What Do You Do If You Leave Town?

[Chickenmaven]

I used to pay $25 a day to have a kid open up the birds in the morning, feed & water, and lock 'em up at night. Now that I have chickens and pheasants and duck and bunnies, I am thinking I should win the Lotto or stay home!

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:

ditto

x3

I can't recall how many years it's been since I've had a day off from the poultry. I'm not allowed to get sick or die either.

Oh heaven forbid getting sick.

 

[CKMom]

we hired an FFA student to come twice a day. I left with feeders/waterers full and they were given instructions where the food was along with phone numbers in case of emergency, and egg cartons for the eggs they could keep. It works out well. I tried to convince my parents to take the chickens along with the Lab, but she likes her time alone with them.lol Last year right after we moved them from the brooder we went on vacation and did the same thing, but found out later she got stuck in the coop and had to pry the door open. We fixed the latch to open the coop from the inside the next day.

 

[Wolfwoman]

Quote:
x3

I can't recall how many years it's been since I've had a day off from the poultry. I'm not allowed to get sick or die either.

Oh heaven forbid getting sick.

Oh yeah isn't THAT th truth!!

 

[naomipoc]

We have a large-ish caged run and a big coop with a huge waterer and a 40lb. feeder. 11 chooks. We're planning to go away for a week. We've checked to see that the food and water will suffice, and we have our daughters coming over to check about midweek. I can't imagine them starving to death. I'm sure they'll miss treats I can't believe no one else has left their chickens!!!

 

[crysmom]

I have left my birds alone with no one to check on them for 2 days, I think any longer than that the eggs pile up/crack get broken, and there is a chance the waterers can get spilled,

Thankfully for the last two years we have had a nanny, so when we have to travel she stays in the house and cares for all the animals

Make sure anyone you hire is comfortable with chickens, because we hired a neighbors daughter one time and it turns out she was terrified of the birds and couldn't adequatly care for them

 

[Laurajean]

Quote:
YES! A NANNY!.......... Do I have to have kids for a Nanny??

 

[WoodlandWoman]

We have the interior model automatic door with the light sensor probe on a cable. The door is mounted on the inside and the probe goes through a small hole in the wall. We adjusted the sensitivity of the sensor by turning a screw, when we first got it, so that it would open and close at a time that was good for our chickens. We haven't had a problem with chickens being left out. We've had it for about 3 years.

When we first started using it, we made sure it was opening every morning and closing every night. We also made sure that the timing was good and that nobody was being left out. I think it's good to do this with any automatic door the first week, just to make sure it's working as intended.

You can also add a timer to the light sensor model or just get a timer model. We didn't want to hassle with changing the timer as the day length changed, that's why we bought one with the light sensor. If you want a timer model, there are several different manufacturers selling them. You can even make one. There are lots of different threads on automatic doors on the forum, including how to make them. If you want a light sensor model, we have the one that Foy's and Wells Poultry carry. Although Wells is in the UK, we received our order as fast or faster than items we've ordered from the US. It's battery operated.

I think most people that go away have someone taking care of their chickens. Some have automatic doors. Some people leave their chickens in the coop or leave the door to the run open. It just depends on your set-up. Not everyone has enough room in their coop or a secure enough run, to leave them unattended.

I've noticed that people with livestock take trips a lot less often than people with pets. Like, sometimes never!

(I want a pet nanny, too!)

 

[Supermommy486]

My Mom will come and stay if we need her to. We haven't gone anywhere yet but at the end of this month we have overnight trip coming up.

 

[kuntrygirl]

The flip side to that questions is......How many of you really enjoy your out of town trip without worrying about how your pets or animals are doing and if they are ok? The one time that I did go out of town last year, I wasn't able to enjoy my vacation because I was worried about all of my animals and what I would be faced with when I got home, even though I did have a pet sitter.

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