Weatherman predicting 50+ mph winds - is it dangerous for chickens?

[ace6175]

They are predicting high winds for the next 2 days. Should I keep the chickens cooped up? We have a very large (50 x 100 ft) fenced area. Will they be safe? Are they smart enough to go in the coop or hide in the brush? We don't usually get wind like that for any length of time here.

 

[Imp]

High winds are the only reason I keep the chickens in the run. I worry that they'll either get hit by debris or turned into debris.

Imp

 

[Jenski]

We've got winds coming here too - - over the weekend we put up some windbreaks on the windward side of the pens. We use rolls of plastic sheeting from Lowe's, cut to size and use a construction staple gun to put the sheets up. We are sure to leave a bit of space along the roof line for ventilation. Works great! You can also do this when it gets really, really cold in the winter, but if you do all sides you want to be very careful to have enough good ventilation.

For very large spaces you could also stack hay bales.

Hope that helps! Good luck.

 

[Ema]

I am in ontario canada and they are calling for strong winds too. I am sure my hens will be fine in the run but I noticed today if they do not like the weather much they are happy just going inside the barn. It was a cold wet day here, and the hens stayed in most of the day...lol...

 

[gritsar]

We've been experiencing periods of very high winds for the last few days, not to mention a couple of tornados.

This afternoon I went out to check on my two flocks and they were all huddled down in their favorite spots; the adult birds under a small tree in their yard and the babies under the hibiscus bush in our yard. Couldn't find my blue silkie baby Jethro for the longest time; searched everywhere. Then I lifted up one of my cornish X pullets and found Jethro under her wing. And they say silkies are dumb.

 

[swimmer]

We had a strong storm pass through last night. 4 inches of snow over night. Two days before the storm we had 50+ mph winds. The girls either went back to the coop or hid out under some shrubs. They were fine.

 

[TK Poultry]

If they don't like the weather they will mostly likely get out of it. We've had some high winds as well and the birds don't seem to mind. I've noticed they like to just sit in the door way of their house....