leaving home for a week (with house chickens)

[Dan Saiyan]

so im raising two silkies as house pets, and this wouldn't be an issue since i'm home 24/7 (i work from my desk) so i can take care of them usually, but in january we're taking a family trip to disney world for a week and obviously i cant take my silkies with me. the pet safari down the road doesn't accept chickens of course, either. my mom said she'd talk to her coworkers to see if someone could chicken sit for the week, but i'm wondering if there's anything else i could do? i'm keeping them in a kennel at night when they sleep and they'll roam around the house during the day (with diapers of course), but i don't want to put that on my mom's coworker for a week (they won't be able to change the diapers often enough since they work during the day and i don't think i trust a random person my mom works with to handle my chickens well enough to change their diapers anyway). the only option i can think of is having them keep the chickens in the large kennel i have set up for them and just have the coworker change the bedding in the kennel every day and night so they dont have to deal with the diapers, but i hate to think about my chickens staying cooped up in that kennel for seven days, too (i'll take them outdoors with harnesses since we don't have a fence but i don't think the coworker will know how to put on a chicken harness to do that either so they'll have to stay in the kennel).

is there anything else i could do? or will my chickens just have to stick it out for the week in the kennel? i'm afraid to tell them to keep them in their yard or something during the day since they won't be home to supervise them and make sure hawks don't get them... i'm in quite the pickle here

this is likely a one-time ordeal since we don't take vacations very often at all (we haven't been to disney world in 14 years) so i'm wondering if the kennel situation will be all that bad in the long run :/a suggestions are appreciated!

(also i know the subject of house chickens is pretty divisive; i'm not looking to get into it with anyone please :'x i'm just looking for advice on my current situation)

thank you!

 

[Cyprus]

They should be able to tolerate being in a kennel for a week.

 

[Dan Saiyan]

They should be able to tolerate being in a kennel for a week.

oof i hope so, thank you!

 

[micstrachan]

How big is the kennel? Is that where they normally sleep? Do you have a small room where you can let them roam and put their kennel in there for night time? Just cover everything with towels or something?

 

[Perris]

there are places that offer hen boarding dotted about the UK; have you looked for similar there?

 

[Dan Saiyan]

How big is the kennel? Is that where they normally sleep? Do you have a small room where you can let them roam and put their kennel in there for night time? Just cover everything with towels or something?

it's a large sized dog kennel and yes that's where they normally sleep. i guess part of the problem is i don't know where they'll be staying; i don't know if mom's coworker is going to have them at their house or if theyll be just coming over to my house to check on them

i'm THINKING they'll be staying at their house though and i don't know if they'll have somewhere for them to roam, so i guess i'm banking on them staying in the kennel while i'm gone

 

[Dan Saiyan]

there are places that offer hen boarding dotted about the UK; have you looked for similar there?

i could look around but i doubt there's something like that where i live ;0

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

I am sure they will be fine for the week as long as their bedding is cleaned and they have food and water. When people get new birds and add them to their flock, their intial set up isn't the same as it will be and they could be confined for a month if quarantine is needed. Also, when a dog goes to a place for boarding, they don't get to do their normal stuff. The animals will adjust and they won't hold it against you. It is the human emotions getting involved that is causing the conflict.
Who knows, maybe the caretaker will love them so much she will take them out for a bit to roam around their place.

 

[123RedBeard]

By "kennel" do you mean "crate"? What are the dimensions?

Have you looked at our states thread "Where am!, Where are you?" https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/tennessee.226276/ maybe there is a member nearby?

 

[Callender Girl]

Leaving your babies for a week is stressful even if they aren't house chickens. I nearly cancelled our summer trip this year when my regular pet-sitter moved.

The best arrangement I could make was to have someone drive out to our country home once a day and provide feed and water. That meant my chickens didn't get their twice-a-day meals, they didn't get out in their runs or get to free range; they had to stay in their coops all day, and they certainly didn't get anyone's loving attention (for example, no one fed them cut-in-half grape treats).

HOWEVER, your chickens are probably far more resilient and adaptable than you think. Trust me, my birds all survived unscathed and don't seem to be holding any grudges against me.