hello, on saturday i am leaving my flock for 8 days. it consist of 2 chickens (Roo and hen) and 2 call ducks (drake and hen) as of now i moved them into the garage, because it is going to be 90 degrees the whole week. The are in to seprate smaller cages one for the ducks one for the chickens( they were so sad to be seperated) In the chickens cage i have 3.5 gallon waterer and 1 gallon waterer. will that be suficent enough. In the ducks cage i have a 3.5 gallon water and a half gallon bowl raised off the ground, will that be enough for them. Some one will check on them a coulpe times during the week. but i would feel more comfortable knowing they could last that long. The only thing i am worring about is the water the food is under control. thank you for any help you can give....
I just went through this myself. I worried about it for a month before I went away. I asked the neighbor boy to watch them for the week, for pay of course. Well when I called to confirm the boys father answered and we agreed to swap watching each others chickens. It totally worked out. So try getting a neighbor or family member to come over and check on your babies.
If someone is stopping by to check on them atleast once during that trip to make sure the water didn't get knocked over or something I would say you're fine.
Sounds about right - my ducks go through 3 gallons of water in 2 days...as long as they check on them and make sure they have clean fresh water when they get there, all should be good. Just be prepared for them to be ready to be let out when you get home
I'd feel fine leaving the chickens for a few days with that amount of water, but our 2 ducks went through water like...well, water! I'm sure you've seen them splash water around with their bills, preen with it, etc. A gallon is gone in no time. I'd get a large, low rubbermaid container or a kitty litter size container and fill with water too. Hopefully they will use their waterer for drinking and the large container for grooming.
The problem is that any amount of water will only last until it's knocked over! It's not advisable to leave them without someone to check on them each day. Animals seem to be experts at getting themselves into scrapes that would never happen when you're home.