Bad house sitter

[Aj552000]

I got my cousin to house sit for thist 5 days. She had to work but she was to stay at my house and take care of my dogs and the chickens. She was working when i got home and when i went to bed. But my chickens were still in the coop when i got home and i had 2 eaten dead chickens. The chicken didnt have any food and little water. I dont know how long they been dead for. I
know the chickens eat them. I'm scared the are going get a disease or start killing each other.
I don't know what to do.

 

[DawnCols]

That's awful. It must have been a shock.

It sounds like you suspect they weren't fed while you were gone. The fact that there was some water indicates that they probably didn't go without water for 5 days (that and the fact that some of them are alive.) Obviously something happened that killed two of them, and so I think you're right to be concerned that the survivors may have compromised health. With some luck and care, they may bounce back.

Here is my advice:
If you haven't already, remove the dead chickens.
Give the survivors food and fresh water in a new clean container.

Clean the area where the dead chickens were--if it were me I'd probably do a complete sanitizing cleanup of the whole living area.

Watch the surviving chickens for signs of illness, like not eating, acting tired/slow, sores or drainage from the eyes or noses and treat right away if they get ill.

And find a new sitter.

Good luck.

 

[ChickensRDinos]

I'm so sorry. This makes me really sad. I think it is important to make it clear to your sitter what happened and to ask her to replace the birds. She is family so there is no need to yell or be mean, but I think she should understand that her actions had consequences to living things.

I agree with Dawn, keep an eye on them and see what happens. Make sure they have lots of water and food and plenty of space in their coop on the their roosts.

I'm really sorry.