How do you find reliable help?

[AGeese]

Unfortunately we hope kids have a good work ethic, but if they weren't my own and I didn't know their parents I wouldn't consider it. That's probably not an option here, but why I suggested automating as much as possible.

 

[SilverBirds]

I think a big problems is that people look down on chickens. They don't see them as needing equal care as say a dog or a cat. People don't know about the real chickens, just the ones that they see on their plates. My aunt asked me why I even had chickens if I don't eat them. She said they were stupid smelly birds which irked me.

 

[addctd2plnts]

Nextdoor.com connects you with your neighbors. I'd look for somebody that has poultry to do it. I've also called my vet's office before and asked if they have a vet tech that farm sits. And the last place would be to put a notice up at the feed store and ask them if they have any employees with poultry that would be interested.

 

[clumberfam]

I genuinely hope that kid never gets a pet. I find it disturbing how disconnected they are from the fact that chickens are living creatures and not just a toy you throw away and get another when it breaks. Maybe I'm over-reacting, but I really don't like when people have the response of "I'll get you a new one" if they injure or kill a creature.

Back in my training days, one solid way to train someone in how to reliably do a task is to do the task yourself with them watching, have them write down the steps, then have them do the steps themselves while you watch and confirm. This SHOULD stop any errors from occurring. And if they still forget, they can just reference the sheet that they made.

they had a lovely little dog who was doing really well with our agility training (my 4H group - her mother is my co-leader so I thought I had it made). Well, we were away and the mom texted me to ask if I knew of a vet who was open. Gave her some choices as well as emergency vet contacts. Apparently the dog had run across the road and gotten hit by a car. they live in town on a busy road and of course have no fence.

they simply carried the dog inside the house and left him lay on the floor to 'see if he'd get better' because the husband wouldn't pay for an emergency visit and the other vets were closed. 3 hours later the little dog died, in agony I'm sure. He didn't deserve that. no animal does. but being farm folk they thought nothing of it. Now they have another dog - bought from an Amish puppy mill despite advice to stay away. Still loose, still no fence.

As for training...I had walked her thru absolutely everything and there were explicit instructions step by step on the fence. She simply chose to do it HER way.

Question though. Once they recover will they continue laying eggs? I'm getting one per day vs. the 7 or 8 before we left.

 

[Battlepants]

Question though. Once they recover will they continue laying eggs? I'm getting one per day vs. the 7 or 8 before we left.

They most likely will. By my understanding, one of the reasons we domesticated the chicken to begin with is their strange ability to turn excess food into eggs. In times of shortage, they will stop laying eggs to survive, but when various things start dropping seeds, the wild chickens start dropping eggs.

I'd say just try to keep them calm, safe and well fed/watered. In time, they should be back to their normal selves.

Also, I've learned of an ethically problematic process of "Forced Molting" where food is withheld for some time in order to force them to go through molting on our schedule. This event may have sent them down that path, so you might see an unexpected molt. If this happens, keep on with the good food and water to help them through it. High protein feed is good for helping them on this.

 

[Wolfie2]

being in 4H is no guarantee they have any interest or experience in animals. Even when I was in 4h many moons ago there were kids in the program who either were not in the animal side ( there are several facets to 4H) or are just doing it 'cause their parents want them to.
A few years ago Me and Mrs Lobo went on a 6 week vacation. We asked our, then 12 Y O grandson to keep up with our goats and chickens while we were gone. They lived next door to us, had been around our animals their whole life and had helped us take care of them since they were young. We made sure we had enough feed to last the duration. When we got back there we found a situation similar to yours. Man, we were *!$$ed. Mom and Dad admitted they did not watch what he was doing as "he is usually pretty responsible about his chores". Well this time he wasn't!

 

[sandburRanch]

It's common if they haven't had any responsibility from an early age beginning about 2 years they are lost in the life of responsibility .