Going on vacation, chicken sitter?

[zekeman615]

I am going on a two week vacation and need to find someone to watch my chickens. My aunt and her family have a nice coop, with not that many chickens, and can surely watch them. I just want to make sure that it would be ok. I know about the pecking order and the fact that all of a sudden putting new chickens into the flock would be bad, but would it be ok for 2 weeks? They do have a hawk problem, but they have a special run for little chickens, that could be fixed up a bit and work. At the moment, they don't have any chickens in that run, so it would be like their own little space, with a fence between the other chickens and them. Thank you in advance.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Could your family just come to your house to open/close the door and check food/water? Chickens are creatures of habit, so moving them to another pen for a couple of weeks, then moving them back might scramble their little chicken brains and cause problems. The last time I went on vacay, I asked my brother to look after my chickens. His payment was getting to spend the week at my house being lazy and eating all of my food (without our mother nagging him to do something, as he put it). Perhaps you have a younger relative you trust that is seeking a little freedom as well? Good luck!

 

[csweenlis]

We just got started with chickens this spring, and are starting to realize that we can't just pick up and go somewhere overnight because our three girls like to free range in the backyard during the day, and have to be shut it at night for protection. We don't have any sort of fenced in run yet. Any suggestions? We are not very handy, so would have to have someone build one for us.
No eggs yet, but soon I hope!
We have a Buff Cochin named Rena, a Partridge Rock named Ursula, and a Welsummer named Bonnie!