Care commitment involved for layers

[kcfuerst]

I can leave my girls for close to two weeks and not have to worry about a thing except gathering eggs. All of my neighbors are willing to do that. I have a 22 lb handing feeder inside the coop, two 11 gallon gravity water tanks hooked up to small waters (one indoors and one outdoors), the pop door opens at sunrise and closes at sunset, and the coop and run are predator proof. Now I said that I could do this, but I haven't......yet.

 

[Pet Duck Boy]

I left my chickens for 2 weeks, of course I hired a pet sitter that came 2 times a day. When I came home, my chickens were just fine. Other than the fact that they looked about ready to murder me for leaving them for so long without letting them out. Just build a secure coop and run, and get a neighbor or pet sitter to check on your chickens 1-2 times a day. It's not as hard as other people seem to make it.

 

[pascopol]

Quote:
Here we have a responsible chicken owner, hi neighboor!
Yes, it is not hard, but somebody has to take care of them.

Let's not cloud the picture O.K.?

There is a big difference between having somebody attend the chicks twice a day, another word providing daily care for them, OR leaving them for 10 days, cause "they are safe in chicken tractor".

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Some folks have effective set-ups where they're comfortable leaving their birds alone for a few days or more. Me, I don't trust much so I'm more comfortable arranging to have someone come over at least once a day to check that my birds are all right, that they haven't tipped over any food or water dishes, that nothing has penetrated my fences, that no one has gotten sick or injured.

The ideal arrangement is to have a neighbor check on them once in the morning & once in the evening, and let them collect & keep all the eggs they find. Otherwise, have someone drive over at least once a day. I try to have as much done already, and don't ask for extra attention or cleaning to be done. It's really great if you can find another chicken keeper in your area, then you can trade chicken-sitting chores with them.

 

[WhetzelMomma]

I created a predator proof chicken tractor by covering the bottom of the tractor with chicken wire. My chickens were completely covered, and had I wanted to take a vacation, I could have done so easily. They did not need to be shut in for the night, because they were completely enclosed, and their hen house was connected to their run, so they could go in at night. I didn't have to worry about predators getting in. They were completely locked in. Here's what I would have done if I needed a vacation. The time wouldn't have mattered. I would have simply adjusted accordingly.

(this is where the "common sense" part comes in)

I had three hens at the time.

I would have loaded their feeder and water.
I would have asked a neighbor to check for eggs AT LEAST every other day.
I would have asked that same neighbor to check food and water, and fill as needed.
I would have asked that neighbor to move the tractor every 2-3 days.

When I got home, I would have done a thorough cleaning of the hen house and anywhere else that needed cleaned from the tractor not moving daily. It's possible, and no more work than asking a neighbor to take care of a cat while you're gone. (coming over to check on and feed)

 

[AnnainMD]

ella&clara :

Hi, I am new here. I stay at home with my 2 daughters, 4 yo and 18 months, and I am considering getting layers. My main hesitation is the care involved. I have two dogs, which I take to my parents' house when we go out of town. But what about chickens? What if I want to be gone for 10 days or something?

I have 11 chickens in a fixed run and coop, not a tractor. The run and coop are enclosed to allow free access to the run without someone having to open the pop door, there is an apron as well, you can see the details on my page.

I have a large feeder and waterer, both of which get filled approximately once a week. My total "hands-on" chicken care time is about 40-60 minutes a week: daily I do treats and egg collecting, 2x week I scoop the poop tray and once a week I fill the feeder and waterer. It has worked very well since I'm out of the house 5 days a week. During the weekend I let them out to range my backyard usually for the entire time that we're out there, which is a lot.

If you do a tractor, it needs to be a manageable size to move and as a result the available space for them would be fairly small (I'm assuming you would be moving this by hand). Your pet sitter would also need to move it if you will be gone for some time, consider whether one or 2 people would be needed to accomplish this.
I wonder if you won't INCREASE your duties by having a tractor simply because it may need to be moved pretty frequently, especially if you're "forage" is poor quality. Watching my girls free-range they always go for the overgrown areas and dig around the layers of debris.

I have left for several days (having filled the feeder and waterer before I left) and had my neighbor check the eggs for me--it worked out great since she's a stay at home mom and has 2 little ones, there was no other chicken care involved (they did feed them treats of course

). I would never leave them for 10 days on their own--someone needs to at least CHECK on them to make sure they're okay and collect the eggs.

You posed a good question before actually going through with it. Many people seem to get animals without any preparation and then say "What do I do now?" Good luck!​

 

[ella&clara]

Thanks everyone for your advice. I would not want to leave them completely unattended for 10 days, never thought that was really a good idea. But I might like to leave them alone for a night or two sometimes. I have a chicken-keeping neighbor, and I'm going to ask to visit his flock. Dogs are a big enough responsibility, and I want any animal under my care to have a good life. I am afraid I could not let them range freely even if I was around because there is a hawk (or more than one) that hangs out around our house & I hear him calling. And, because we live in the country, people let their dogs run.