How do you vacation when you have chickens?

[Wifezilla]

You ask a fellow BYC member in your town to chicken sit

I watched a fellow member's little flock for over a week. I stopped by every other day. Refilled waterers, let them out for some grazing time, spoiled them by bringing them dandelions...Since I have ducks and quail, but not chickens, it was kind of fun for me to watch chickens.

I got some pay to cover gas and got to keep any eggs laid while they were gone. I also watered outdoor plants.

 

[Hottchick]

I haven't gone anywhere since I got my chickens. I have other pets, though and I trade duties with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. They have 2 dogs, 1 cat and 2 cockatiels. When they go away, I take care of theirs. On the rare times we go away, they take care of ours for us. We have more pets (8 chickens, 3 dogs, 1 cat and 3 guinea pigs) but their dogs are crate trained inside so I have to go 4 or 5 times a day to let them out so I figure it's about even.

 

[Mattemma]

I don't take vacations. Dh and the kids have. I have considered having a friend come and house sit,but in the end I choose to stay home. I will vacation when we no longer have any pets.

 

[woodmort]

First of all I'd be darn if I was going to let my chickens or pets prohibit my going away when I wanted to. We now have cats and chickens and don't have a problem whether it be for a couple of days or weeks. For a day or two we just leave enough food and water for both sets of animals and go. Longer periods we hire a pet sitter to come in once a day, feed and water everyone and gather the eggs. During all trips the animals are confined to quarters--cats to the house; chickens to the coop. Back in the day we had a dogs we either took them with us or kenneled them. That's one reason why we don't have dogs anymore--they're too restrictive when we want to up and go for a few days.

 

[HeritageHens]

Quote:
Ditto here (well, as soon as I get home from work) because of the ferrets and the chickens but I'm just fine with that.

Having said that, IMHO, everyone should have a list posted (refrigerator?) in case of emergency. What would happen if you can't get home for a couple days due to a car accident or getting stranded someplace? I would suggest providing a key to someone physically close to you and post a list of critters, their locations/descriptions, food requirements, medical requirements, special needs, etc. I keep this on an Excel spreadsheet and keep it updated as needed. Your vacation list is a good start!

 

[ParadiseFoundFarm]

Problematic Dog goes to a kennel, Geritatric 12-17 yr old (?) Cat goes to the home of a friend, Chickens are sequestered in their mobil coop and inside the garage. We put the coop in the garage so it doesn't have to be moved and no pred's can dig under. First the coop is PERFECTLY cleaned inside & out. We put a tarp under the "yard area" of the coop and fill it 5" high with newspaper put through a paper shredder. Put and extra feeder in there. Fill both feeders and waterer (5 gallon which they can't go through in 3 days). Dust the whole thing with DE. Put the chickens in and have a neighbor come by once every TWO days to feed and water. TADA! 5 vacations/unavoidable-trips-away-from-home and never a problem.
Good Luck
Let go a little bit and have a good time!

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

We haven't been on a vacation in a looooooooong time. But last time we took a couple days for ourselves, we hired a pet sitter. i found her on the Pet Sitters International site. http://www.petsit.com/ There is an icon on the top right to click and look for a pet sitter in your area. You can designate what types of animals you have. She has been really great, reliable, seems to enjoy her job and loves animals.

What i do is create a diagram of the backyard and number the pens, we had a total of 10 for the chickens, ducks, turkeys, and goats. i list how many animals are in each pen so she can do a head count when she puts them to bed at night. i provide detailed instructions regarding food, water, and whatnot. i even portion out the scratch for each pen and put it in separate plastic bags.

We also have four indoor cats, and things have become a bit more complicated as our oldest cat has developed diabetes. i've talked to our pet sitter and she says she does do insulin shots, so that won't be a problem when we go away next time. Still trying to get my cat set on the proper dosage, so won't be taking a vacation until that is done.

i also leave her multi-page instructions which include all of our contact information of where we are going (cell phones, hotel phones, etc), numbers of nearby relatives and friends, and our vet's contact information with signed documents stating she is authorized to seek medical treatment for any of our animals if needed.

It is a big freaking deal going anywhere, and cost of the pet sitter has to be taken into consideration with any vacation plans, which is why we haven't gone anywhere in a long time. But at least i know that if we do plan something, or even if we won't be able to get home before dark, we have someone reliable we can count on.

 

[Yay Chicks!]

I have two old dogs as well, so if I go somewhere for a few days I hire a young woman we know to house/pet sit. I hard to shell out the extra money sometimes, but the peace of mind is worth it.
My neighbor up the street who has chickens went out of town recently. She had me just go up in the morning and open the pop door to the run and then had a friend drop by in the evening to close them up and refresh their food and water for the next day. So, splitting the chores amongst friends can be efficient.

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

I have neighbors that all have more pets than we do. We plan our trips by first checking with the neighbors to make sure they're available and the do the same with us.

I know when I have a request that seems....well, a little like a crazy animal fanatic request, they do it without batting an eye. I do the same for them.

 

[Uzuri]

Most of the time my family chicken sits for me. If we ever ALL go away, I'll be SOL in a big way. Guess I'll have to put 'em in the freezer and start over when I get back*

The big thing is to find someone you TRUST. And if that person's a bird person, that's a bonus. Most folks don't get birds--they'll notice if a cat or dog is ailing far sooner than if a bird is. Schedule your planned vacations for times that will have the least complications (aka. Don't vacation when it's likely to be -2 or 95 -- both bring with the special problems that a sitter may not be equipped to handle).

I actually watch a friend's chickens (and cats, and the outside dog, and the plants, and the house, and the other house... it's a tricky sitting job) from time to time. It helps that we both have the same critters and that I wield a mean cat-piller. She's always sure to leave contact information and what to do for each type of critter (just in case) and to tell me if any last minute things came up (eg. one of the cats has discovered a way out of the house that no one can seem to find and block up or the rooster's on the warpath). She even called me once while she was away to warn me that her neighbor had called warning her of something nasty in the woods that had torn the stuffing out of his dog. Thankfully nothing came of it, but I made sure I had backup when I went the rest of that time.





*Just kidding. Seriously -- you didn't believe THAT did you?