What do you do when on vacation?????

[momma of a chicken lover]

Our neighbor going on vacation (and our taking care of the chickens) is the reason my son is transforming his menards fort into a chicken coop! do you have reliable neighbors? (My BYC page has pics of what has happened so far...)

 

[featherfriendlyinIowa52]

My husband and I almost have our coop finished, but I'm not buying chicks until AFTER we return from our vacation (celebrating 40 years of togetherness) in February, so the first vacation is in the bag. After that, I have a sister-in-law a mile away who will take care of things and all she'll cost me is the eggs she collects. I could also ask neighbors as we all look out for one another out here in the middle of nowhere.

 

[Hens & Hounds]

Vacation? what is that? Haven't had 1 of those since the early 90's when we only had snakes & fish & lived in a town home

My DH goes to visit family in Virginia w/o me every year as I have to stay home w/ the birds, chickens, dogs, fish & frogs

We can only do day trips now that keeps us away from home for 6 hrs +/- & only in summer when the days are longer...seems now days just fly by

There is absolutely no one who could properly handle problems arising from pond filters if power outage or that dogs would let in house never mind checking on chickens at least 3x a day

Those w/ big families that live close by could prolly sneak a vacation in if they have gone over every aspect of taking care of pets/livestock....just not me

I know I have read on here of a member who paid a pet sitter to watch chickens & he/she moved the brick/concrete base that a waterer sat on thus putting it back unlevel & practically all of her flock died from heatstroke/dehydration as the gravity fed waterer drained on ground

I know I tend to over think everything & go out of my way to prepare for every possible problem but there is always that one time something bad happens & I love my pets way too much to ever let something bad happen to them because I wanted a vacation.....I would never forgive myself...so I am somewhat of a martyr I guess

Every day I spend outside w/ the hens & hounds going for long walks thru the woods is good enough of a vacation for me

 

[goldeneggtees]

Vacations are def tricky! I've enlisted the help of neighbors and have paid for help too. I think a combo of people helping is best. Like someone you can trust to let them out in the a.m. and in, in the p.m. Then maybe pay a petsitter to come once a day for feeding and clean water. That's what I've done. Maybe you can even find another local BYC member who is close by and you can swap.

I posted a similar query a few years back on BYC and made friends with a local woman who is also a vet. She has chickens also and we help each other out when need be. It's been great so far and she is an amazing person and friend. She's even helped save the life of a hen who would have for sure perished 2x without her intervention.

Pretty cool - huh?

OH! Forgot to add, you may want to purchase a heated waterer if you live in an area that experiences freezes. You would not want their water freezing and have to ask someone to help with that task. It's a pain to do that. I try and make it as easy as possible when asking for help.

 

[RedDrgn]

We rely on our neighbors. We're lucky in that we have two neighbors we can trust to do that - we all have house keys for each other and we all have pets that require some tending when we're away, so it's just taking turns with everyone whenever any of us need it. It's great.

 

[LiLRedCV]

If it's just for a couple of days (no more than 4), I make sure to put out extra feeders, snack feeder, and extra water sources and lock them up in the coop for the duration.

For more than 4 days? I still put out the extra feeders and waterers, but we also hire a neighborhood teenager to take care of the critters while we're away. Since his daddy's a Deputy Sheriff he makes sure his son goes above and beyond what we ask. We let him set the price - which has always been very reasonable - and then add in a tip for the great job he's done. If we're going to be gone a week, he's allowed to leave the flock in the coop without letting them out. He just has to gather eggs, refill feeders and waterers, toss out a snack (BOSS) or two when he does. If it's going to be longer than that? While we don't expect him to let them out every single day and then come back to lock them up for the night, but we do expect them to be let out every other day or every third day.

So far, the arrangement has worked out very well!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

In St. Louis we have a Backyard Chicken Meetup Group and we put together a spreadsheet of those willing to chicken sit. Each person lists how far they're willing to travel and what they want for compensation. Most people want fuel reimbursement, some eggs, some nothing or reciprocation. I've done it once and used the service once.
For longer stays away, I have a friend who is retired, lives in the boonies, has no car or pets and appreciates the opportunity to come to town for a change of pace. I pick him up a couple days early so he knows the routine and he house/chicken sits and we feed him well while he's here and we're away.

 

[mieastman]

Check Craigs list and your local paper for animal sitters. We went on our first vacation(first in 38 years) in July for ten days in Hawaii. We were lucky in that we know a college girl who jumped at the chance to be on her own for the whole time. We provided food,lodging, and some cash. She cared for our three cats and four chickens. She also did some weeding and cut the grass for extra cash. Did I mention she also has chickens,cats and a dog. We couldn't have been more pleased with the results.

 

[cmclean]

Thanks to all of you for your advice. I appreciate your input.
(PS When we have been on trips in the past I left my dog at my sister's house. The cat is indoors and has auto feed/water. (He is also fine alone; prefers it in fact) The pond fish have natural food with all the plants, so we don't give them food. This is the first time we have had the chickens so we need a new plan.)

 

[DangerChickenHouse]

I'm leaving for four days this weekend. Luckily, I have an arrangement with my neighbors. Our chickens are not laying eggs yet, but when they do I will be sharing with my neighbors who pet sit for us. We plan on leaving enough food for them, but my neighbors will need to refresh the water everyday. My poor girls will not be allowed to free range, but they will survive.

Good luck!