Turner_Family_Flock
Chirping
- May 16, 2020
- 39
- 89
- 67
Oregon is currently *on fire*.
The nearest fire is less than 20 miles away, and we're watching evacuation warnings creep closer and closer to our city.
Since late last night, ash has been falling from the sky like snow.
The smoke blown into town is so thick you cant see down the road
Ash is piling up, and the humidity is 14%- basically nothing.
Everything is as dry as stone.
And one spark could set our yard aflame.
We've kept the chickens inside their coop today, and hung towels to catch the ash on the side the wind is blowing from. We moved their fresh water into the coop. We change the water hourly to prevent the chickens from drinking ash contaminated water.
However, we're steadily coming to the realization that by morning tomorrow, we may be forced to evacuate. If the nearest fire jumps the river, the air will be so thick with smoke that we cant see anything ahead of us- and regardless of our warning level, we may have to leave.
We've packed go-bags, our MREs, gallons of water, dog food and a dog go-bag that includes her food and water.
The sky is orange. And a thin coat of ash coats your hair whenever you step outside.
The unfortunate fact of the matter is this: if we get evacuated due to fires heading for our home, we have no way to take our birds with us.
We have 5 chickens. To take 5 birds, their feed, their grit, their medicine, and things to keep five birds comfortable and de-stressed would be impossible with 4 people and a pitbull in one family car.
We're facing the sad reality that if the fires hit our edge of town, our birds could end up being left behind. We don't have any place to take them that isnt in threat of fire. We're new to the area, so we have no friends to stay with- let alone friends to stay with that could support 4 people, 1 pitbull, and 5 hens on top of that.
The unfortunate fact is that we CANT bring our birds with us if we go.
Our birds are struggling as it is now- stuck outside because of the lack of room inside, inhaling smoke and walking on ashes. Their feathers are dusted with a fine ashy coating.
They're scared. They're stressed. And so are we.
What I'm really trying to ask here, is what would YOU do if you were in threat of losing your flock? If we DONT have to evacuate, how do we prevent our birds from getting sick from possibly ingesting ash and inhaling smoke? Is there ANYTHING more we can do if we have to evacuate?
I'd hate to have to say that we left our birds to die. If there's anything we can do to give them the best chance of making it through this, we'll do it. But unfortunately, things are looking quite grim.
Right now, we're about to go into a threat level 1.
Level 1 means 'start preparing for the worst'
Level 2 means 'you have a choice, but should evacuate'
Level 3 means 'Evacuate immediately. Do NOT attempt to pack up or defend your home. Serious risk."
To all those raising birds, pets, and families around the areas affected by natural disasters- especially in my state of Oregon, which is burning like Hell's come to earth- I give my condolences. I hope that our next message on this site is a positive, that we were able to stay, that our birds are safe, that the ash rain has stopped- but as I've written this, humidity dropped to 10%, and the sky is red with smoke and ash.
And if this IS my last message to the BackYard Chicken community with my current flock- Tiny, Unice, Cluck Noris, Valentina, and Chickety- I want to say THANK YOU to the dozens of people who've offered their compassion, experience, and support to us first-time farmers, and we'll be back if we're forced to move to a new place- to a new flock.
I hope to God it isn't our last message with our proud birds- who have only just started laying- but if it is, I thank each and every one of you for being here for the Turner Family Flock.
If there's anything you know of that we could do to protect our birds, please let us know.
The nearest fire is less than 20 miles away, and we're watching evacuation warnings creep closer and closer to our city.
Since late last night, ash has been falling from the sky like snow.
The smoke blown into town is so thick you cant see down the road
Ash is piling up, and the humidity is 14%- basically nothing.
Everything is as dry as stone.
And one spark could set our yard aflame.
We've kept the chickens inside their coop today, and hung towels to catch the ash on the side the wind is blowing from. We moved their fresh water into the coop. We change the water hourly to prevent the chickens from drinking ash contaminated water.
However, we're steadily coming to the realization that by morning tomorrow, we may be forced to evacuate. If the nearest fire jumps the river, the air will be so thick with smoke that we cant see anything ahead of us- and regardless of our warning level, we may have to leave.
We've packed go-bags, our MREs, gallons of water, dog food and a dog go-bag that includes her food and water.
The sky is orange. And a thin coat of ash coats your hair whenever you step outside.
The unfortunate fact of the matter is this: if we get evacuated due to fires heading for our home, we have no way to take our birds with us.
We have 5 chickens. To take 5 birds, their feed, their grit, their medicine, and things to keep five birds comfortable and de-stressed would be impossible with 4 people and a pitbull in one family car.
We're facing the sad reality that if the fires hit our edge of town, our birds could end up being left behind. We don't have any place to take them that isnt in threat of fire. We're new to the area, so we have no friends to stay with- let alone friends to stay with that could support 4 people, 1 pitbull, and 5 hens on top of that.
The unfortunate fact is that we CANT bring our birds with us if we go.
Our birds are struggling as it is now- stuck outside because of the lack of room inside, inhaling smoke and walking on ashes. Their feathers are dusted with a fine ashy coating.
They're scared. They're stressed. And so are we.
What I'm really trying to ask here, is what would YOU do if you were in threat of losing your flock? If we DONT have to evacuate, how do we prevent our birds from getting sick from possibly ingesting ash and inhaling smoke? Is there ANYTHING more we can do if we have to evacuate?
I'd hate to have to say that we left our birds to die. If there's anything we can do to give them the best chance of making it through this, we'll do it. But unfortunately, things are looking quite grim.
Right now, we're about to go into a threat level 1.
Level 1 means 'start preparing for the worst'
Level 2 means 'you have a choice, but should evacuate'
Level 3 means 'Evacuate immediately. Do NOT attempt to pack up or defend your home. Serious risk."
To all those raising birds, pets, and families around the areas affected by natural disasters- especially in my state of Oregon, which is burning like Hell's come to earth- I give my condolences. I hope that our next message on this site is a positive, that we were able to stay, that our birds are safe, that the ash rain has stopped- but as I've written this, humidity dropped to 10%, and the sky is red with smoke and ash.
And if this IS my last message to the BackYard Chicken community with my current flock- Tiny, Unice, Cluck Noris, Valentina, and Chickety- I want to say THANK YOU to the dozens of people who've offered their compassion, experience, and support to us first-time farmers, and we'll be back if we're forced to move to a new place- to a new flock.
I hope to God it isn't our last message with our proud birds- who have only just started laying- but if it is, I thank each and every one of you for being here for the Turner Family Flock.
If there's anything you know of that we could do to protect our birds, please let us know.
such a sad turn of events. I honestly hope everything turns out ok and everyone stays healthy. 
