How to leave my chickens

Our dog sitter comes by once a day to check on the cats and chickens. Ask around - some may be willing to do chickens too.

 

Make sure you have someone you TRUST. Chickens are very different from cats and dogs, and the same person who may be good with your dog might be a train wreck with your chickens.

On the other hand, I left my chickens with my Dad on Saturday, and he fixed the latch on the chicken house door, so sometimes you luck out XD

 

We go away to our cabin often on the weekends and I leave the chickens "home alone"!!
I fill all their waterers full of water and make sure their 5gallon feed bucket is full and lock the coop door and tell them goodbye!
When we are gone for a long period of time or when the weather is too hot to leave them in the coop for the whole time then we have a neighbor go over and let them out in the morning and close them in at night. But otherwise they do fine and are just extremely happy to see us when we return!

 

I do the same thing for weekends. Extra food, water, if it looks like it might rain I put their tarps on, if sunny, shade that is secure make sure everything's good and I don't turn anyone out.

See ya later chickies.

 

I can leave mine for 3-4 days at a time, free ranging, before the feeder gets empty. If I wanted to stay longer, I'd just leave more feeders and waterers.

If it's just for a weekend, why would you need a sitter? A couple of days of food and water should do it!

 

Perhaps contacting the local 4-H people would be a good option for finding a chicken sitter?

 

Who takes care of your dog and cat while you're away?? With well written instructions, surely that person could keep an eye on your chickens as well??? It's only a weekend, so plenty of food/water, and someone stopping by once in the evening to lock up, once in the morning to let them out... When you get back, find a friend w/high school kid(s) who might want to make a few bucks...

 

I found a great pet sitter at my vet's office. I went in a couple of weeks before I wanted to leave and left my information. It turned out that one of the office assistants lives near me and was a former 4-H kid and had chickens before. She is wonderful.

Mary