Storm warning

[sunshynertc]

I am not sure where this question should go.
Firstly I am in California so when I say "a storm" it is not a snow storm, it is suppose to be 60 mile an hour winds and lost of rain. In the last storm we had (last week) I had to go and rescue 7 of my hens due to the structures getting destroyed by the winds. I had the mother hen and the 2 month old pullets in one enclosure that was destroyed by the storm. In the chicken tractor I had a hen that is new to the flock and two other hens that are not aggressive to her

The last storm we had destroyed the shelter for the pullets and the chicken tractor is not storm ready. If I put all the hens in the coop but separate in large cages for the storm -- the weather shows the winds are suppose to last most of Thursday. I am somewhat new to having chickens and I am not prepared for the storm. They free range so they have access to food outside the coop. I am not sure how to manage giving them food and water if I separate them. Can they last a few hours with some water and a little food? I don't have enough water sources for the hens if I separate them like this.

Suggestions would be good.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

You can use any clean container for water.
Chickens can live outside without any help from us but a water source is a must.
The problem without shelter is predators. If it weren't for predators they wouldn't really need coops.

 

[sunshynertc]

Don't they need shelter from the storm though?

 

[lazy gardener]

Yes, I would always provide them with shelter, whether it's storming or not.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Shelter would be nice but not essential. They've been surviving storms since the Eocene period. Our recent history of confining them to coops hasn't dramatically changed that ability.

 

[sunshynertc]

One of my neighbors, like me, had 10 hens before the last storm and like my structure got destroyed, his got destroyed as well and the hens got out. He only found 6 of his hens. Even if they are surviving somewhere, I would like to keep them safe and accounted for though. Thanks for the suggestion of the water.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I'm not saying I would keep them unsheltered all the time. It just sounded like a one off emergency situation.

 

[deacons]

Not sure if this would work for you, but could you give them temporary shelter in your garage or other type of shed? In extreme winter weather, I have a small pen built in about 1/4 of my garage. It's actually not built of fence or wire, but a set of boxes and bins lined up to keep them contained in one space when they need to ride out a day of heavy snow. If you put some wood shavings or a little straw down on the floor, it's not too much of a mess to clean up. A small litter box with a little straw in it can serve as a temporary nest and you can set up your food and water as normal. They adjust pretty quickly, in my experience. Hardest part for me is herding them all into the enclosure, but mine are pretty food motivated and shaking a cup of scratch usually gets them drawn in.