Hi y'all..hurricane preps for chicks?

[1birdlady]

We are in the Gulf Coast area, and expect hurricanes from June to November.

How do y'all take care of your chicks /chickens IF a hurricane is imminent?
We have only 4 BR's, and thought about putting them in a large dog kennel (or 2) and bringing them in the house, but they'd have to be confined for days...hmmm?

Any other plans out there?

 

[cherig22]

Good question. Having lived previously in Fla., the only suggestion I have would be to have hurricane shutters or plywood to cover the open areas. The wind would drive the rain into the coops.

If you don't have a lot of birds, maybe cages in the garage, or even loose in the garage. What a mess, but what else to do?

Another thought, make sure your coops are high off the ground, because of flooding.

Cheri

 

[LynneP]

We have a well-constructed coop which is in a barn that has survived three major hurricanes. I guess it depends on the structure in which your chickens are housed. Since you are so far south, I'm assuming you have light structure for your hens. Yes, if so, I'd bring them to the house, perhaps creating something a bit larger, or an add-on mini-run so they can walk easily and continue to lay. If your outdoor coop sustains damage you may need extra time to repair or replace it. We're generator-ready too and based on past experience I'd stock extra feed and water for them too, in the house...now there's hoping you don't need those plans!

 

[1birdlady]

Thanks for prompt replies.

(This place is wonderful!)

However, we don't have a garage..it was converted to a studio, but has a tile floor and a Black Headed Caique, (small parrot) as current resident.....we'd have to make do with having our 4 BR's in a kennel and make a small (very small) area for them to "run"...hmmm?(Under my painting table, around the still stacked boxes from our disaster tree...Oh MY!)


They are not laying yet (they're about 2 mos old), but will be by September/October...I'm just at a loss how to accommodate them *IF* we need to bring them in. We went thru Ike with some trees down, but nothing on the house THAT time....the tree on our house is a story for another time.

If they are laying by that time, will they "quit" if their routine is disrupted? Or do we need to provide a nest box? I've done wild bird rehab, but this chicken stuff is a whole other game for me..

Their coop is totally galvanized hardware cloth, even the floor, with tiles on that. And the whole thing is up on pallets to keep it dry. We have never flooded in this house (25 yrs). They have tarps to keep it dry, but in our heat they need the full ventilation that hardware cloth provides. It's as predator proof as we can make it.

Anyway....if we get another hurricane with the force of Ike, it is not an option to leave them outside.

Thanks again.

 

[PunkinPeep]

i've got to tell ya, i'm really thinking we should get a year off on the major hurricane issue. i still have trees to clean up from ike.

is that just wishful thinking?

 

[MoodyChicken]

Head for the hills!








Ok, now I'm just being sarcastic and not helpful. Listen to everyone else, they have good advice.

 

[Sugar Sand Farm]

Our coop is built two feet into the ground We put hurricane straps over it and hope for the best. We have over 100 chickens and bringing them in is not an option. We will close up any window areas . Flooding is not a problem here either. Its the goats that I worry about their house would not stand a heavy wind and they hate rain.