Holiday help!

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bilbo-baggins

bilbo-baggins

In the Brooder
Mar 9, 2018
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Hi there!

I have had 'my girls' for about 6 months now, they are both laying eggs and are a joy to have. They live in our back garden in a stylish two bedroom coop contained within a walk-in enclosure. I shut the door for their coop every night and let them out every morning. I need to go away over Easter and need some help.

My other half let them out last week (for the first time) and they went crazy, they were both screaming at the top of their voices. They don't like change. I ideally would like to leave the door to their coop open and give them the freedom to come out when they want. I could leave enough food for two days and hope they'll be ok. My worry is the bossy red hen; once I forgot to shut the door and she was screaming the place down at 4 am.

What do you do with your chickens when you need to go away?
 
Welcome to BYC! Great to have you here!

When I go away, if it's only for a few days, I just leave the coop open. There's a chance a predator will come snooping around that particular night, but it hasn't happened yet (when we've been gone).

I assume you don't have anyone you feel like you can ask to stop by and close them in at night?

You might try leaving it open again one night a week in advance, to get her used to it. Maybe try it again a few nights before you leave.
 
Is your. outdoor area predator safe - ie, roof on top of outdoor run to keep out climbers and raptors. Wire apron around perimeter of run to discourage diggers. If you enclose run with flimsy chicken wire, they won't stand a chance, Any predator can rip through them easily. 1/2" hardware cloth is the gold standard of wire for fencing.

Be sure to have extra feeders(just in case) and extra waterers in case they knock it over. Your girls depend on you to provide feed,water, safe living quarters.
 
That's why I don't go on vacation, or rotate out my girls when I do my Grandma Trips :hmm Hubby takes care of my dog and has offered to feed/water the girls but it's alot more than he can physically deal with. So every year I rotate my girl during the Summer, then start all over again.
 
G’Day from down under bilbo-baggins :frow Welcome!

I too do not go on vacations and if I am away for any reason, hubby takes care of the girls for me.

I do hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.

Including your general location on your profile will assist others. Location, climate, season etc can be important factors when members are responding to any questions you may have and vice versa.

You might want to also Find Your State Thread and pop in and say hello.

BYC has Topic of the Week discussions which I have found to be a great resource, informative and sometimes entertaining; so definitely worth checking out.

If you would like to share Pictures and Stories of your flock, you have come to the right place. BYC’ers never tire of these and do not back away slowly or commence eye rolling when the photo album or home videos come out ;)

I hope you have a nice time while you are away!
 

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