cooped up versus covered in ash

[Suzilla Bean]

Lots of folks are unable to bring their birds in or keep them coop confined (at least not for long periods). A few alternatives I've seen:

Ez-up or pop-up tents with sides as a temporary run
Old school blanket fort/teepee with wet sheets
Converted truck bed

My mom is in the Alameda fire area with air quality in the 500s and has her birds out the entire time and hasn't seen any ill-effects (thus far). I'm further from fires, but I have the space in the garage to shove 12 upset birds and would rather not risk potential health issues. The smell is awful, I feel bad, they're stressed, but I don't know the long term effects and I would rather a week of inconvenience than losing them.

It's a crappy situation for everyone having to make this decision, so don't feel pressured to do one thing or another based on what the internet says. Follow your intuition and do what you think is best for your flock.

I've decided that I'm going to coop them up on "unhealthy" <150 AQI. It's hard to predict what the air quality will be. I'm going to play it by ear.

 

[MROO]

26 miles from the Bobcat fire and 82 miles from the El Dorado Fire.

Is there an animal rescue group that can take them, just temporarily, until things get better? You could provide their feed and even volunteer there, if they need help. I'll bet you can work something out where everyone wins at least a little bit.

 

[Suzilla Bean]

Is there an animal rescue group that can take them, just temporarily, until things get better? You could provide their feed and even volunteer there, if they need help. I'll bet you can work something out where everyone wins at least a little bit.

I'd rather not expose my girls to an unknown flock. It's a lose-lose situation. I think Owenp_2 is right.

 

[piminuse]

I've decided that I'm going to coop them up on "unhealthy" <150 AQI. It's hard to predict what the air quality will be. I'm going to play it by ear.

Are you tracking your air quality daily? I've been using this to forecast as it shows the predicted next few days.

 

[Suzilla Bean]

Are you tracking your air quality daily? I've been using this to forecast as it shows the predicted next few days.

There are so many indexes now. I've been using this one: https://www.iqair.com/

 

[MarkJr]

This was overnight a few days ago. My epa scale was 695 that evening.... drastically dropping to 600 during the day.
Your chickens know the air is crap. They limit movement themselves. I think they will do just fine.

 

[Suzilla Bean]

View attachment 2333915
This was overnight a few days ago. My epa scale was 695 that evening.... drastically dropping to 600 during the day.
Your chickens know the air is crap. They limit movement themselves. I think they will do just fine.

Expletives are not allowed, but suffice it to say that a string of them came to mind when I saw your picture.

You have more faith in my chickens than I do, but my girls live in pristine air by comparison.

 

[MarkJr]

We’re at 422 right now and everyone, cows chickens and kids are outside moving around. Everyone has coop-itis.
Don’t worry. Kids are being limited to twenty minutes. Hopefully we get some rain toward Friday like they’re saying.

 

[Floof]

Do any of you think running a mister would help pull stuff out of the air? We just got moved back to level 2 (woohoo!) so I'm wondering how to manage my birds now that I can go back as well.

 

[Suzilla Bean]

We’re at 422 right now and everyone, cows chickens and kids are outside moving around. Everyone has coop-itis.
Don’t worry. Kids are being limited to twenty minutes. Hopefully we get some rain toward Friday like they’re saying.

Hopefully.