I have seen lots of things happen in hurricanes ~ thank God I am landlocked in Tennessee for the time being. I personally am a worry-wort, and I would make provisions to move the critters inside with me during the storm. As you probably know, chickens cannot swim, and once the wind picks up you may not be able to move them inside.
Unfortunately, if the time comes to evacuate, we have to brutally prioritize, and quickly, too. If that time comes you will just have to do what you have to do. We will be sending prayers for your safety, and hope that you will never have to make those choices.
Allright, besides our supplies , lets remember plenty of feed for our animals , we have no idea what will happen to the stores. Feed , and some bags of shavings in case we need to clean out coops. Have first aid supplies just in case.
As I said before we had sand delivered today so we can build up the run and have it as needed. Have crates available if you can. I hate this, not knowing whats going to happen. Houston should be allright but who knows.
The only positive I can think of with a hurricane is that we know it's coming so people can try to prepare and/or evacuate.
I'll be praying for all of you (and everyone else) that is in the path of this terrible storm. I can't imagine having to protect my animals, especially when many people have no way to transport to a safe area.
I'm thinking the best you can do is to get them to the highest ground on your property and use a wood enclosure to help protect them from the fierce wind and rains.
Best wishes and prayers that you get through this in good shape.
Well, we've done it. We've locked them (15 hens and 3 roosters ) in the hen house with plenty of food, and a hose attached to a bucket, leaving the water trickling, and hit the road for evacuations. Their house/run is on a slant, so they have no standing water to deal with. Lots of perches, too. I hope the wind doesn't lift the whole thing off the ground! Now that we have had to clip their flight feathers, they really won't be able to defend themselves in the woods.
The dog is with us, the rabbit is in the shed, and the snakes are inside, well fed already. Its the chickens I worry about....we've had them since babies, and two of the roosters are golden laced windeatts that are so incredibly beautiful. I can't imagine coming home to dead birds to clean up.....and of course, I'd have to sheild the children. What would I do, I wonder. I guess one would have to burn the carcasses, if that happened...
Maybe someday we'll have a pick up. No more chickens in the minivan for me...last time, it stank for weeks!
Good luck to the rest of you!
-Jennifer in Beaumont, TX
The storm looks extremely intense. They're saying it's likely going to be worse than Katrina due to its size and wind speed. Please be careful, and don't try to be a hero and ride it out if you have a car and can get out of there before it comes your way.
I have a smallish chicken coop that I built for my original six hens. It's 4 feet tall, three feet wide and 4 feet long. It's got a wire bottom (to keep predators out) but sits on the ground. (It can be raised up with blocks or whatever, if necessary.)
Anyway, I am in southwest MS and don't expect to have to evacuate, but during Katrina, we did get hurricane winds that blew away everything that wasn't nailed down. So, if we decide we are going to have that again, I am going to put all my hens (now eleven) into this little coop and bring them onto the carport. I'll chain it to the side of the house with eye-hook. It will be cramped, but the wind only lasts for a day. So they won't have to be in there long.
It's also small enough to put in the back of the truck in the event we did have to leave. (Not that I have any idea what I would do with them once we got where we were going! I did buy an extra fifty pound bag of feed for them yesterday in case we are stranded for an extended time. It's still in the trunk of my car. LOL