Storm preperations??

[pcosmom]

While I am not in the direct path of Sandy or on the coast..the part of Virginia I am in is in between Richmond, va and Raliegh, nc so we r expecting lots of hard rain, and wind.

Now my coupes r old buildings..1 is a cinderblock building and the other an old smoke house. Therefore I don't have to worry about them blowing over , but what about the wind and rain blowing in? Should I put plastic up over their chicken wire Windows?

What about people with smaller coupes what r ideas for how to secure them and keep our chickens safe?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I used to live on the Gulf Coast so I've seen a bunch of these. These things are unpredictable so you need to be ready, but the forecast calls for no more than level 1, plus you should be on the dry side of the storm. The northeast quadrant is the roughest place from tide, wind, and rainfall. With this one, the north quadrant could get a bad tide. That doesn't mean you won't get a lot of wind and rain, just you should not get the worst that Sandy has to offer. If it goes as forecast, you probably won't get anything worse than a long thunderstorm. Your biggest risk is power outaged due to trees being downed, plus maybe road blockage. Hopefully this thing stays a long way offshore and moves fast so it doesn't stay and pound.

Don't take me wrong. These things are dangerous and you need to watch your personal safety as well as watch out for for your animals.

I don't know what your coops and windows look like. With the predicted storm track, your winds should be coming from the north or northeast. Those are the windows and vents you might want to protect from blowing rain and flying objects. Any southern or western exposure should be OK.

I really wish you and millions of others good luck with this storm. I really hope it winds up a non-event for everybody but there will probably be some tragedy out of it. These things are dangerous.

 

[pcosmom]

I lived on the gulf coast and my husband grew up there. I've been through several storms but I wasn't sure about managing the chickens..

 

[Ridgerunner]

Then you know exactly what I'm talking about. I'd just think of it as a heavy thunderstorm for your chickens. The duration is what is going to be different. If your openings are on the north or east, maybe block them off. Other than that, I'd do nothing different than if a bad thunderstorm was predicted.

 

[pcosmom]

If I'm not all kinds of backwards one coupe has windows on the south and the other has them on the west..

 

[lizm1221]

I came here today looking for just this information. We are on Cape Cod, the storm seems to be tracking a bit more south today so hopefully we will not get the worst of it. But this is my first year with chickens so I'm not really sure what to do! Obviously, they won't be out to free range in the storm, but should I plan on locking them up in the coop for the duration? Their door faces north so I suppose I will have to... they are going to hate that, but I guess it's good practice with winter coming! I hope everyone stays safe!

 

[lmatvey]

So how did everyone fare?

 

[33yardbirds]

We're 20 miles inland from LBI and fared quite well. Some dead branches, very little rain. The chickens even strolled around the run. Very, very fortunate compared to The Jersey Shore. My Aunt has a place on the bay side of Cape May and rode it out and said no damage, just branches, and they have some huge Oaks around them.