Sporadic Travel - can I leave them in coop a few days

[azygous]

Please fill out your profile info so we know your geographical location. Advice for someone living in Florida or Equatorial Africa will be different from what we might give to someone living in Minnesota or Greenland.

Those prefab coops are mighty charming, but never practical. They are almost never well ventilated, and probably won't stand up to a predator determined to get to what's inside. A storage shed modified as a coop would be a much better way to spend your money.

As long as you have a watering system that will keep water clean and fresh for a week and a secure method to dispense food, and a setup secure against predators, there's no reason you can't leave for several days. Most of us have someone to come check on our flock once a day if we are away since chickens have a knack of getting themselves into trouble and it pays to have someone to come by in case one needs to be rescued from their folly. (You'd be surprised at the things chickens can do to get into a pickle.)

An automatic pop door isn't required as long as the run is secure and the climate isn't overly harsh.

 

[lutherpug]

Quote:
Yes, sorry, I probably was too enthusiastic about it.

We originally got one as we both work long and unpredictable hours in the OR or are subject to being on call for the hospital. It provided us with the peace of mind that we would never be stuck at work worrying about the chickens. The travel perks were a complete bonus.

 

[nmflygirl]

Good info here. I don't travel often, but when I do DH isn't as enthusiastic about remembering the birds that provide breakfast. I'm building a bigger coop right now so that I can be sure they are well taken care of on the few trips I take during the year.

It's good to know that a properly secured area, shade, food and water is really all they need for a few days of being away. Though realistically, that's all they need even when I'm home.

 

[Spartan22]

I almost got one of those automatic pop door but voted against it since our run is secure and we never lock the pop door any ways. Chickens can get in and out as they wish, I got water & food stations in both.

 

[Teila]

I agree, great info here!

We had a quiet day at work one day and in response to another thread and chatter about premade/kit coops, I picked what I believed was a well know manufacturer and did some calcs……..

Their 'Tavern’ is advertised as housing 3-5 chickens but if you go into the expanded details it mentions 4-6 large chickens.

Their 'Saloon' is advertised as housing 2-4 chickens.

So, for good measure, lets say the 'Saloon' houses 3 chickens and the 'Tavern' 4 chickens.

Using the measurements provided on site:
The 'Saloon' measures: 76″ long, 35″wide, 39″tall
The Tavern measures: 98″ long, 41″ wide, 61″tall

So, by that reckoning 1 large chicken only needs 22 inches long and 6 inches wide?

Their 'Ranch' is advertised as housing 10-15 chickens.

The ‘Ranch’ measures: 143” long, 68″ wide, 67″ tall.

That is pretty close to double the size of the Saloon which houses 2-4 chickens but the Ranch is advertised as housing 10-15 chickens?? I am not going to work out how many inches that gives each additional chicken on the Saloon v Ranch but suffice to say it ain't gunna be much.

Keeping it simple and focusing on the Ranch, lets be generous and for ease of math, say 10 chickens that means each chicken would have an area 14 inches long by 6.8 inches wide.

Just saying

 

[Teila]

Hey Jakedude

Besides my above boredom busting calcs

I also just wanted to respond to your comment about free ranging the girls when you are home.

I live smack bang in the middle of suburbia on a standard residential block with 5 x pampered pet bantams. I work from home.

Free range was supervised only starting at 4PM in the afternoon when I had finished work and the majority of the day on the weekends. The girls used to start asking to be let out around 3PM.

This was fine until Crystal hatched, grew up and discovered that she could make noises that would put a Peacock X Duck to shame!

Because of the noise she could and was making, I started having to let them out at 3PM so that I could concentrate on work and the neighbours did not get annoyed. Of course, because free range was now 3PM, she started demanding at 2PM .. you can see where this is going? They now get let out at 5AM in summer and free range the back yard all day.

The reason I mention this is that if you are going to free range your gals and they become used to it, those times that you are away, they may raise havoc when they think they should be out ranging.

Definitely not meant to deter you in any way, just food for thought and hopefully you do not have any chickens that could put a Peacock to shame

 

[Jakedude]

Team;

Thank you all for the advice. It seems that the consensus is scrap the pre-made coop and get something with a little more size. As with any project my initial cost-estimates were quite a way South of where they needed to be.

I am currently in talks with my local handy man and am considering building something from scratch with the appropriate size and security features.

I'm looking at a 6' x 12' run with an elevated coop on one side, similar in idea to the pre-fab I discussed above but considerably larger, taller and more secure. I can do almost all of the work myself, but may have my friend assist with the carpentry aspects of the build and getting the roof properly installed. I am glad I asked questions first.

I have not yet patrolled the "coop plans" on this or any other site, but I am sure that I can find something unless anyone has any better ideas. I've also contacted a few vets and am gathering additional contingency information. Might not get into the whole thing this year as I'm going to save up a little for quality materials.

Thank you all for the advice.

Jake

 

[bobbi-j]

The coop and run design section of the forum is a GREAT place to go for ideas!

 

[Cacique500]

You might also want to see if you can get electric out to the coop. I'm guessing you get some semi-cold winters...you'll have to worry about frozen water. I have a large heated dog bowl in addition to a "normal" waterer...if the normal one freezes, the heated dog bowl is always good. I too travel quite a bit but I do have the temporary luxury of a neighborhood kid who checks them for me a couple times a week.

 

[christwodog]

We travel about 4-6 times a year, usually for a week at a time. I have the pvc tube feeders, which hold a week's worth of food between two of them (for 6 chickens). I use the 5 gallon bucket with the horizontal nipple dispensers, this holds plenty of water and has 5 dispensers so if one were to get clogged, there are others they can use. My coop is kind of like a big run in itself, with nest boxes and a little "house" they can go into if they want. I have a neighbor's daughter babysit them while we're gone, I pay her and she collects eggs and checks on them, I leave treats with her so she can give them a fresh cabbage for the cabbage hanger or other fruits and veggies. She also puts fresh hay in the coop a few times during the week, which helps keep it semi-clean. If we are gone only for a long weekend, they are fine on their own. The only downside is that when we are gone, they don't get to free range in the yard like they normally do. But my neighbor doesn't want to risk losing a chicken while I'm gone, so she doesn't let them out. You will figure out what system works for you, try a weekend trip to start and see how it goes. But the pvc feeders and nipple waterer are worth their weight in gold. Good luck, it will work out fine!