First Hurricane

[jennyman]

Hello All! I have been reading all about the different ways to protect flocks during a hurricane. We are getting our first hurricane in 30 years. Looks like a CAT 1 but could change. I'm not sure what to do with my 4 chickens and 5 ducks. The picture shows the coop and attached run. We didn't have an issue during tropical storm isaias. We are not at risk of major flooding. Our coops and run are very sturdy. We are going to put up some wood paneling and tarps on some exposed parts Should we still bring them in, lock them in the coop or keep them out with their choice to go in or out of coop? Help!

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

If you will be worried about them the whole time, you might think of bringing them in for your peace of mind.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

I don't know much about hurricanes, except for the fact we've got caught sleeping in tents during several. As far as the birds, whenever I hear of a bad storm coming, I lock them up in their coops with their food and water. They complain about that, but at least I know they're safe.

 

[3KillerBs]

I had multiple tropical storm systems pass through my area last summer/fall.

I never locked the chickens up in their coop. If given the choice to go in or out they'll choose what they like and be fine. Mine chose to go out and forage between rain bands then retreat to a dry place when the rain was heavy.

Wind speed is lower down at chicken-level due to friction from the ground.

IMO, the main thing is to secure all loose items that might fly around and, for those who have small, lightweight coops, to secure them firmly to the ground with strong stakes and tie-downs.

 

[GC-Raptor]

I'll be closing windows on my coops, but upper vents will remain open.

Windows face east and winds are predicted to begin easterly, turn southerly then west.
Pop door is north facing and will remain open during the day unless winds are blowing debris.
Pop door is closed nightly.

GC

 

[Ridgerunner]

The latest projections I saw for Henri is that it will be right at hurricane strength when it hits, maybe just above or maybe just below. That's a serious storm. They are usually pretty good on their projections but those things can do strange things as they hit land. Usually they slow down a bit but occasionally one intensifies. Don't be surprised if the center jumps several miles, probably to the east. So stay on your toes and pay attention to what is going on.

Have you had thunderstorms or other winds in the range of 75 mile per hour winds? I'm not trying to downplay them, that is still a dangerous wind, but have you already been through winds like that? I once lost a shed roof to straight line winds in a thunderstorm when I was in Arkansas, the guy who built it did a bad job. But you may have already been through winds like that so you have a baseline on how the coop will do.

I've been through several hurricanes in Louisiana and twice got a new roof because of a storm. My outbuildings have been OK though. How well your coop does will depend on how well it is built and how well it is anchored to the ground. Wind direction will depend on where you are located from the center. As I said that center can change but if you can put a guy wire to anchor the coop that can help a lot.

There are three things about a hurricane that cause damage. Storm surge can be really destructive. How bad that is depends on your terrain and how close to the sea you are. You say you aren't worried about that.

If the storm is moving slowly it can dump a tremendous amount of rain. Hopefully Henri will move fast enough so that isn't a major problem. You will get heavy rain, some people will be flooded. That rain will come in bands.. Don't think just because it slacks off that it is over with. Another band will hit.

Then the wind. Roofs will be damaged. A lot of trees will be blown over or limbs will come off. A lot of people will lose power. Roads will be blocked. Anything lose can become a missile. It sounds like wind is your greatest risk. Don't be surprised if cell towers go down and you lose communications.

So what can you do to get ready? Pick up or secure anything that may become a missile. That might be hanging baskets of plants, kids' toys, yard decorations, whatever. I move one car in the garage and park the old one next to the house where it is at least partially protected. Expect to lose power so get non-perishable food. Have plenty of drinking water, maybe fill a bathtub so you can flush the toilet. Ice can be very valuable, start freezing extra. Down here we'd board up our windows but we have them more often than every 30 years, most of us are prepared. If you have a generator crank it up to make sure it works and have fuel handy. Top off your car with gasoline so you can leave if you need to. There is usually a run on gasoline, lines are long and they may run out.

Now, finally to your question. How well do you trust your coop? It looks pretty strong to me. Even if a roof blows off that is not likely to harm your chickens, just expose them to rain. I'd leave them locked in the coop/run mainly to help protect them from flying debris. I think that will give them an excellent chance to survive.

 

[Brooks_]

The latest projections I saw for Henri is that it will be right at hurricane strength when it hits, maybe just above or maybe just below. That's a serious storm. They are usually pretty good on their projections but those things can do strange things as they hit land. Usually they slow down a bit but occasionally one intensifies. Don't be surprised if the center jumps several miles, probably to the east. So stay on your toes and pay attention to what is going on.

