Leaving chickens while I'm out of town

[happylittlehens]

Our family will be out of town for Memorial Day weekend and I won't have anyone available to check on my girls. They are 8 weeks and 6 weeks. All 10 of them have been out in the coop for about 2 weeks now. They have an attached run, but it's a portable one and IS NOT predator proof. I plan on keeping them locked up in the coop while I'm gone, but I'm worried it will be too hot? Is there anything I can do to help keep it cooler in there for 3 days? The coop is in an area that isn't really shaded, and it can get pretty steamy in there during the hottest part of the day. It's a large coop that measures 8' long x 6' wide x 6' tall. There is power near the coop, but not close enough that I won't have to use an extension cord to run a fan. What do you do when you have to leave town for a few days?

 

[sourland]

I hire a pet sitter to come in and feed, water and check on my animals. There is a recent post where an individual went away for a weekend and their watering system failed. End result - one hen dead and the others so water deprived that they quit laying. 'Stuff happens', and Murphy's law dictates that it will happen when you are not around. Are there windows in the coop that you can open for increased ventilation?

 

[Mrwinchester]

buy electric netting and let them use the run ??? your taking a chance either way good luck have a good long weekend

 

[happylittlehens]

I hire a pet sitter to come in and feed, water and check on my animals. There is a recent post where an individual went away for a weekend and their watering system failed. End result - one hen dead and the others so water deprived that they quit laying. 'Stuff happens', and Murphy's law dictates that it will happen when you are not around. Are there windows in the coop that you can open for increased ventilation?

Ugh that's what I'm worried about, dang Murphy's Law! Yes I was planning on keeping the windows open (they have steel grating over them, no way anything is getting in through them). We will only be about 40 miles away, so I can probably drive down to check on them once in the 3 days. I can't find ANYONE that will be available that weekend to check on them, believe me I've tried!

 

[happylittlehens]

buy electric netting and let them use the run ??? your taking a chance either way good luck have a good long weekend

I wish I could afford it right now, it would definitely make life a little easier Thanks

 

[sourland]

Ugh that's what I'm worried about, dang Murphy's Law! Yes I was planning on keeping the windows open (they have steel grating over them, no way anything is getting in through them). We will only be about 40 miles away, so I can probably drive down to check on them once in the 3 days. I can't find ANYONE that will be available that weekend to check on them, believe me I've tried!

Have you tried contacting a local 4 H group?

 

[happylittlehens]

Have you tried contacting a local 4 H group?

Oooh no I haven't. I'll have to try that.

 

[farmin4fun]

Hello,

I try to set up my coop so I can go away for a few days and not have to worry about my chickens. I already have too many things in my life that demand too much of my time so I need my chickens to be a minimal amount of continuous maintenance. Don't get me wrong. I love to spend time with my chickens, but with my work schedule and family it is really hard some days to make it out to the coop. For this reason I have two 5 gallon water reservoirs and a large 30 pound feeder. My 20 chickens could easily go 5 or 6 days without me having to refill their food or water.

Another thing I do frequently, but especially before I leave on vacation, is leave a live trap outside my coop and run with chicken feed in it as bait. (obviously not where my chickens have access to it, but easy access for predators) You can change the bait to make it more appealing to whatever your predator is. This is my first line of defense against predators like raccoons, opossums, mink and other small to medium sized ground predators. They like chicken feed and almost always go for the chicken feed in the live trap first, so disaster averted. I can just leave my chickens with access to my uncovered run and feel somewhat safe with it. It's obviously not completely predator proof, but so far it has worked really well for me. Not a single loss to ground predators. Now you will have to dispose of whatever you catch, but that isn't a problem for me. I find they make great fertilizer for the garden. Please note that if you have a lot of predation from hawks or other avian predators then the live trap won't help you very much.

I did catch one of my ducks once when they oddly decided to leave the pond to come visit the chickens, so if you have pets like a cat or dog, you will have to think about the possibility of catching them on accident. The live trap will not hurt them unless you leave them in it for several days without food or water so you will want to check it every day.

I hope this helps. I wish you the best of luck.

Here is a link to a live trap from tractor supply http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp...ory_rn=&top_category=&urlLangId=&cm_vc=-10005

 

[happylittlehens]

Quote: This is a great idea. Thank you! I have (2) 1 gallon waterers and plenty of feed in the coop for 3 days. My main predator concerns are stray cats and dogs. We do have skunks and racoons around, but they are mainly found by the river which we do not live near. I live right in the middle of town with neighbors surrounding each side of my 1/2 acre lot. So it's not like I'm out in the "wild" per se. We may have a hawk around (although I haven't seen any) but the run IS covered. Thanks so much for the advice!

 

[Hayduke27]

I really like the live trap idea. That's brilliant. Talk about nipping the problem in the bud. I think I might look into buying one to have it around. Thanks for the great tip!