Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[MargaretYakoda]

I'm curious what everyone does for their chickens when they go on vacation...

What's a "vacation"?

 

[ochochicas]

Yep, I'm the same way. I have only been on two mini-vacations since we bought the farm. One was one night, and the second was a 3 day trip that ended with a cancelled flight so my returned was delayed by a day and it was a nightmare. I was trying to "train" the neighbor kids to come over and feed the horses while I'm gone. That didn't work out so well. They came over one day when they knew I wasn't home, tied a horse to the arena fence, and scared the horse until he tore the fence down. Now they kids are banned from ever stepping foot on the property again.

In reality, I've worked for 25 years to be able to have a farm with my animals. This is "my vacation". I'm happier here than anywhere else. I do miss travelling, especially since I lived abroad for three years. This is a different chapter in my life though and this is what I want to do.

 

[Amberjem]

heya everyone I hope y'all are ready for the week and had an awesome weekend

 

[ShockValue]

RE: What to do for vacation / chick-sitting

Our girls are old enough to take care of themselves, except closing the coop-door at night. They free-range our property during daylight hours. So I just ask our neighbor to open it when they get around to it in the morning, and close again after dark. They do a head-count for me, but I've told them to not do any thing drastic if they come up missing 1. In the coop are feeders that hold 40 pounds of feed and a 4 gallon nipple-water system.. And 2 more 4 gallon waterers at popular hang-out spots on the lot. So no need to worry about that. The coop gets a little stinky if I don't clean it if we're gone for more than a few days (which is very rare anyway) but like little kids, they don't seem to notice all that much. (I do though, I try and keep it pretty clean.)

We've forgotten to close the coop a few times ourselves, and so far nothing bad has happened. But.. Our neighborhood is crawling with raccoons, bald eagles, and opossums. I've seen a few coyotes, mink, and young black bear around as well. I know if I left it open all the time it would only be a matter of time before the flock got decimated.

 

[Ashley Stroud]

RE: What to do for vacation / chick-sitting

Our girls are old enough to take care of themselves, except closing the coop-door at night. They free-range our property during daylight hours. So I just ask our neighbor to open it when they get around to it in the morning, and close again after dark. They do a head-count for me, but I've told them to not do any thing drastic if they come up missing 1. In the coop are feeders that hold 40 pounds of feed and a 4 gallon nipple-water system.. And 2 more 4 gallon waterers at popular hang-out spots on the lot. So no need to worry about that. The coop gets a little stinky if I don't clean it if we're gone for more than a few days (which is very rare anyway) but like little kids, they don't seem to notice all that much. (I do though, I try and keep it pretty clean.)

We've forgotten to close the coop a few times ourselves, and so far nothing bad has happened. But.. Our neighborhood is crawling with raccoons, bald eagles, and opossums. I've seen a few coyotes, mink, and young black bear around as well. I know if I left it open all the time it would only be a matter of time before the flock got decimated.

That is what we are striving for--to be able to leave and have a friend or neighbor open/close the coop door. Good idea to put some water around the lot. We've got bobcats, coyotes, eagles, raccoons,and opossums too--so I know eventually someones gonna get a free chicken dinner as we let the chickens roam all day as well.

Glad to hear no one does anything too drastic, and it's just my nerves getting to me at leaving them for an extended period for the first time. Which doesn't make sense really because it wouldn't matter if I were home or not, if something was going to get them, it will get them. I've been 10ft away and turned to find a coyote slinking up on my flock.

 

[Chickielady]

Technically, this story doesn't say it's expanding. These two farms were added, and their birds will be euthanized, as a precaution.

 

[CarolynF]

RE: What to do for vacation / chick-sitting

Our girls are old enough to take care of themselves, except closing the coop-door at night. They free-range our property during daylight hours. So I just ask our neighbor to open it when they get around to it in the morning, and close again after dark. They do a head-count for me, but I've told them to not do any thing drastic if they come up missing 1. In the coop are feeders that hold 40 pounds of feed and a 4 gallon nipple-water system.. And 2 more 4 gallon waterers at popular hang-out spots on the lot. So no need to worry about that. The coop gets a little stinky if I don't clean it if we're gone for more than a few days (which is very rare anyway) but like little kids, they don't seem to notice all that much. (I do though, I try and keep it pretty clean.)

We've forgotten to close the coop a few times ourselves, and so far nothing bad has happened. But.. Our neighborhood is crawling with raccoons, bald eagles, and opossums. I've seen a few coyotes, mink, and young black bear around as well. I know if I left it open all the time it would only be a matter of time before the flock got decimated.

We had traveling in mind when we originally built our coop and pen. The coop is inside the pen, and the pen is well fortified, so I don't even close the pop door at night.

We put welded wire under the pen and around the outside perimeter for a skirt of 18 - 24 inches. It's connected to the bottom of the fence and acts as a deterrent against digging. The top is covered and the doors have either a combination lock or 2 separate latches to deter tenacious raccoons. For water I use a 5-gallon bucket with nipples, and the food is in a plastic bucket style feeder with a tight fitting lid. Both will last a week or more. We have a neighbor that comes to check on them and collect eggs, but I often will leave them for 3-4 days without even that. I'm sure a mink or weasel could get in, but we aren't near water so that's less of a risk than larger animals like dogs and raccoons. In almost 4 years we haven't had an issue. Finger crossed. If it does I'll just have to deal with it. When we're home (vs. traveling) they are outside the pen where they have more room to roam. Hawks and eagles are common but so far so good.

p..s. How is your girl's foot healing?

 

[ShockValue]

p..s. How is your girl's foot healing?

Sadly, the part that I dug out is closed up with a clean scab, but the inflamation hasn't subsided much and she's still favoring that foot.

On to plan.. B.. or C or D..

 

[tridentk9]

Sadly, the part that I dug out is closed up with a clean scab, but the inflamation hasn't subsided much and she's still favoring that foot.

On to plan.. B.. or C or D..   

A thread on bumblefoot talked about using an epsom salt paste. Found in the horse section at feed stores.

 

[ShockValue]

She's getting a daily Epsom salt foot soak and fresh neosporin wrap daily. It seems like it's keeping things from getting worse, but I think I need to get more invasive for a cure.