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- #21
PhantomSlayer
Songster
Yeah I've thought about alot of that. I myself am sensative to storms. (Massive paranoia) but where I live the tornados tend to jump our county since were right off of lake Michigan. Were doing a concrete foundation. Were planning on getting metal sheds off amazon during the winter and anchor them into the concrete. I'm a little worried because its a metal building but theyll be right off the side of our house on a hill so I'm not to worried about extremely wet ground since its on a fairly steep hill.. We also have an easy access to electricity and our hose.Smaller combs & wattles reduce frostbite risk, but adequate shelter is essential. Need to consider perching toes getting cold too, small perches like we see parrots on aren't good, I actually used 2x4s.
Once chickens know & love their coop, feeling safe & secure inside it, they'll often get closer to the coop as daylight begins to fade, then put themselves to bed when it's dusk. Calling them in sooner mid day (like if a bad storm is approaching) isn't always easy, but if you practice with treats (mealworms) in addition to a sound (the bell, or I call mine in same way, same tone & same words) they'll learn to come to you Whenever you need them to, not just at dusk. This can be fun to teach & create bonds with your flock, but it's really also a very valuable life saving action at times. When we had sudden storm bursts, I was so glad my chickens listened to me & I got them all in, then got myself inside safely, Before hail, tornado or lightning bolts started! Trust me, it's not fun running around outside with lightning bolts zigzagging across the sky. Get yourself 2 good weather apps on your phone, too, set alerts so you know what is headed your way. Work with them & teach them to come running when you need them to...Before a storm actually hits. Unfortunately we cannot be with them 24/7 due to work, school, & life as such it is, but at least if you practice this at times, the chickens will learn quickly & feel when the barometric pressure changes & get themselves to safety. They really are pretty smart...most of the time.
If they're out free ranging & a fox runs up or hawks dives in, they'll scatter to run & hide, some will run for the coop if nearby, some may run to hide under the nearest shrub or elevated shed. Depending upon your types of predators, the predators lack of fear of humans (some will not care if a human is right there & still grab a chicken dinner), the abundance, or lack of, places available for chickens to hide, you may rethink the predator proof pens idea & only free range if you're right there with them...I only mention it because that's what I had to do, to keep my flock alive.
As for breeds, I have Wyandotte, Maran, Australorp, EEs, Buff Orpingtons, Barred Rock, RIR & I haven't had any issues, but I did insulate the coops, they naturally stay warmer in winter, cooler in summer, plus I have fans & windows on all 4 sides, mostly open, unless we get storms, then I just close the windows in the direction the wind could blow precipitation in. The goal is to keep coop dry. I scoop poop under perches daily, only takes 15 min & well worth it, for the times when they'll have to stay cooped up due to a week of nasty weather, (if you scooped poop all week, then those days cooped up, poop accumulating, won't be so piled up than if you hadn't scooped). Piled up poop creates it's own humidity...makes coop "wet" even if you don't have outside precipitation blowing in, so always strive for a dry coop. Simple humidity can cause frostbite, too. For those bad weather weeks & months, they'll be inside more, so consider the size of coop & perch space, more is better, less squabbles. A dry coop is a healthy coop, I use wood chips inside coop, big bark chips in pens. Covered pens are best, but mine are only covered by hardware cloth wire. Try to avoid muddy areas, add more bark mulch. I check for bumblefoot & address it immediately. Know that a wet coop or muddy run can cause bumblefoot.
Predators in general will go for any chicken they can catch, but white & lighter color feathers seem to make chickens easier targets, easier to spot, even if they hide under shrubs. Cooper Hawks zoom right into shrubs full speed...they catch sparrows easily & can tangle with chickens, too. I noticed they always go after my paler feather color chickens & pigeons. If all you have are dark color feathered birds, they'll still go for them, though. They gotta eat, too, just make it harder for them to eat your flock.
Hope this helps & best of luck on your chicken journey...You're gonna love it!
I've already considered all the predator danger during the day and we've decided to take the risk. We have alot of spots for hiding through the yard up here. We have coyotes, bears, foxes, neighbors dogs but our main concern is the eyes in the sky lol Our area does have some fairly good size birds. We often see hawks and a couple eagles througout the summer and sometimes a owl. My mom and I are home most days. We only go out maybe 3-4 days a month at max? and sometimes thats just my mom. I tend to want to stay home so I only go out once or twice a month if i can help it. I'm antisocial in person and pretty much just prefer staying home due to agoraphobia. I've been discussing with my mom about setting up extra security such as burying barbed wire around the run and even later on getting a chicken tractor for our more important egg layers.
The routine isn't set yet (Probably wont be until we actually have them). My parents wake up by 7am but I sleep till 10-11am because I am a night owl and usually stay up till 1-4am. But between us 3 I'm sure we can find a routine that works for all of us. But I just know already I'll be the main caretaker when it comes to food, water, cleaning and gathering eggs. And I'll also be the one to get them back in at night. Which is why I'm set on trying to train them to come back for food/treats lol.
Also I know they all have personalities and are different. I've been around my sister in laws chickens and their rooster Waffles while hes also definately the dominant one and semi braver one.. Hes kinda.. Dumb? Hes always the one I struggle to get back to the coop whenever I get asked to take care of them. He'll get right before the door and then turn and go around the side and try climbing/flying up the side of their hoop coop and im like "really dude you have a few loose marbles" and you may be wondering why not use food well it just so happens my brother and them suck at letting me know where they leave the food because one day itll be on the porch and the next its not and it gets annoying. But the most annoying thing is their flock of ducks. Those buttheads refuse to come within 10 feet of a human. And unfortunately the food thing doesnt work with them because you dont get 10 feet inside the run and theyll stand at the door and if you try going out theyll scatter around and then you still have to herd them back in before the chickens try escaping again. I don't see a future in ducks lol But then again I can't expect their chickens and ducks to enjoy human contact because we often see my nieces chasing them around the yard and nearly tackling them to pick them up. Specially the ducks..
I looked at Orpingtons pretty hard as well during researching! I loved the Silver Laced but unfortunately the initial flock my mom doesn't want to spend that much per bird because itll be our learning period. 
