Tropical Storm Ian is coming to visit us tonight with loads and loads of rain and predicted sustained winds of about 35mph with gusts to 50mph or above. Therefore I've been prepping my Open Air coop for it.
I am making no provisions to keep rain out. It mostly stays out due to the design, the chickens perching area is perfectly dry under all conditions, and if some areas get wet they'll dry out quickly once the storm is over. This is one of the advantages of the Open Air type setup. The only thing I wish I could have done is that if I'd had yesterday off instead of having to work, I'd have put in a few more gorilla carts' worth of dry woodchips from the pile.
I am, however, making provisions to shelter the birds from the wind and to protect things from being damaged. I *could* have let the birds out into the run as normal, but I'm keeping them in for my own convenience so I don't have to go in and out in the downpour to open and close the coop. And since I wasn't going to let them out, I took up the fence so it wouldn't act as a net to catch blown debris and possibly be damaged.
First, the run as usual with assorted clutter:
I picked up all the loose stuff except the pallet and the feeder/waterer shelter (the feeder and waterer are already inside).
The lawn chairs are stacked at the bottom of the hill behind the coop where it should be sheltered from the wind.
The windblock tarp is up on the south wall. Which would have been wanted in December or so in case of swirling winter storm winds.
The fence is down and protected under one of the wire panels. This is not the optimumal way to store electric net, but it should be safe for a couple days this way.
I brought many of the metal roofing sheets into the coop to use them as windbreaks. One in particular is sheltering the feed.
Others are providing assorted shelters in different parts of the coop -- all braced with concrete blocks.
But a couple on are the outside of the east side, double-braced with the concrete blocks and the currently unused integration pen.
I cleared out some random debris, put the carriers into a sheltered space, and left several buckets in various places where they could collect rain off the roofs in case we lose power and I need to water the birds.
Finally, I put the door onto the maternity ward but left the lid off so it would provide another wind-free zone if the birds want it.
I am making no provisions to keep rain out. It mostly stays out due to the design, the chickens perching area is perfectly dry under all conditions, and if some areas get wet they'll dry out quickly once the storm is over. This is one of the advantages of the Open Air type setup. The only thing I wish I could have done is that if I'd had yesterday off instead of having to work, I'd have put in a few more gorilla carts' worth of dry woodchips from the pile.
I am, however, making provisions to shelter the birds from the wind and to protect things from being damaged. I *could* have let the birds out into the run as normal, but I'm keeping them in for my own convenience so I don't have to go in and out in the downpour to open and close the coop. And since I wasn't going to let them out, I took up the fence so it wouldn't act as a net to catch blown debris and possibly be damaged.
First, the run as usual with assorted clutter:
I picked up all the loose stuff except the pallet and the feeder/waterer shelter (the feeder and waterer are already inside).
The lawn chairs are stacked at the bottom of the hill behind the coop where it should be sheltered from the wind.
The windblock tarp is up on the south wall. Which would have been wanted in December or so in case of swirling winter storm winds.
The fence is down and protected under one of the wire panels. This is not the optimumal way to store electric net, but it should be safe for a couple days this way.
I brought many of the metal roofing sheets into the coop to use them as windbreaks. One in particular is sheltering the feed.
Others are providing assorted shelters in different parts of the coop -- all braced with concrete blocks.
But a couple on are the outside of the east side, double-braced with the concrete blocks and the currently unused integration pen.
I cleared out some random debris, put the carriers into a sheltered space, and left several buckets in various places where they could collect rain off the roofs in case we lose power and I need to water the birds.
Finally, I put the door onto the maternity ward but left the lid off so it would provide another wind-free zone if the birds want it.
