Florida or Southeast backyarderrs - I'm concerned about hurricanes

[emrys]

This year Isaac came throught my area. I shut the windows on the windy side, put the food and a water bucket in the coop and let the girls decide what they wanted to do. During the worst of the storm they sat inside and complained. As the winds started to ease up they were all outside. An occasional strong gust did tip a few of them over so they moved out of the center of the yard and into a sheltered area. Some stuck to the higher areas and others waded in the water. If your coop is well built and secured to a foundation and can be closed to keep out wind and rain but still have openings for ventilation, that covers the main worries. If you have a really strong storm that is blowing off roofs and destroying building there might not be a lot you can do short of packing up and leaving the area ahead of time. If you have to leave can you put the dog crate in your car?

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Seatrout, depending on what breeds you want, many of us breed and sell almost year round down here. There is a place or two in the state/area I would avoid, but otherwise good stock to be had if you seek out the breeders and not those who order hundreds of hatchery chicks to resell.

if you havent already, check out the Where am I where are You area here on BYC and look for the Florida thread. Over 500 of us on there to get to know.

 

[Seatrout00]

Seatrout, depending on what breeds you want, many of us breed and sell almost year round down here. There is a place or two in the state/area I would avoid, but otherwise good stock to be had if you seek out the breeders and not those who order hundreds of hatchery chicks to resell.

if you havent already, check out the Where am I where are You area here on BYC and look for the Florida thread. Over 500 of us on there to get to know.

Sounds like a good idea - I was only interested in getting a few chicks, as you know - and really want to try Barred Rocks and Rhode Island Reds - which are pretty common. I'll go check out that section you mention. I'd prefer to buy local - it always seems to work out better - not to mention if someone local has a breed that does well in our environment - well - that's bound to be better than chicks that come from half way across the country.

 

[BigECarter]

If you decide to order from a hatchery, you might want to check out www.carterslegacyfarms.com. I don't have chicks yet, but that's who I am planning on ordering from. They are in Mobile, Alabama, so closer than some of the bigger hatcheries. They are in the process of revamping their business model, reducing the number of common breeds and offering more of the rarer and heritage varieties.

I'm in Mississippi. 11' elevation sounds really low to me, but we are in an area where water builds up. 24.5' surge in Katrina - my property is 11' at the high end, 5' at the low. I'm not sure what I will do with the chickens when a hurricane threatens. Pack them up and go sounds great, but there needs to be a destination where they can stay for a couple of days! Last resort would be to let them loose and let them take care of themselves. Locking them in a coop would be a death sentence in a storm like Katrina.

I'm not planning on having a coop. We have relatively mild winters and hot summers. At most, a three sided coop, or maybe temporary walls like a previous poster suggested.

 

[Seatrout00]

Hey BigE - thanks for the info - I will keep that in mind. Still working on the coop at the moment, so no need for chicks yet - but that will come. As far as 11 feet elevation - I'm at the highest point in the county - we're right on the coast - so unless I move well inland, I'm not going to get much higher - and moving isn't an option.

For what ever reason, we've had numerous hurricanes come through here and - my area - has had no issue with storm surge - praise God - I am not on the barrier island but just on the other side of the lagoon - about three miles from the beach - so I do have a wee bit of a buffer. I do get some standing water during big storms - mostly on the very outter edge of my property - but as I said before, my area is the last to flood - the rest of the county does quite easily, but not me - again - thankfully.