Topic of the Week - Chicken Keeping in Weather Extremes

[Ursuline Chick]

Hi, y'all! we just weathered Ida here in New Orleans. My husband has put together a cage, using only 2X4s and chicken wire. It can be put together in minutes by one person, using screws and goes into our 2nd floor laundry room. I put heavy plastic on the floor to help with cleanup. It stores in the garage rafters. Very easy to use and keep chickens safe from wind and water.


Edited to add : it is made of flat panels of 2X4s and chicken wire. Very easy to put together and take apart, easy storage for next time.

 

[newchickfl]

Have you all seen this? Thought it was a great idea evacuating many chickens...

I thought it was a pretty good idea to help safely get them transported

 

[Katherine Robertson]

I am in pinellas county Fl where irma is crossing right over. I am bringing my girls in and they will ride out the storm in dog crates with hay. We are looking at winds up to 110 and I don't think they are safe in the coop during that. I have read it will be stressful on them not to be in their coop but it's better than being killed or hurt outside.

Amen, whenever you have any outdoor pet you gotta consider that no matter what you do, there's always a risk. We got bears in central VA and there is no stopping a bear save a shotgun blast to the chest. No amount of wire or wood can stop one from plowing through a coop for some VFC (rather than KFC lol).

 

[chicknmania]

Maybe hens wouldn't need to be wrapped, but I believed the person was transporting a number of roosters. Notice the birds are laid on the seat/floor head to tail. This person seems to have a feeling that the roosters will fight.
My guess is if you put 5 roosters in a dog crate for evacuation, then you would have a very bloody dog crate/backseat when you got where you were headed. And maybe no longer have 5 roosters.

I just picked up a bunch of chicks and drove them home, they peeped the entire way and never went "into a sort of comatose state in the moving car". Maybe if you were going more than 20 miles with them they would calm down, but I was going 70 - umm, 65 miles per hour on the drive home.

I don't have any severe weather advice. For cold, we have a heater for the water dish and a thick layer of wood chips on the floor. If we lost power, I would probably have to haul water to the birds. I do have minor ventilation issues in my coop, not severe but my first year the roosters did get a bit of frostbite on their combs. I also keep enough wood flake on hand to completely change out the coop, incase what is in there gets too wet from blowing/meltung snow. We cover the window in winter to keep out the worst of the snow. The window is mash for the summer for ventilation.

Well, in the first place, roosters would most likely NOT fight in close quarters like that. At least, ours would not. They have a pecking order and they honor it, they are not constantly fighting. And we've never had roosters "fight to the death". And we've had LOTS of roosters over the years. I've also transported lots of chicks and older chickens in vehicles and always thought it was weird that they were so quiet...but they always are. Maybe they feel safe in our vehicles, I don't know.

I still think it is unsafe, and pretty much not very humane, the way the roosters were packed. Yeah, I saw they were roosters. If I had to guess, I'd say they weren't necessarily being transported to keep them safe from a storm......

 

[centrarchid]

View attachment 1132725
Pic by @chickenmomma16
​

With some US states being hit by hurricanes at the moment, chicken keeping and protecting the flock from weather extremes is much on many of our members' minds right now.

Therefor, this week I would like to hear you all's thoughts and advice on getting your birds safe through weather extremes. How can you prepare for and protect your flock against storms, high winds, torrential rain and more?

ETA: To clarify, this is not just for hurricane and other severe storms, but in general

I would specify the type of weather event. it makes a huge difference such that weather protection approaches cannot be generalized. Wind, temperature, precipitation and standing water interact causing a lot more problems than any one alone.

 

[ChickNanny13]

http://www.chron.com/national/article/Key-West-chickens-Hurricane-Irma-12180831.php

http://www.floridarambler.com/funky-florida/key-west-chickens-key-west-roosters/

They are the Key West gypsy chickens. They're wild, mostly from chickens that have been turned loose and bred. Yes, some are fighting stock, but the person in that photo was not transporting fighting chickens. They rounded up wild Key West gypsy chickens and were trying to get some to safety before the hurricane(s) hit, as the chickens really have no safe place to go.

I stand corrected, thank you

 

[Bridget B]

Have you all seen this? Thought it was a great idea evacuating many chickens...

Brilliant! Now there is a chicken lover that will go to whatever it takes to ensure that the birds will be saved! I applaud the effort!

 

[Scruffy2k23]

Have you all seen this? Thought it was a great idea evacuating many chickens...

New version of the chicken burrito

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

Hi, y'all! we just weathered Ida here in New Orleans. My husband has put together a cage, using only 2X4s and chicken wire. It can be put together in minutes by one person, using screws and goes into our 2nd floor laundry room. I put heavy plastic on the floor to help with cleanup. It stores in the garage rafters. Very easy to use and keep chickens safe from wind and water.


Edited to add : it is made of flat panels of 2X4s and chicken wire. Very easy to put together and take apart, easy storage for next time.

thanks for sharing. how many hens did you have to put in the crate and did it all work out? did they stay in the crate in your house? thanks

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

It all worked out fine, including a feral hen and her chick that we kept in a cat carrier. There were about 12 chickens (all hens at the time) and we let them out as soon as possible. That was funny, DH opened the inside pen and I led them down the stairs through the dinning room, kitchen, and den, and out to the backyard. They were very happy to be outside again. The crate is designed to fit in the laundry room. (It leaves no space for you to do laundry however).

Picturing the hens following you single file through the house, lol