Coop lockdown: so far, so good. Is two days sufficient?

[bawkbawkbawk]

We moved the girls from brooder to coop Friday afternoon, so they've spent two nights locked in there. I totally see the wisdom of it - they've explored the coop and acquainted themselves with their roosting options pretty well. I think they like it!

We're leaving town early Tuesday am with my college-aged sons in charge for the week we're gone. I thought it would be easier for them if they only had to manage the coop and run rather than bringing the chickens back and forth from the inside brooder to the outside pen.

I'd like to let them (the chickens, not the sons

) go out to the pen for a little bit this afternoon. Is that too soon? If I wait until tomorrow we don't have much time to establish the coop-pen-coop routine. But maybe it's better to keep them locked in another day and night?

Kind of apprehensive about leaving them (again, the chickens, not the kids...) for a week, especially after reading about all the predator attacks on the forum. Yikes.

 

[gritsar]

Bawk, I've seen the pics of your coop and they have plenty of room. I would just go ahead and leave them in lockdown until you return. That way you'll be sure they've accepted it as home and there will be less stress on you.
They're not hurting for anything. They'll be fine.

 

[jvls1942]

If your sons are not interested in chickens and really not used to handling chicks.. leave the chicks locked up until you get back..

everybody will feel better about it.

 

[Cindy in PA]

We will be leaving next Saturday for 4 days with only my oldest son (22) home. We just finished the new coop & moved my 4 week old bantams in yesterday. The run is not finished & I couldn't count on my son to round up strays in the run if it was! My chicks will probably stay penned in for the next 1 & 1/2 weeks. I am counting on my son to open & close windows & check to make sure they have water. I will have extra waterers, but will be checking in daily to make sure he checks that there have been no mishaps! They are parked under a shade tree where they will get only about 2 hours of sun & the roof is vented & insulated. This morning my 25 bantams were happily exploring the 4 by 6 coop. I left their light on, but will be discontinuing that by Wednesday, it is summer afterall, although you wouldn't really know it here. I definitely vote for leaving them locked up!

 

[newchicksnducks]

We took a 5 day vacation. We kept our young 6 and 11 week olds locked up in the coop for the duration. We did have a neighbor check on the food/water of the chicks, but did not want to leave the responsibility of making sure all the birds were in the house for the night to someone else. They were fine. As long as your coop is secure, well ventilated, and has plenty of food and water - your chickens will be fine. And if they are new to the coop, this is a great time for them to settle in!

 

[Opa]

Just an old rooster opinion here but if I were asking a friend or neighbor to take care of the birds I would make it as easy as possible for them. However, if I was leaving sons of that age to take care of them then I would make it what's best for the birds. You can explain to your sons how their lives will change if they screw it up, you can't do that with neighbors.

 

[SurprisingWoman]

Quote:

 

[bawkbawkbawk]

Opa, I'd like it a lot better if I could leave YOU in charge of my sons and then I'd KNOW the chickens will be fine!

Best-laid plans always go awry - DH let the chickens out of the coop yesterday afternoon without checking with me. We've got this "chunnel" tunnel between the coop and the pen so the chickens are never actually outside a secure fence - unless someone happens to forget to close a door or a gate, in which case their lives WILL change. They're too old (and too tall!) to spank but I could make them miserable in many other ways.

I'm giving them a walk-through this afternoon and am going to give them the link to BYC so they can ask questions if they get in trouble...

 

[Schultz]

Quote:
I totally agree!

Glad you are showing them BYC as well. I hope you have a nice trip