Question Regarding Severe Weather and Chickens

[FMAFarms]

As some of you may know, parts of the US are being walloped by tornadoes and high winds right now. My chicks re going crazy in their brooders... I'm assuming that they feel the difference in pressure. My question, however, is this: what do you do when you're under tornado warning? Or if tornadoes have been sighted in your area? As humans, we head for our safe place in the basement, but what happens to our poor girls? We didn't have tornado weather last summer so this never came up, but we're being blown around now, and my kids are horrified at the idea of the poor chickens in their coops with winds battering them...

 

[mulewagon]

Oh dear! I don't have an answer for that - even if I had a shelter, how would I carry 15 terrified chickens to it during a storm? I can only hope the trees don't fall on them, which come to think of it is my protection, too...

 

[dawg53]

Tough question to answer... but I would expect losses if a tornado were to strike. We rarely get tornados here. We've had a few tropical storms hit us and my only fear is a tree falling on the coop while the chickens are inside it. As far as winds are concerned, I've built my coop strong enough to withstand a category 1 hurricane, maybe a small cat 2 hurricane. I figure anything greater than that...me and the chickens are evacuating outta here. I wish you the best.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

If it were me, I would choose to leave them in the coop rather than let them loose, if that's what you were driving at.

I would hope that they would be protected from flying debris more in the coop. But if the tornado struck the coop, then it's over.

 

[FMAFarms]

Oh, no, it wasn't to let them loose. My 14 year old wanted to know if we'd grab the chickens and bring them into the basement with us. I really didn't know what to say. Easy to bring two of our brooders down, but the coop hens??? Ugh. There aren't any trees around the coop, but flying debris is always possible.

The things one must take into account for the sake of our little ladies!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:
I vote for no chickens in the basement! I love my chickens, but there are limits.

I am sure there will be some who vote for chickens in the basement.

 

[schellie69]

I thought about this yesterday when we had a tornado warning. I have decided DH is going to build a storm shelter for the chickens under the coop.

I am hoping to never find this out but living tornado alley it is something to think about. I am not sure I don't think I could get all my chickens in the house before the storm hit. I can only hope that they do okay in their coop.

 

[hickchick55]

I have 9 chickens in my basement right now. They are in the brooder and I am ready to get them out of here. The way my husband is building the coop (like a brick s***house), I think they will be as safe as us.

 

[centrarchid]

For my purposes, birds are marked with leg or wing bands. If a storm strikes, then birds are vulnerable to deathloss but their simply being liberated more likely. Marks, after birds captured at least enable keeping track of who is who.

 

[mamawolf544]

I have lived on my property for 12 years. We have had several tornadoes. We had 2 the other night and 80 mph wind, chicken coops and chicken roofs were everywhere.
We had 60 mph wind last night and thunderstorms and it has been a steady 51 mph today.
I have 200+ chickens, geese, guineas, ducks, turkeys, peacocks and almost all free range. And I have Boer goats and have had cattle in the past. I have never lost an animal to the weather. (knock on wood) They have been all over the yard where we are running around like idiots after the storm, but they have always been OK.
We had the worst hail storm I have seen several years ago, I had a huge garden just about ready to pick, and a duck sitting on eggs out in the open. When the storm was over the garden was destroyed and she was still sitting there, not one egg broken.

I can only get my kids and my furbabies in the shelter, and I just pray for GOD to take care of the rest. But it is so scary.