Preparing Chickens for Earl

[kickinchicken]

Ok, I know I am jumping the gun here, but I have only been chickening since April and Rhode Island hasn't seen a REAL hurricane since the 1980s. I'm just worried about wind damage to the hens.

I don't think they'd fare too well with 90 mph winds.
I am just thinking about bringing them inside

(I only have 5 bantams) and putting them inside our 2 Akita-size dog crates and facing them into each other. This way they're inside with us and I won't have to go outside every 2 minutes worrying.

Is anyone else thinking ahead? If Earl starts moving west, we are in for a tough ride along the east coast.

 

[chics in the sun]

I've thought about this from time to time, seeing as how I live in Florida. I don't think I have enough cage room for six LF girls, so putting them in the bathroom with newspaper down might be an option. The garage just doesn't seem like a good idea - hot, not that secure, and not safe with all the tools and junk in there.

 

[ninjascrub69]

absolutly bring them inside, ive never had to deal with a hurricane but we do get some nasty tornadoes here. i never really have to worry to much though, the coops stronger than the house lol (its an old barn thats low to the ground)

 

[redvalor]

I've been thinking the same thing. We are in Rhode Island, too. We have a 4'X8' coop that we move around the yard but it is heavy enough that it takes three of us to scoot it around 8 feet at a time. We have only had our chickens since April and I can't imagine cramming them all into the one bathroom in our house. I'm apt to think that we have nothing to really worry about because, as already mentioned, we rarely get hit by hurricanes. But I know that it is just that type of thinking that leads to unpreparedness and problems. Maybe the chickens could weather the storm (if it does come) in the cellar. There are quite a few spiders down there for snacks.
Erin

 

[kindir]

I'm in connecticut and with over 40 chickens at this point, there isn't room in the house!!! I'm very lucky, however, that I have a pretty secure garage that I turned into a barn. They all have an indoor/outdoor pen so I'm just going to make sure they are all in the indoor area and close off the door to the outside area with a piece of plywood.

The only ones I'm concerned about are my 2 free-rangers that sleep in a very small, light coop that is unattached to the garage. I think I'll put them in a dog crate for the evening inside the barn.

 

[dawg53]

If Earl is a DIRECT HIT where you live as a strong cat 2 hurricane or greater, I recommend you load up and evacuate. I was in Charleston SC in 1988 when Hugo hit...never again.