Vacation - How to Keep Chickens Fed, Watered, & Happy

[DownFunEggby37]

Good morning to you and our feathered friends!
If one has to be gone for a time - either for work or for vacation, how does one ensure that your chickens stay fed, watered, and happy? We have a business trip/vacation coming up later this year and I'm wondering if my husband should go and I should opt out...

I'm concerned about rain if the coop door has to stay open - I don't want mold in the hen house. Also, I do worry about chicken-snatchers climbing the fence - or cutting it, to get my girls or their eggs. (Though I think we may have obtained a rooster - time will tell, so that might be a deterrent.) I'm thinking of setting up a trail cam.
How long can chickens be unattended with food/water provided? Does anyone have any advice or encouragement?? I'm really anxious already about leaving them. (We board the pup - she loves that!)

Thank you in advance!

 

[sourland]

I always pay someone to take care of my animals. Perhaps a certified 'pet sitter', but a good possibility is a kid from a 4 H group.

 

[DownFunEggby37]

I always pay someone to take care of my animals. Perhaps a certified 'pet sitter', but a good possibility is a kid from a 4 H group.

That's a great idea!! I hadn't considered reaching out to a 4H group for this! (I was in 4H, so I really like this idea!) Thanks for your input!

 

[NatJ]

Does anyone have any advice or encouragement??

My biggest piece of advice: test everything while you are home first!

Set things up the way you think will work, then check on the chickens every single day but do not change anything. Watch to see how well it works. If they are fine for the correct length of time, there's a good chance it will work while you are gone.

During the time you are testing, if you find a problem, of course you will fix the problem, and then work out how to prevent it in future. That's the point of testing while you are home-- you can intervene if you need to, and you learn whether you do need to.

As an example, they may never spill their water if you top it up every day. But if you leave it for a week, they may drink 3/4 of the water, and that may make it light enough they can tip it over and spill the rest.

How long can chickens be unattended with food/water provided?

They need to have food and water available all the time. But how often someone needs to fill the feeder and waterer will depend on how many chickens, how big the feeder & waterer are, and a variety of other factors.

You could arrange for someone to come check on the chickens every day or two.

Or if you set up the trail cam you mentioned, you can check from a distance, and arrange to call someone only if you see a problem, and then they can go fix the problem. (Try to set it up so it shows the feed, water, and at least some of the area the chickens hang out in-- that will let you see most kinds of problems that are likely occur.)

If you are gone for a week or two, you might come home to find a bunch of rotten eggs. Or you may find that several hens have gone broody, and the eggs are halfway to hatching. Neither of these is a BIG problem, but they are things to be aware of.

I'm concerned about rain if the coop door has to stay open - I don't want mold in the hen house. Also, I do worry about chicken-snatchers climbing the fence - or cutting it, to get my girls or their eggs. (Though I think we may have obtained a rooster - time will tell, so that might be a deterrent.)

That's another thing to test before you go: leaving the door open.

It sounds like you are worried about people taking the chickens. A rooster might deter some people in the daytime, but at night he won't make much difference. Chickens do not see well at night, and tend to just sit on their perch and let people pick them up.

Personally, I would be more worried about wild animals. With the coop door open, and a fence with no roof, I expect that something like a raccoon would climb over and get your chickens during the night. A rooster is not much protection from predators, because they are quite willing to eat him too. He may help a little in the daytime, but is probably no help at all during the night.

Whether you get mold in the coop with the door open will depend on your climate. Chickens themselves put out so much moisture that leaving the door open will probably not make much change in the moisture level inside the coop. And the open door will let it dry out faster when the rain does stop. Personally, I wouldn't be too worried about the chance of mold if it's just for a week or two. But again, testing before you go should answer that question too.

 

[DownFunEggby37]

My biggest piece of advice: test everything while you are home first!

Set things up the way you think will work, then check on the chickens every single day but do not change anything. Watch to see how well it works. If they are fine for the correct length of time, there's a good chance it will work while you are gone.

During the time you are testing, if you find a problem, of course you will fix the problem, and then work out how to prevent it in future. That's the point of testing while you are home-- you can intervene if you need to, and you learn whether you do need to.

As an example, they may never spill their water if you top it up every day. But if you leave it for a week, they may drink 3/4 of the water, and that may make it light enough they can tip it over and spill the rest.


They need to have food and water available all the time. But often someone needs to fill the feeder and waterer will depend on how many chickens, how big the feeder & waterer are, and a variety of other factors.

You could arrange for someone to come check on the chickens every day or two.

Or if you set up the trail cam you mentioned, you can check from a distance, and arrange to call someone only if you see a problem, and then they can go fix the problem. (Try to set it up so it shows the feed, water, and at least some of the area the chickens hang out in-- that will let you see most kinds of problems that are likely occur.)

If you are gone for a week or two, you might come home to find a bunch of rotten eggs. Or you may find that several hens have gone broody, and the eggs are halfway to hatching. Neither of these is a BIG problem, but they are things to be aware of.



That's another thing to test before you go: leaving the door open.

It sounds like you are worried about people taking the chickens. A rooster might deter some people in the daytime, but at night he won't make much difference. Chickens do not see well at night, and tend to just sit on their perch and let people pick them up.

Personally, I would be more worried about wild animals. With the coop door open, and a fence with no roof, I expect that something like a raccoon would climb over and get your chickens during the night. A rooster is not much protection from predators, because they are quite willing to eat him too. He may help a little in the daytime, but is probably no help at all during the night.

Whether you get mold in the coop with the door open will depend on your climate. Chickens themselves put out so much moisture that leaving the door open will probably not make much change in the moisture level inside the coop. And the open door will let it dry out faster when the rain does stop. Personally, I wouldn't be too worried about the chance of mold if it's just for a week or two. But again, testing before you go should answer that question too.

Lots of wisdom there! Thank you. I will be taking your advice. I just asked a coworker (who worked for a farm supply store for years) if she could help me find a trustworthy young person who would like to earn some money by "chicken sitting".
Thanks so much for your input!!