Leaving chickens while out of town

[Raubkatze]

You will be 2 hours away, and you do have cameras on them.

Would it be possible to just drive home if you see a problem? That would be 2 hours each way, which means 4 hours total or maybe more if traffic is bad. I don't know how big of a deal that would be for you.

For the chicks, I worry that they might be outgrowing their brooder in two more weeks. So you might think about giving them more space. I wonder if something like this would be a possibility?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/my-coop-brooder-and-integration.74591/
It's a brooder inside the main coop, with chick-sized openings. That lets the chicks come out and interact with the adults, but they can run back into the brooder for safety.
Something like that should have close watching in the first few days, but you do still have some time to change things and watch results before you have to actually leave.


No matter what you do, you could run a test before you leave: fill up the feed and water, then let them go the right number of days before you add any more. Of course you would be checking on them regularly, and if any real problems arise you would fix them, but it lets you know what (if anything) you need to change. For example, I've seen cases where a waterer or feeder works great until it gets a certain amount empty, and then it has a problem. (Example: it's made of plastic and gets knocked over & spilled when 3/4 empty, so it doesn't really last as many days as I think it should.)

Yes, I could absolutely drive home if need be.

I did finally find a friend that is willing to stop by on one of the days to make sure water is still okay. My biggest issue lately has been the little stinkers pooping in their water no matter how high I make it.

 

[Raubkatze]

I'd be careful about leaving 4wk Olds with the adults unsupervised and integrated. I've had adult hen mass murder 3, 4 and 6 wk old chicks that weren't raised by a hen in the coop. If you can separate them so that the hens and chicks are face to face but can't get into each other's spaces, that would be best.

That is my integration plan. Keep them in either the brooder or a dog crate so they can see but not get to each other for a few days.

 

[Raubkatze]

As others say, in an enclosed coop/run set up with enough feeders/ waterers they will be fine for a long weekend!

We are currently at the beach, and have a young woman coming every other day to check the food and water, and most importantly (to me) have eyes on the birds. Our neighbor happily collects the eggs on the days she doesn’t come.

Enjoy your trip!

We don't have eggs yet, so thankfully don't have to worry about that as well. Our oldest hens are probably about a month out before laying their first.

 

[CatInTheHenHouse]

My biggest issue lately has been the little stinkers pooping in their water no matter how high I make it.

Nipple waterer as a backup maybe?

 

[Debbie292d]

Yes, I could absolutely drive home if need be.

I did finally find a friend that is willing to stop by on one of the days to make sure water is still okay. My biggest issue lately has been the little stinkers pooping in their water no matter how high I make it.

Do this another time, but I would get them trained on nipple waterers. Ours are 5-gallon buckets in two coops and five pens. We add 1/2 teaspoon RV water treatment so it doesn't get scummy.

I start them on the vertical ones as chicks; however, adult chickens in solitary or broody jail get a vertical one and they use those too.

For older chickens, I'd just make one first. You can get the horizontal nipples on Amazon. Then take away all other water sources and show one chicken how it's done.

This way, always fresh water, and way less moisture in your coop as there's no open water.

This shows the 5-gallon waterer and the PVC feeder in a breeding pen.



In the winter, the two coops are heated to 40°F, but for outdoor pens we have the heated ones. I think we got these at Fleet Farm, but most farm stores sell them.

 

[Raubkatze]

Do this another time, but I would get them trained on nipple waterers. Ours are 5-gallon buckets in two coops and five pens. We add 1/2 teaspoon RV water treatment so it doesn't get scummy.

I start them on the vertical ones as chicks; however, adult chickens in solitary or broody jail get a vertical one and they use those too.

For older chickens, I'd just make one first. You can get the horizontal nipples on Amazon. Then take away all other water sources and show one chicken how it's done.

This way, always fresh water, and way less moisture in your coop as there's no open water.

This shows the 5-gallon waterer and the PVC feeder in a breeding pen.
View attachment 4123129


In the winter, the two coops are heated to 40°F, but for outdoor pens we have the heated ones. I think we got these at Fleet Farm, but most farm stores sell them.
View attachment 4123127

I tried cup waterers and they broke really quickly. I guess nipple waterers would be the next step. For now I have the "normal" kind in the main run and in the brooder and just dump and scrub regularly.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I wasn't planning on integrating them until 6 weeks. My brooder is pretty big. My last bunch lasted in there until 8 weeks and then I absolutely had to kick them out because they were out of room. First time around I kept them in for so long because we were still getting some overnight temps in the 20s. Now we are solidly in the 70s during the day and 60s overnight, with some days even reaching low 80s, so I figured 6 weeks would be a good spot where they would be big enough to hold their own as well as fully feathered.

If you know it's big enough to easily hold the amount of chicks that should be okay then as well - my chicks are usually going nuts by the end of the first week and want out, so I couldn't imagine keeping them in the brooder for a long weekend past that point.

I also routinely begin integrating very early which is the only reason I'd feel comfortable leaving 4 week olds with adults, because by then they've been living together for 2 weeks or more. For some folks that doesn't work due to space or breeds or they simply don't feel comfortable with it, so no reason to change your plans if you don't think that will work for you.

 

[Raubkatze]

If you know it's big enough to easily hold the amount of chicks that should be okay then as well - my chicks are usually going nuts by the end of the first week and want out, so I couldn't imagine keeping them in the brooder for a long weekend past that point.

I also routinely begin integrating very early which is the only reason I'd feel comfortable leaving 4 week olds with adults, because by then they've been living together for 2 weeks or more. For some folks that doesn't work due to space or breeds or they simply don't feel comfortable with it, so no reason to change your plans if you don't think that will work for you.

Wow, I hadn't heard of integrating them that early. I always thought that 6 weeks was the standard.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Wow, I hadn't heard of integrating them that early. I always thought that 6 weeks was the standard.

There's really no standard. 6 weeks is still pretty early. I brood out in the run so the see but no touch begins from the time the chicks are 2 or 3 days old. By the time they get let out for the first time, somewhere between 10-14 days old, the adults have already mostly lost interest in them.

First meeting with supervision, the smaller chicks are 13 days old. 2 days after this the chicks were granted full run and coop access in daylight hours and I discontinued supervision.