Houstonian Needs Help!! (Advice)

[ShyWolf]

Hi,
I live in Houston and as you are aware we are horribly flooded. My backyard has 4 inches of standing water and it's still raining. My poor babies have been wet since Friday. We've changed the hay in the coop twice but we're out of hay and can't get more because we're flooded in. We put a heat lamp in the coop to try to warm them and dry them and the hay with only partial success. They only just last week finished their antibiotics for a respiratory infection. We don't know what to do. We do have an unfinished addition on our house we could put them in there, but either way, we're out of hay. Will they be ok with wet feathers this long? I'm worried about them being in the coop with warm wet hay. Please tell me what I can do!!
We have 8 hens and one 'roo

 

[Kiki]

How old are there?
My chickens are wet too but I am NOT adding heat to their coop right now.
I do not think that is a good idea.

Do they have a high spot in the coop to get out of the water?
If not bring them indoors.

 

[Mrs. K]

I would NOT use the heat lamp around that much flooding!

Is there standing water in the coop? If not, try this, sounds crazy, but it will help, sprinkle the top of the hay with scratch. The chickens will dig through the hay so to dry it out.

Chickens can take water and being wet, as long as where they are roosting is dry. Once they get on the roost, they should dry out just with body heat.

Seriously, though, I am not sure I can imagine the water you folks are getting. But I do know, that much water, and power lines can go down, or other problems. Do not use the heat lamp.

Mrs K

 

[ShyWolf]

Thank you so much for the replies. They do have a sleep area that I call the coop so they can get out of the water but the rain comes in through the gaps and the vents. This is the chicken tractor my husband made. The power for the heat lamp is in a waterproof housing and is out of the water. We've only had chickens since this spring, so we are very new. We meant to put a roost in, didnt, and then kind of forgot about it. That would be the ideal way for them to get out of the wet hay. So we are going to try to rig something up tonight with what we have on hand. But I guess what I hear ya'll saying is they don't need the heat lamp and with the roost bar they should be ok.

 

[Kiki]

NO heat..it's too hot for them.
Get rid of that lamp asap especially with our rain.

They will be fine in your set up.

 

[centrarchid]

NO heat..it's too hot for them.
Get rid of that lamp asap especially with our rain.

They will be fine in your set up.

I agree. Concentrate on keeping feed dry.

 

[jeria]

Looks like your coop is dry-- newbie but maybe try to keep them inside and out of the rain and partially flooded run.

 

[jeria]

Shy Wolf, are you and your family doing OK? Kiki and others are asking, also in your area. There is an ongoing thread Hurricane Advice that several people are reporting in on.