Going away for a few days- how do you handle feeding?

[Gargoyle]

We have a small flock (5 chickens), a very secure run and an even more secure coop. We're getting a Pullet Shut automatic door.

Every once in a while my wife and I go away for two or three nights. How do you handle feeding and watering in this situation. If we put out three days worth of food and water, will they gobble it all down the first day and not leave anything for the next days, or will they only eat as much as they need? Ours eat a mix of feed and chopped up weeds and vegetables each day.

We have a couple of waterers, the standard plastic jugs on the red screw-on tray bottoms; if it's summer time and its hot, how bad will the water get (with ACV of course) in 72 hours?

We do have one section of the run with a nice dirt ground, we can plant a lot of sod and weeds before we take a trip (unless we're traveling in the winter), which will help tide them over. They can destroy 8 square feet of sod in two days.

 

[MsBagawkbagawk]

I have a hanging feeder. When I go away I just fill up enough food to last them x number of days. They'll only eat when they are hungry, but you might want to put in extra food, especially if you don't usually feed like this. If you are worried about them gobbling it up you can put some hay, straw, or alfalfa in a hanging feeder to slow the flow.

As for the water, if it is big enough that you can afford some wasted space I would drop a water bottle filled with ice in there. That will help, especially if you are putting really cold water in in the first place. It should be ok if it is in the shade anyways.

 

[NovaAman]

Oh yes they can! Is there anyone who could come once a day to make sure they have enough food and fresh water? Maybe a few girls from your church? I don't trust to many teen boys as you can see. LOL. Anyway, if not, I would add 2 extra feeders, and 2 extra water-ers. Just to be on the safe side. I do not think they would eat all the food in one day though, so you'll probably be ok. I am lucky, I have a lovely neighbor who'd make sure things were good here. I do the same for him. I also have a nephew who drives, so him and my neice would be willing to take care of it for me. Maybe you could do that? At least then the chickens would be checked on just in case...

 

[teach1rusl]

If possible, always plan on having a friend or relative stop by just once a day just to check that all is well.

Feed is the easiest, because you can always put an extra feeder in with them to make sure food doesn't run out. If your run isn't covered (with a solid roof), you'll have to deal with possible rain issues with the feed, or keep feeders inside.

Waterers the same - have two available. The trouble you might have with water would be IL winters - do you have the plug in kind to prevent freezing over??? ACV will work fine for 72 hours or algae free water.

I have auto doors, and a covered run, but I still have a sister-in-law stop by to check on my birds once a day when I'm out of town on a weekend, because what happens if electricity goes out??? The plus of going the extra mile in building a secure coop/run with strong wire, including the run roof/ceiling is that, in a pinch, even if you have to leave the pop door open at night for a few nights, there's a 99% chance that predators can't get in.

I just hire a pet sitter if I go away longer than a weekend, because I have cats/dogs too.

 

[MsBagawkbagawk]

Yeah, I have two giant waterers and a huge feeder, so that is never a problem. We've had our neighbor come by to check on our chicks, but he wasn't available when we left our chickens once. I had to not free-range them, so I gave them a bunch of apples and a cabbage to keep them entertained. That is another big thing is making sure they are entertained. The apples and cabbage worked really well.

Our dog is really good though (just saw him kill an opossum last night) and keeps them safe from predators.

 

[carladababe]

I had planned a 2 week vacation early this Fall with the idea our neighbor's teenage daughter could oversee their care, paid job. The more I think the more I worry that 2 weeks is kind of a stretch, especially with school starting. Any suggestions on finding a pet sitter? I also have 6 cats that would have spent that time at a local really nice kitty room and board, but that would cost me just about a $1000 big ones. Might as well keep them home if I can get a reliable sitter. I've never used one before, I'm worried about bringing someone into my house. Any ideas?

 

[SunnySkies]

Call your veterinarian and ask for local pet sitters. Some vet techs also will pet sit.

 

[Gargoyle]

Our run does have a secure roof- translucent corrugated fiberglass panels with hardware cloth underneath.

We used a pet sitter in the past for our (late lamented) love bird, they were great but really didn't have much bird experience, let alone chicken experience. However, I could talk to them.

Our next door neighbor has about 30 chickens, clean, healthy, well cared for; and they have a couple of teen or pre-teen children, a girl and a boy. However, I wonder about bio-security issues if they are back and forth between their chickens and ours, not sure how much a 11 or 13 year old would grasp of that concept? (As NovaAman posted above, I'd tend to prefer the girl; somehow I think she is less likely to forget to lock the door to the run).

I'm tempted, if it's only one or two nights, to leave the chickens to their own devices, just make sure they have plenty of food and water, maybe extra water inside the coop just in case the auto door fails. For longer, a pet sitter or the neighbor might be necessary.

 

[Rhoise]

I paid the 6th grade neighbor boy(11 years) $10 a day, he with his parents supervising, took care of the chickens and my two cats for 10 days, he did a great job, not as good as me(poop scooping) but the chickens and cats were alive, happy, and a lot bigger when I returned.....I am a mother of a 13 and 15 year old boy, and am glad to help teach my kids responsibility when there is a neighbor who needs pets fed or a lawn mowed, they seem to get it more with the neighbors than here at home(LOL) and now at 13 and 15 my boys are responsible enough to do it solo, and are raking in the doe this summer(my 13 year old was waving $112 bucks in my face tonight from his hard work this past week).......and as for girls vrs boys and responsibility? hmmm..... It really depends on the kids, and their values, not the sex so much....the teenage sister of my little buddy (13 years old) is useless, way too narcissistic at this age, I chose her little brother to do the job instead, and he did great! Oh and as far as the bio-security and lock up security issues, you'd be surprised, most kids these days lock doors, bikes, have locker combonations, punch key pads to enter their homes, and have a great understanding of germs and how they are spread.. but yes if they have birds there is always a risk, my neighbors caring for the chickens do not have any birds.....

 

[Little Fluffy]

Hi there.
just new to the site and this thread caught my eye. Have you checked out the site www.triggerhappychickens.com Two years ago we bought one of these feeders from eBay and that sorted the feeding problems. Now we just get a neighbor to check once a day. These little triggers can be fitted to any size of container, so food can last up to 2 weeks.