Semi-automatic coop and flock - can it exist?

[stavo]

Let me start by saying that I'm a relatively experienced chicken owner. I've had a mixed flock of typically 10-20 hens for the past seven years. I'm the primary caregiver, and I've been fortunate to have my mother-in-law on site who takes care of them whenever I'm away.

Unfortunately, our circumstances are changing, and we won't be able to keep them here where I live going forward. Option one is to give the flock away. However, I'm really hoping that option two is possible, and I'd love some feedback from others who might have a similar set-up.

We have a five-acre property an hour from here. Presently it's being run as a vacation rental while we fix it up as our future retirement home. Between the improvement projects, the general upkeep, and the vacation rental management, I'm driving there every 3-4 days on average.

Naturally, the question is, would it be possible to keep chickens and only tend to them, say, twice per week?

I know there are food and water systems that don't have to be filled daily. I can add pellet chutes and multiple waterers that can easily provide a week's worth. I know there are also automatic doors. Even though our current coop is large, I'd like to let them free range during the day. The potential predators are coyotes, foxes, raccoons, owls, hawks... primarily nocturnal and I can make sure the coop is fortified for their safety. There isn't a fence around this property, so neighborhood dogs could be a concern, but I do plan to fence the part of the lot that they'd be in. It would be away from the house, so there should be no impact from the vacationers. The one item I don't have a solution for is collecting eggs, which we do daily now.

So the questions are, could this work? Can eggs last a few days in an enclosed nesting box? (Our winter lows are around 30 and summer highs above 100) Is this in any way unethical, even though they would have sufficient food, water, and shelter? Are there other potential issues or concerns that I'm missing? Any tips for how to make this more automated? Would love to hear what others think.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Without daily human activity the free range birds will either wander off or get picked off.

It's unfortunate but it's how it is.

 

[aart]

Without daily human activity the free range birds will either wander off or get picked off.

Even if confined to a run, predators could be an issue.
Not to mention other things that could go awry that would need immediate attention.

 

[Mrs. K]

It might work for a while, or it might just be a disaster. I think you are covering things, but then again, I have had disasters when I am checking them every day.

I think I will recommend minimizing the flock, making it as small as possible. This gives more space, food and water will last longer.

The thing of it is, life happens, and while one plans on getting out there, sometimes you can't.

Mrs K

 

[stavo]

Without daily human activity the free range birds will either wander off or get picked off.

It's unfortunate but it's how it is.

Interesting... I hadn't considered that. You think they'd still wander off if it's the same coop that they're used to? I plan to disassemble it and move it there. How about if I get a rooster, would that help to keep the flock together?

I guess I could fast-track my plans to surround the area with a fence.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Even if confined to a run, predators could be an issue.
Not to mention other things that could go awry that would need immediate attention.

Definitely.
A leak in the water system, a storm that ruins all the feed, a predator in the coop when the auto door closes, the auto door fails for any reason, skunks drawn to eggs left in the coop, and any number of medical needs a bird might have.

Interesting... I hadn't considered that. You think they'd still wander off if it's the same coop that they're used to? I plan to disassemble it and move it there. How about if I get a rooster, would that help to keep the flock together?

I guess I could fast-track my plans to surround the area with a fence.

In addition to the things listed above and already posted by others.
There are still the hawks and any number of critters that can climb or jump.

Roosters are a crap shoot. It's actually rare that one takes on a predator. They have the same fight or flight response the hens do. Self preservation often wins that one.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I have a friend who has waterers and feeders that hold a month's worth of food. I have always suspected that mice can get in them but don't know for sure. I think the problem with automatic doors is they can't count chickens so I agree with the above that you would have to expect a certain amount of loss especially once predators figure out that there is no one around. Could you set up a really big run with netting and an electric fence instead?

 

[stavo]

It might work for a while, or it might just be a disaster. I think you are covering things, but then again, I have had disasters when I am checking them every day.

I think I will recommend minimizing the flock, making it as small as possible. This gives more space, food and water will last longer.

The thing of it is, life happens, and while one plans on getting out there, sometimes you can't.

Mrs K

Yes, expect the unexpected, but even then something will probably come up.

The flock size will likely shrink pretty soon by attrition. Half of the flock is up there in years.

But I don't think space would be an issue. The coop is already large, and the area that they'd free range in is a fruit orchard with twenty trees. There will always be stuff to forage, including fruit that drops. And as a backup I would have the tree irrigation also add to a water container daily.

 

[stavo]

I have a friend who has waterers and feeders that hold a month's worth of food. I have always suspected that mice can get in them but don't know for sure. I think the problem with automatic doors is they can't count chickens so I agree with the above that you would have to expect a certain amount of loss especially once predators figure out that there is no one around. Could you set up a really big run with netting and an electric fence instead?

Overhead netting outside of the coop would be difficult only because it will be in a fruit orchard. I feel that short of a bear, I can make the coop itself predator proof... other than if they enter before the door closes. When I build the fencing around the orchard, it will be 7-8 feet tall to keep the deer away from the trees (they're still small). I know that's not going to keep everything out, but maybe it'd be enough to deter nocturnal predators from trying to get over or under during daylight hours.

 

[ChicNmom]

Will it be a long time before you are able to move there?
Could you find someone locally that could help care for them in exchange for free eggs?

I wouldn't do it without a covered run or fenced area with netting. Hawks will have chicken dinner until they are all gone. One of my neighbors has a picture of a bobcat climbing up the fencing around their run.
Were you just going to stick the coop in the orchard with out a run? Trying to visualize this.