How do you ever leave home?

[skhomer]

Quote:
Hmmm, and I already promised myself I wouldn't add to the flock next spring .... oh well, I don't think anyone believed me anyhow

You should get yourself an incubator or broody hen - I sell hatching eggs.

I've often thought of an incubator -- we especially wanted one when we had more emus and lots of eggs, but that's a big incubator that costs lots of $$$ .... WA to GA, that's a long trip, would hatching eggs survive? When is the time to start eggs and have chicks in early spring? Do you get fertilized eggs year round or do they take the winter months off?

 

[openheartnp]

There are 2 threads going for chicken sitting, here's one. I don't know if i'm copying this right, but you can google "critter sitter exchange"

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=189553&p=6

Hubby runs the Disney half-marathon every January, so we are away. We have friends come. They get to keep the eggs. We left them a detailed list, phone numbers, plenty of food and treats.

You have to be able to leave the house. You need a backup plan, if not for your sanity then for an emergency.

 

[slimpys]

We recently went on a 3 week vacation and it was the first trip after getting 13 chickens in the spring. We installed an auto-matic chicken door using a motor and a pet door that was on a timer. We had to add some wieght to the top of the door for it to lower all the way, so we were glad we did this a week in advance for testingbv. We also got a very large feeder and waterer. Finally, we hired a pet sitter to come once a day to feed the cats, collect eggs, and then add food/water as needed. If it wasn't for the automatic chicken door, I don't think it would have worked.

All animals were perfectly fine when we returned! I can't say the same about my tomato and pepper plants that were eaten by a deer

 

[Illia]

Quote:
You should get yourself an incubator or broody hen - I sell hatching eggs.

I've often thought of an incubator -- we especially wanted one when we had more emus and lots of eggs, but that's a big incubator that costs lots of $$$ .... WA to GA, that's a long trip, would hatching eggs survive? When is the time to start eggs and have chicks in early spring? Do you get fertilized eggs year round or do they take the winter months off?

I've shipped all the way to New Jersey and still they got lots of chicks

I get fertilized eggs year round, but it depends on breed and who's molting or broody. Also, the weather may stop me from shipping.

Some incubators go for as cheap as $50, the best and cheapest though is $150 and completely worth it!


The best time to start with eggs/chicks is around late February onward, depending on your climate. Incubating late Feb to mid March means March to April babies, which allows laying hens before winter arrives.

 

[PTFowl]

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Illia, I lived in your town for three years ending last year--I'm still on the Peninsula though. Is it not very difficult having chickens with 10 ft of rain per year? How do you manage it?

 

[Illia]

Quote:
Illia, I lived in your town for three years ending last year--I'm still on the Peninsula though. Is it not very difficult having chickens with 10 ft of rain per year? How do you manage it?

Spring and Summer are pretty nice, it allows for excellent free ranging environment, however fall/winter is indeed hard. The trick is having coops with plenty lighting and NO leaking (ugh! It is so disgusting when your coop leaks) and if you're like me and the nesting is separate from the perching room/building, a covered or graveled walkway helps, otherwise there's tons and tons and tons of muck, which leads to unhappy birds and dirty eggs. When it rains everyone usually stays inside, however on continuous rainy days, half of the flock usually wanders around in the rain, soaking wet, simply dealing with what they have.

One thing that really helps is building a custom coop with a transparent plastic roof. It allows lots of light, extra and free heating, and thus keeps them a little happier. It is naturally always dark and depressing in the fall and winter here, so extra light in the coop helps a lot.

Anyway, back on topic.

 

[PTFowl]

Quote:
Ooohhh, I'm putting a see-through plastic roofing over my chicken yard but hadn't considered it could also be used on the coop--i'm just getting my coop built and the roof material isn't purchased yet so I could still do this--thanks for the tip, and for posting the photo! Okay, ditto that back on topic now.

 

[ima57boomer]

train the son. If he's old enough to be going off to work, he's old enough to learn how to make sure the chickens are ok. Leave an emergency number (the neighbor?), and go enjoy your life.

 

[kizanne]

Predator proof the run or install auto door. Autofeeder, autowaterer. Let a neighbor pick up the eggs every 3 days or so. Or just throw the eggs out into the compost bin when you get back.

 

[Nicole01]

If I happen to spend the night somewhere, which rarely happens, I have my parents come over 2 times a day for my flock. They let them out in the run, change water if needed, clean the coop and they come back to put them to bed.