Have you had thunderstorms or other winds in the range of 75 mile per hour winds? I'm not trying to downplay them, that is still a dangerous wind, but have you already been through winds like that? I once lost a shed roof to straight line winds in a thunderstorm when I was in Arkansas, the guy who built it did a bad job. But you may have already been through winds like that so you have a baseline on how the coop will do.

I've been through several hurricanes in Louisiana and twice got a new roof because of a storm. My outbuildings have been OK though. How well your coop does will depend on how well it is built and how well it is anchored to the ground. Wind direction will depend on where you are located from the center. As I said that center can change but if you can put a guy wire to anchor the coop that can help a lot.

There are three things about a hurricane that cause damage. Storm surge can be really destructive. How bad that is depends on your terrain and how close to the sea you are. You say you aren't worried about that.

If the storm is moving slowly it can dump a tremendous amount of rain. Hopefully Henri will move fast enough so that isn't a major problem. You will get heavy rain, some people will be flooded. That rain will come in bands.. Don't think just because it slacks off that it is over with. Another band will hit.

Then the wind. Roofs will be damaged. A lot of trees will be blown over or limbs will come off. A lot of people will lose power. Roads will be blocked. Anything lose can become a missile. It sounds like wind is your greatest risk. Don't be surprised if cell towers go down and you lose communications.

So what can you do to get ready? Pick up or secure anything that may become a missile. That might be hanging baskets of plants, kids' toys, yard decorations, whatever. I move one car in the garage and park the old one next to the house where it is at least partially protected. Expect to lose power so get non-perishable food. Have plenty of drinking water, maybe fill a bathtub so you can flush the toilet. Ice can be very valuable, start freezing extra. Down here we'd board up our windows but we have them more often than every 30 years, most of us are prepared. If you have a generator crank it up to make sure it works and have fuel handy. Top off your car with gasoline so you can leave if you need to. There is usually a run on gasoline, lines are long and they may run out.

Now, finally to your question. How well do you trust your coop? It looks pretty strong to me. Even if a roof blows off that is not likely to harm your chickens, just expose them to rain. I'd leave them locked in the coop/run mainly to help protect them from flying debris. I think that will give them an excellent chance to survive.

Good points all around.

I'd stress the fuel. If on city water, the water is less of an issue as most cities have generators for the water system. Though other things can happen to cause a boil water notice. I'd rather open a gallon than boil. If you do have to boil, shaking up the water (after cooling) will remove the "flat" taste. Ice, you can't have too much. Food, look for things you won't mind eating straight from the can or lunch meat with ice in a cooler. After a couple summer days with no power you likely won't want hot food. Secure loose items around the yard. For the chickens, keep ventilation open but close windows/doors that are likely to let rain blow in. They'll probably weather the storm better than you.

 

[Brooks_]

If you lose power and they offer FEMA food stamps, take 'em. Maybe take pics of the food you have to toss, but they don't really ask for proof.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Secure loose stuff. Secure loose stuff. Secure loose stuff.

Don't rely on tarps or other things that can become sails.

Relax.

A Cat 1 on high ground w/o flood risk is no more exciting than a summer T-Storm, possibly less. (Speaking as someone who spent most of their life in FL). Any well built structure, adequately secured to the ground, can take 75 mph winds w/o incident. Even sliding glass doors are now being wind speed rated in the 120s to low 130s.

My coop door has a fence gate stake (the kind usually found where two gates meet int he center) which I drive into the dirt to hold the coop door narrowly propped open. The chickens can go in or out as the wish, often go out between bands, but it blocks the majority of the wind from intruding. Fred missed us last week by a handful of miles. Apart from a brief loss of power, it was a non event. The birds didn't seem to notice, I was the only one inconvenienced by storm prep.

Unless the eye wall passes directly across your property, winds are likely to be much, even much much, lower than the news media is talking up, even before accounting for friction loss at ground level due to trees, bushes, and structures. Typically, the wind wall is quite small even in a strong storm (perhaps counterintuitive, but the stronger the storm, the more likely the highest winds are concentrated in a narrow ring, while tropical storm force winds may extend 100 miles or more). TS winds are typically about 35-55 mph - if your coop can't take that, its time to replace it.

 

[Sueby]

I'm not planning on locking my chickens up, they'd rather be under the other coop anyway so I'll leave it up to them. I'll keep an eye on them though.

The bigger issue here in CT is trees coming down, not the wind necessarily. We've had massive tree die offs from the Ash borer & the gypsy moths over the last few years. People from other states that get hurricanes all the time don't always remember the canopy we have here in CT & how unhealthy it is now. We regularly lose power at least every couple of weeks, sometimes with a bit of rain, sometimes for no reason.