Flooded runs

Marigold

Marigold

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I've been watching the dreadful pictures on the news of flooded houses and gardens, and wondered if any of you have actually had your run under water and your coop floating away, and if so, how on earth you and your chickens coped - especially if your house was also flooded?
With so many people, like me, keeping just a few hens in the back garden, it must happen to quite a lot of them. How would you prepare for something like that - and could you save your birds?
 
Here in New England, in the spring of 2010 we had a "100 year flood". 16 inches of rain in about 24 hours, it was a MESS!! Bridges and roads caved in all around us. Fortunately we live on high ground and I didn't have any chickens at the time. I think if we had lived somewhere lower I probably would have crated up my girls and tried to call one of my friends that lived on drier ground. I really don't know, i've haven't thought about it....till NOW :? .
My girls mean alot to me and I'd try and do what ever I could. I just pray that I don't have to go through anything like that.
 
Some of our runs are a bit boggy. The water has gone to the lowest points which is their soil baths. A lot of them use the shelters but perch on the wrong bit so their heads are dry and their bottoms saturated -bad design on my part. So all the coop vents fully open as there are some wet chickens to dry out.

One thing I will be looking out for is any evidence of flash flooding anywhere we buy in France. Saw a house rennovation programme a while back and an English couple had bought a lovely old French house on the side of a hill. To the side of the house was what looked like a dry stream bed. So they repaired their driveway to get the material supply lorries up to the house and started work. The frequent heavy rain there is why they have deep metal house guttering- plastic would collapse. The water emptied off the hillside behind the house, down the no longer dry stream bed as a torrent and washed the driveway away completely. Not a good position for a chicken coop then!

If we had flooding they would be in the house with us -no doubt about it.
 
The weather is not good, we are struggling here, frustrating really our growers should be on lovely sweet grass and enjoying the sunshine! One large run is too flooded to use, and the young birds just look miserable all huddled together in shelters from the rain. :( Not good for them at all.
 
Whoops we live in a Bungalow but on the side of a very big hill.Only problem being when we go out and down the hill we are greeted with the flood water.Our poor girls all sat on their perches in the run with water pouring under them off down the hill.
 
Am currently experiencing this is Leics. The brook in my garden has never flooded , but has just burst its bank. Luckily my garden is sloping, so we had enough time to disconnect the pod from tne walk in run, and carry it up the garden to the patio. Then had fun trying to herd the hens away into the pod. :grin:
 
And it was only a few weeks ago when we were all discussing ways of saving water, like only half- filling drinkers! A case of 'be careful what you wish for' ?
 
I would save the chooks, I live on a old pig farm and all the buildings are still up, and on a slop so I'd use them x.

You could all bring your chooks lol
Keep dry x
 
Surely a reason to invest in a chicken ARK :lol: . I'll get me coat
 
Well, what a night it's been in devon! I have a flooded garden even though I'm at the top of the hill and my poor chooks are soaked!
Got a 2 year old Forsham ark & have to say - not impressed with the amount of water that has worked its way into the interior (yes I know it was torrential, but shouldn't have this many leaks). Luckily, because the house is upstairs, they're saved from wet feet too.
Spent the day cleaning out the soggy nestboxes and sawdust, with the chooks in the kitchen, but still raining so not easy - hairdryer came in handy for the ark....
I would REALLY appreciate any tips on how to keep them healthy in these conditions. They are both in full moult (not sure why) and neither are laying. Both are sneezing today, but seem happy and active in the mud. They're on layers pellets, sunflower hearts & dried mealworms (to help protein levels for feathers, & cause they're spoilt).
Pekins, why are they soo much more difficult than those indestructable mud monster exbatts next door (sigh)
 
I think the key thing is to try to keep them dry, not easy I know. Is there somewhere dry that you could house them temporarily, if not could you perhaps cover the house with some kind of tarp or waterproof sheeting. ACV and poultry spice are also meant to help when they are under the weather.
 
Plenty of ventillation in the coop which needs to be absolutely dry as you know BB. They will lose heat when wet because they have no insulation. When ours get wet we often blow dry them, which I think they enjoy because they go out and get wet again! Diet you have them on is good BB.

Trouble is coops are built generally for vertical rain in moderate quantities. Usual places are around the door, through the pop-hole and the nest box lid where it joins the coop. You can't tackle any of these until we have dry weather so as Dinosaw suggests a tarpaulin, perhaps just tied in place with a rope round the coop?
 
I'll add ACV tomorrow - thanks.
I can keep them indoors, but they are not happy when I do. As much as they trust the dog, his territory and they know he's there. Hubby also not keen on them in his territory and all the 4ft cardboard boxes I usually house them in are gone from work.... I've also tried tarps before, but the way the ventilation works on the ark, will stop the air moving, so don't think it's a good idea.
I've added clear plastic to the sides on the run to keep the rain out, so that should help. The rain has also eased to a drizzle, so should help with the leaks. Maybe a cheap gazeebo might be the best alternative to the tarp. Hmm, trip to B&Q coming on :)
 
If the ark is not to heavy get few wooden pallets and try to raise up so it would not stand in the water.You can also uze pallets on the runs so they not drown in the mud.If my run have any water going in(and is fully covered)I will sprinkle aubiose so it prevent go very muddy everywere and most of the time this usually works.
 
The area where I will be putting the hen house and electric netting enclosure is waterlogged at the moment ie when you walk across it the ground squelches. We haven't had as much rain in Shropshire in the last few days as other areas but we are on solid clay with only 2 inches of topsoil (the clay goes down at least 88 feet according to the borehole drilling company).

We're going to extend a land drain to try and divert water away from the area - it drains across our land down to the brook. The hens will normally be able to free range outside the electric enclosure - that's for night time and the occasions when we're out all day, but when the weather is like this all 36 acres is very soggy.

Will hens walk across pea shingle? I'd thought to lay an area approaching the pophole to try and stop too much mud being carried in, or I could put some slabs there. Which would be best? Or does anyone have another solution?
 
Hens will happily walk across 'pea' gravel Margaid, as two of our runs have an area of it at the entrance. But they also like digging in it and soon spread it all over the run.
 
Thanks for that Chris - maybe I'll sink some vertical boards around it to try and keep it where I want it.
 
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