- Jul 11, 2014
- 1
- 0
- 7
Greetings, BYC!
At long last we've purchased three acres of land in the cultural Mecca that is Jacksonville's swampy Westside. Finally ready to get some yard birds for the first time. I have a couple questions that are mostly related to the environmental and cultural nuances of my area.
I searched the forums and couldn't find anything specific to what I should do with our hens during severe weather (tropical storms and hurricanes) that are a threat six months out of the year. Annually we can expect winds in excess of 30mph from tropical systems and, if we're really unlucky, a good hurricane. We're thinking about the Urban Coop "Belfry" as a starter, since I'm a lazy cracker who doesn't take to too much labor in building my own. I have a lot of beer drinking to do and can't let all that time-consuming carpentry get in my way. I imagined I would buy the Belfry and set up an area with storm tie-downs to strap over the coop during moderate systems under 50mph to keep it from pulling a Wizard of Oz on me, but what do we do with four to six hens in a hurricane? Anyone have advice for sheltering birds indoors during major storms? Or some other solution?
To the cultural side of things... you know my people are fond of shooting. I like shooting, don't get me wrong, but my neighbors make it a nightly ritual. I'm pretty sure they consider shooting right after a rousing bought of heavy drinking their form of foreplay for procreation. To say the least, our neighbors on both sides shoot wildly at unexpected times and the perimeter of our property is best suited for housing our soon-to-be egg makers. Anyone know how sudden bursts of loud gunfire effect chickens? I assume it is not 'good', but will they be ok with that kind of noise randomly from time to time?
Thanks in advance for helping a simple cracker with his first experience raising chickens.
Captain Clucksalot
At long last we've purchased three acres of land in the cultural Mecca that is Jacksonville's swampy Westside. Finally ready to get some yard birds for the first time. I have a couple questions that are mostly related to the environmental and cultural nuances of my area.
I searched the forums and couldn't find anything specific to what I should do with our hens during severe weather (tropical storms and hurricanes) that are a threat six months out of the year. Annually we can expect winds in excess of 30mph from tropical systems and, if we're really unlucky, a good hurricane. We're thinking about the Urban Coop "Belfry" as a starter, since I'm a lazy cracker who doesn't take to too much labor in building my own. I have a lot of beer drinking to do and can't let all that time-consuming carpentry get in my way. I imagined I would buy the Belfry and set up an area with storm tie-downs to strap over the coop during moderate systems under 50mph to keep it from pulling a Wizard of Oz on me, but what do we do with four to six hens in a hurricane? Anyone have advice for sheltering birds indoors during major storms? Or some other solution?
To the cultural side of things... you know my people are fond of shooting. I like shooting, don't get me wrong, but my neighbors make it a nightly ritual. I'm pretty sure they consider shooting right after a rousing bought of heavy drinking their form of foreplay for procreation. To say the least, our neighbors on both sides shoot wildly at unexpected times and the perimeter of our property is best suited for housing our soon-to-be egg makers. Anyone know how sudden bursts of loud gunfire effect chickens? I assume it is not 'good', but will they be ok with that kind of noise randomly from time to time?
Thanks in advance for helping a simple cracker with his first experience raising chickens.
Captain Clucksalot
and Welcome To BYC! TwoCrows gave you a good link to check out. You might want to consider something like large dog crates or puppy pens (that would fit in the car also) for emergency shelter for the hens, with food and water bowls and a nest box the birds do OK if you watch them (you may need more than one depending on the size or if the birds don't get along.)
