground to provide room underneath for birds to shelter, or even an old fence panel leaning against a wall or shed. Whatever you choose, ensure it is secure and won’t blow away and try to provide some protection from the prevailing winds.

found this article at https://poultrykeeper.com/housing-chickens/sheltering-chickens-rain/

pfields · Oct 23, 2015

You must not live far from me. I closed one window of the coop, the one in the door, and put something half way up the southwest window just in case the wind blows hard. The two side windows are covered with awning so not much more I can do.

Jesusfreak101 · Oct 23, 2015

Thanks they have a large covered canopy that goes over our house that they us i thinking of adding a tarp but didnt know if it was needed but i really dont know what to expect with the rain. Thankfully all the hens get along great and allow each other to get to shelter even with the vast ages in the flock. With everything going on right now we dont/didnt have much time to get ready so it has to be able to go up fast so i think the tarp will work best if i hanging it like a wall for the canopy were they all like lay together.

Jesusfreak101 · Oct 23, 2015

We live thirty minutes away from san antonio... And my parents live near corpus. So probably i still cant believe how much rain we going to get. We have a creek to our left (from drive way on road) and a spot of the road to the right that floods so i have to have us humans ready for possibly being stranded at the house for a few days if not longer. I am just glad i dont live closer to the rivers, we drove by some the other day that will be flooded and they were already swollen from the last rain fall.

pfields · Oct 23, 2015

Well you're not that close to me, SA is a 3 hour drive for us. My sister lives in SA and they are worried about flooding. We live right on the bay in Palacios, which is half way between Galveston and Corpus Christi on the coast. For almost a week now we've had very high tides and lots of wind.

We're concerned where this storm will go once it gets past the mountains in Mexico. If it should cross over and get into the gulf, well that's another problem I don't even want to think about.

Hholly · Oct 23, 2015

Maybe you could lay some pallets around so they can get off the ground. Good luck!

Jesusfreak101 · Oct 23, 2015

Yeah mom says they cant see the jetti in port a which is huge so thats scary. And add rain yeah no i like high ground for sure. I have to look for somethjng as i dont have any pallets. I prefer not to think it go in the gulf its already a cat five it needs to decrease!!

Need a plan help

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