Pet Sitter Woes! Dead birds!

[Tigerjane]

I think the problem is the ages of these sitters

 

[DragonEggs]

Quote:
He doesn't have ADD, he is a very competent 13-14 yr old with parents who monitored everything, came over with him and checked off the checklist.

Wait, wait, wait... the parents were in on this too with a checklist and the birds in the garage were still overlooked for a week?! Something doesn't sound right here....

 

[ScoobyRoo]

Hey guys, we need to ease up a bit. We all take risks having someone else take care of the animals while we are gone. It may have been an honest mistake. But sad. I'm sure they feel bad about the whole thing. Let's not bash the kid as we don't know everything.
JMO

 

[Funky Feathers]

If they were my animals, I would kill him and hide the body good, like in a large deep body of water. Ever heard the term "one-way boat trip"?

 

[wyliefarms]

Accidents do happen.

When ever I have anyone animal sit for us, I have a written list and have the person come over for both morning and night chores before we leave. I explain each step on the list as we do the chores. I think this helps a lot. If I was doing someone's chores I would like to visually see where the feed and animals are to be cared for.

Sorry for your loss.

 

[redhen]

Quote:
He doesn't have ADD, he is a very competent 13-14 yr old with parents who monitored everything, came over with him and checked off the checklist.

So... what happend then?? If it was on the list and it was checked off.. but not actually DONE.
I'd say they let the birds suffer it on purpose... sicko's....

 

[MaggieRae]

Quote:
Ain't that the truth!
First, sorry about your chicks. Any loss, even broilers, is no good.
Second, here's my story about pet sitters: I spent a good amount of my time caring for my birds and had everything planned. But, my coop builder fell through on me and didn't have my coop ready by August (even though he started in April. It sat in the garage in a suspended state for several months.

) and I got (had... since the tickets had been bought) to go on a vacation to Maine! So the pet-sitter watched my chickens. Fortunately, there were no deaths. But the day we got home, we found this: their brooder was a mess, their water dish was filled with food, they had filled up a human dish with water for them which was muddy and gross, and all my chickens were soggy and cold from the wading through the water (I guess the chickens thought they were ducks! They were wrong and got dried with a hairdryer.). But at least no one died and within an hour the brooder was back to normal, the chickens got to free range while we cleaned everything up, and my coop got finished that weekend (I think the smell we came home to kicked the builders into over-gear.

)

In the pet-sitter's defense, she was a cat-sitter (that got paid a good amount), and she tried her best. I should have made sure the chickens were moved into their coop by then. Oh well. Live and learn.

 

[Tigerjane]

Someone who steps up and says "yeah, I can do that. Here's my rate." needs to be held responsible. If you're uncomfortable holding them accountable because of the person's age, or because it's a friend/neighbor, then don't get that person to do the job! You either trust them or you don;t; they either do the job or they don't. Coming home to dead animals should never happen, no matter the excuse. If the person is exempt from being held accountable, they should have been exempt from being in a position of being responsible for another person's living things.

Have the parents of this kid stepped forward to explain what went on?

 

[poultryhaven]

Quote:
???
Im a teen too, and I had over 90 birds I was just taking care of. I have had chickens for about 2 years now and my parents dont help me. I dont think age has to do with it. I was out there everyday taking care of my birds on top of chores, school and other pets. My dad helped me build the coop and that was it. I fed, medicated and watered everyone by myself without being asked to one time. I have to disagree.

 

[Tigerjane]

Quote:
???
Im a teen too, and I had over 90 birds I was just taking care of. I have had chickens for about 2 years now and my parents dont help me. I dont think age has to do with it. I was out there everyday taking care of my birds on top of chores, school and other pets. My dad helped me build the coop and that was it. I fed, medicated and watered everyone by myself without being asked to one time. I have to disagree.

Taking care of your own pets is a different story than taking care if someone else's. Their needs are top on your mind. As someone who runs a petsitting business, I've had problems with our sitters between the ages of 18 and 20. They miss details, forget things, hurry through. Is this the case with every person that age? No, but reliability and attention to detail comes with age.