Will chickens cope with holiday boarding?

[tanjajk]

We have a few holidays coming up and I've found a lady quite locally who does chicken boarding. It's from her own home and they have their own little area with no other chickens around. I'll take their own food and feeding equipment.

I was going to keep them at home and have our neighbor open the coop in the morning and close it at night and a friend coming over every other day to top up water, food and give the place a quick poop scoop. My worry is that they are so engraved to my every day routine. I let them free ranging in our garden while I clean the run and coop every day. If they don't get out the make a racket and I can't have screaming chickens while we are away!

I just really worry it'll stress them out and they'll come home traumatized after a week. We have another holiday coming up 4 weeks after that so it'll be the same story.

Anyone else board their chickens and are yours OK with it?

 

[keesmom]

I wouldn't do it. There is the biosecurity issue - you may provide the feeder and waterer, but who knows how many chickens have been in that enclosure before yours and what diseases they may have carried. Also, chickens do not like change. Moving them to a strange location would be very stressful for them.

 

[aart]

Ditto on the boarding and bio-security issues.
Would be less stressful on the birds if the neighbor and friend cared for them in their home coop. I'd have them come over and walk thru chores with you both so they are familiar and the birds get to see them too.

ETA: Another thought, even if 'private' area, far away from other birds...would the attendant follow bio-security/cross-contamination protocols?

BYC Medical Quarantine Article

Goodness only knows what you might bring back to your coop.

 

[RWise]

And let them have the eggs for those days,,,

 

[rosemarythyme]

x3. Biosecurity would be a main concern. Even if the boarding place offers your flock a private area, how many other flocks have been boarded there? Plus it's far less stressful for your chickens to see a new person in their familiar area, than a new person in a new area.