how to feed my birds when I leave for a week

[got2bskilled]

I am super excited about going on a family vacation the first week of March (my husband is gonna deploy soon so it is a big deal to us).... but I am concerned that my waterers will be gross or empty after the first few days. We will be gone for 5 days total. I have ducks that have a play bucket of water aside from the waterer that they share with the chickens. My birds are penned... and I thought about making something that would supply a week of water and feed....

Any suggestions or plans would be a huge blessing! I will be sure to post with pictures of a finished product this weekend if someone has a DIY suggestion. Yall are like my family... so I hope I have a handy BYC cousin on here~LOL!

 

[got2bskilled]

Anyone?

 

[AllCoop'dUp]

You really need to find a chicken setter or you'll be worrying about them the entire time your gone.

 

[booker81]

I would find a pet sitter - hunt around for and FFA kid or 4Her to come over and check things over, water and feed. Not only is having fresh water and food good, having someone stop by daily or even every other day will make sure nothing goes wrong on the property (I was farm sitting once, and a water main line broke in the barn. If I hadn't been there, it would have been an incredible, horrible mess!)

 

[Higins00]

Do you have a neighbor kid that can come and check on them?

 

[NottinghamChicks]

When we go away we have a petsitter stay at the house to take care of our three dogs and our chickens. It is for our animals companionship and our peace of mind. There are many people who take care of lovestock and it is not expensive. A local vet would have some insight about people in your area or perhaps a neighborhood teen.

Good Luck and Happy Vacation

 

[sourland]

I always have someone come in on a daily basis. You can count on the fact that if something can go wrong, it will happen while you are gone. Murphy's law of chickens.

 

[got2bskilled]

Well, we live out in the sticks. As for neighbors, I think there is a family with nine kids down the road (really good people). Yet, I am weary about having any of the kids come by, because there is a pervert felon living across the street off of his elderly mother. Maybe I should just bring my birds to someone elses house~ LOL! Thanks for the suggestion though!

 

[bantyhen'sfriend]

We have a neighbor come over and feed our horses, let the chickens out in the morning, check feeders/waterers, and gather eggs, feed, and lock everyone in at night. He gets to keep the eggs, and we get peace of mind.

 

[GeneJordan]

Being the nerd I am...

Automatic Waters and Feeders, IP Security Cameras, Lights with Motion and Dusk/Dawn settings, Automatic Coop Door, and have it all controlled from your iPhone...

Or you can have someone drop by to check up on things