Wildfire Smoke and Chicken Health

[DorothyBlancheandRose]

Hello Chicken Friends! I live in Oregon and right now half of our beautiful state is on fire. I live about 8 miles from a huge wildfire and the smoke is overwhelming. It is so thick I can only see a couple blocks. My chickens are (obviously) outside. Should I be concerned???? Should I figure out a way to keep them inside? I am not sure if anyone has experience with chickens getting sick or dying due to wildfire smoke in the air, but I am just concerned for their health. They are so far eating, drinking, and behaving normally. I know many more animals are outside in the smoke (livestock, horses, pigs, wild birds, etc) but just wondering if anyone has concrete info on if this could cause their death or severe illness? We are hoping for a change in the wind tomorrow, which may help the air, but for now it is really bad out there.

Side Note: Thank you to the firefighters up and down the west coast for putting their lives on the line to save ours.

 

[orloffer]

If your coop/run situation allows for it, you could hang some damp sheets over the windows/hardware cloth to keep out the ash/smoke particles.
I hope you and your chickens stay safe! It's smoky here in the Bay Area, CA, but not as bad as many other areas.

 

[DorothyBlancheandRose]

Our evacuation level just rose to level 2, so we may not be staying here much longer. I will try the sheets if we are able to stay

 

[orloffer]

Our evacuation level just rose to level 2, so we may not be staying here much longer. I will try the sheets if we are able to stay

 

[Xouie]

If you have one, maybe it’s time to get a dog crate or box ready to pack up birdies. It sounds like it’s time to get your family to safety.

 

[Sarapher80]

I live in Oregon too, smoke is horrible here. We moved them into the laundry room in a makeshift area. Not ideal, but they are handling it in strides. One of my older ones 23 weeks is starting to look depressed. Is that a thing? Good luck to you! We're in Salem so we're a little farther away from the fires.

 

[Chicalina]

There are a few threads like this today. My heart goes out to all you folks facing this awful situation. Hope all is well.

 

[DorothyBlancheandRose]

We have evacuated to my brother's house in Portland. The smoke is still bad here, but not nearly as awful as it was in the Clackamas area. They are in a tent in my brother's garage. But safe and sound. I would have brought them in tonight if I had not been evacuated. It was too too much smoke. They are all eating and drinking and actually somewhat calm. I think they are thankful they are able to breathe!

 

[Chickenclogs]

Thanks for posting this question and all the great ideas! I also live in southeast Portland and am worried about my chickens being outside. It’s really smoky. I don’t know if I should try to bring them inside my house. They seemed ok when they went to bed last night. Are there signs of trouble I should look for to help me decide?

 

[charlotte-and-the-bees]

Thanks for posting this question and all the great ideas! I also live in southeast Portland and am worried about my chickens being outside. It’s really smoky. I don’t know if I should try to bring them inside my house. They seemed ok when they went to bed last night. Are there signs of trouble I should look for to help me decide?

I think we're bringing our chickens in now (in Washington) just to be safe. I'm sure they'd be fine outside but honestly just don't want to worry about it.