How long can chickens go without food?

[farmert]

I'm concerned about the winter storm forecast for central NC. My coops are about 100' from the house, and if I am snowed/iced in, I cannot get to them. I give them feed before they go to roost, but I worry about them being cooped up and without food for a long period of time. They aren't overcrowded -- rooster with three hens in one coop with two rooms; two hens (newbies) in a separate, large coop.

 

[nuthatched]

How big is the feeder? You can dump feed in a big bowl or on the ground if needed.
Water is a bit more pressing

 

[farmert]

I don't have a ''feeder'' set up, I feed them in bowls and plates morning/evening and they free range in afternoon.

 

[tripletfeb]

You have a few days so I would suggest buying some feeders and waterers. That way if you can't get to the coop, they still have food. The water will freeze if it gets cold enough so you will have to go out to give them fresh water anyways

 

[neo71665]

You need feeders and waterers even if you freerange. They should always have a source of food and water they can access.

 

[Tired old Rooster]

If the problem you expect is bad weather with little visibility, I recommend buying a hundred feet of strong rope and setting up a guide line between house to coop. That way you don't end up lost in a storm when you go see to their needs and check the new feeders.

If the problem is you expect ten feet of snow, can't help with that.

 

[Altairsky]

Chickens keep themselves warm by burning fat and calories. If it's cold, they can't last long without food because they will burn through their fat reserves very fast.
Buy a few feeders, get some scratch or pigeon seeds. Scratch is not ideal but it stays edible even if it ends up on the muddy and poopy floor.
Crumble on the ground will turn into a moldy and poopy blob very quickly if chickens step on it.

 

[AshVau22]

How much are they calling for in your area? Where I live in Pennsylvania weather currently says 20+ inches of snow for Sunday. My coops about 150 feet from my house. I'm not really to worried about it as far as getting to the coops. I'll just walk through it. For feeding and watering. It's looking like an all day storm so I'll probably go out periodic and keep the trails I clear for the chickens clean. So I'm not shoveling so much at one time. In bad weather they spend most of the day on my covered patio. If it's an ice storm I keep a rubber mallet at the coop to break ice off doors and latches so I can open the doors. Also some ice cleat are good to have on hand to put over your shoes for extra traction.

 

[ABQ chicken keeper]

I'm concerned about the winter storm forecast for central NC. My coops are about 100' from the house, and if I am snowed/iced in, I cannot get to them. I give them feed before they go to roost, but I worry about them being cooped up and without food for a long period of time. They aren't overcrowded -- rooster with three hens in one coop with two rooms; two hens (newbies) in a separate, large coop.

Thanks for the reminder:
"A major winter storm will spread heavy snow and ice across a 2,000-mile stretch from the Southwest to the East Coast starting Friday, causing dangerous travel conditions, downed trees and power lines, as well as the potential for long-lasting power outages — and ushering in life-threatening cold."
The storm will impact a lot of BYC'ers, as they say in the movies "Batten down the hatches" or something like that!

 

[neo71665]

We aint gonna see 10 foot. Down here in my 46 years the deepest snow I've ever seen was about 2 feet and thats an once or twice a lifetime thing. We don't get deep snow down here. It's mostly ice and they never are prepared for it. Power going out is a given, most of us bumpkins that have lived here our whole lives have generators.

I stocked up on feed for the farm and gas last week before the greedy pluck store owners jack the prices up. Right now they already reporting the brain dead are starting to try to clear grocery stores of bread and milk. Only thing I need to go buy is some beer.

My chooks have 50lbs of feed in bucket feeders and 50 gallons of heated water in their covered run their coop is attached to. I can lock them in there and they will be fine for about a week. I just need to gather eggs.