Leaving town (and your chickens)!

[StephanieD]

If you leave town for a few days, what do you do with the chickens?? DH is building an enclosed small run now.....but do you just leave the coop door open at night and hope nothing gets them?

 

[NonnasBabies]

Well I have my in laws next door so they take care of things when we go on vacation!!

Plus my coop is 3 sided so I have nothing to close up! I could leave for a few days and wouldn't worry about them!!

 

[sueche]

hire a chicken sitter..

 

[Emmalion]

My Mother loves to come up and chicken/doggy sit.

 

[midget_farms]

get an automatic door.

Build or buy. They are great! Plus you never forget to close them in at night.

I was gone for 8 days after x-mas. Had lots of food & water & a neighbor collect the eggs. They were just fine.

 

[2txmedics]

I have a cover over the top of my run, wire and tarp partial to cover what the trees dont from sun....then I get a bunge cord and I wrap it on the door lock and connect it to the other side, and have a board like a plank that goes into the coop, that holds the door cracked open....this way if its cold or if it rains....the coop is partially closed....but I leave my girls loose in the run

The door is an actual privacy gate door, my coop is made of left over privacy fence. When Hurricane Ike hit us we went around picking up fencing thrown in the streets.

This is when we were building it, ventilaton goes all across the top, which is out of the top of the kennel but we have heavy gauge wire across the front of it....they roost behind on actual tree branches I pick up in the yard

so they can see the whole yard we live on...so when I leave town they are safe.

I have other smaller coops that I cover partial if Im going to be gone a few days, this way the rain is blocked
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/36033_dsc_0794.jpg

 

[BlackBrookPoultry]

You must not have worry about mink or weasels there in TX. My chickens would last about 2 nights with a fence with that big of holes.

 

[txliss]

I have a 3 sided coop with a very strong, fully covered, reinforced run attached. I also have a fully fenced backyard patrolled by 2 German Shepherds. I have left the girls for Fri-Sun weekends with no problem, but do understand the laws of Murphy. I do have neighbor kids or pet sitter take care of the animals if we're away longer than that.

We top off all feed and water dispensers before we leave and pray for the best. With kids in track, science competition teams, 4H, and Scouts, we are always on the run and must do our best. So far, no trouble. Only attacks we've had were when we were home, but before the yard was fenced.

 

[One Silly Chicken]

Having your neighbors double check on them is always best when your away. (a sound peace of mind)

 

[2txmedics]

Then kennel runs have a two layer set of chicken wire from the ground, under...on up to the 1/2 way mark....I did that because I did have a problem losing chickens, I did not know that possums, racoons could reach in and pull a sleeping chickens upper body out and drain there blood and kill them....I found out the hard way....I lost 2 buff's this way

I was collecting them and putting them both in a bucket to discard them....

so now EVERY GAP IS CLOSED OFF!!!!

I have NEVER SEEN anything like this and it hurt me to know that they suffered and how scared they must have been!!!!