Chickens Okay on Vacation?

OP here--Do you think it would be possible for me to predator proof the setup? I can find someone to feed/water/check on the girls. Not sure if I can find someone to come over early and late to let in/out. Our neighbors installed a 6 foot privacy fence when we got the chickens, if that tells you anything about the chicken love around here. And local family will all be on vacation with us.

Maybe an automatic door, and maybe a couple of cameras you can check from wherever you will be?

That way the automatic door could let them out and shut them in, and you could look through the the cameras to be sure it was open/closed at the right time, and check that they haven't spilled their food & water. Then have someone come over a few times to refill the food & water.
 
Ours are in their coop with the door open at night with the run locked. Never had a problem (knock on wood). Maybe try that before you go on vacation. View attachment 2583263
Hi, are your birds good being in there all day or do you let them out? My coop and my run is a little bigger and a little taller than yours for two buffs and two bantams but I let them out every day dusk till dawn. I’m going on vacation and although I’ll have someone who can keep tabs on food and water and can’t expect them to let them out day and in at night. Are your birds good in there for days at a time?
 
Hi, are your birds good being in there all day or do you let them out? My coop and my run is a little bigger and a little taller than yours for two buffs and two bantams but I let them out every day dusk till dawn. I’m going on vacation and although I’ll have someone who can keep tabs on food and water and can’t expect them to let them out day and in at night. Are your birds good in there for days at a time?
I usually let them out to free range. But on days that are super rainy or we are on vacation they stay in.
 
I have a similar situation, 3 birds in a neighborhood. We have a reinforced coop and a larger run area around it. We let them in/out every day to the larger area and slide the small interior door. We have had to pay someone to come twice a day, which adds up but no neighbors have ever offered to help, so I hate to ask. What did you end up doing?
 
Sounds like the run isn’t very secure. If I were you, I wouldn’t risk it. Find another sitter who will lock them up at night, because predators will jump at the chance of a free meal.

Yiu may be interested in upgrading your run to create a more safe an secure environment. Raccoons can climb, dig, and do anything, opossums and other small predators may not seem like they can do much, but they can behead all your chickens in just seconds. Take the extra precautions, make sure your run and coop are as secure as they can get.
Predators sense when the humans are gone.
 
I can leave on a few minutes notice for up to two weeks and the ladies will have enough food and water. Auto pop door to the run, roll out nest boxes that can be checked from outside.
I have left them 8 days when evacuated for fire. If I am leaving a few days I ask the neighbors to check the eggs. I was just gone 4 days with nobody coming to check.

Something could go wrong, but it never has.
 
We have 3 chickens in our backyard. They are 100% in their coop/run. They are locked into the coop at night, it's just what we have always done. The run is covered sides and tops with wire (not chicken wire). The wire does not go into the ground. We just found out our chicken sitter will be on vacation the same week as us this summer. My question is, do we need to find someone else to let them out/put them in or can we just find someone to check on them once or twice and top off food and water as needed. We live in town. The neighbors have cats that wander but have never bothered the chickens that we know of. There are probably skunks and possums around. We currently don't have a motion light or anything in the backyard. The chickens have been there almost 2 years and while they have dug on the inside of the run, we have never found evidence of anything trying to dig on the outside.
As someone with anxiety, my brain immediately screams yes to a new sitter lol. Just too many unknowns with leaving them on their own in my opinion :)
 

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