YO GEORGIANS! :)

[farmerChef]

I have a question for the more experienced chicken owners. At what age would it be ok to leave our young chickens for a couple of days in their coop and run on their own? We wanted to go see our Mothers for Mother's Day out of state. We have hardware cloth on our coop and run and are making feeders/ waters that should last a few days. Our chicks will be about 12 weeks old by then.

are they feathered enough not to need heat?
Make sure your feeder and water is large enough to last them a few days,maybe add a second one?
Do you know someone than can stop by and check on them?

 

[valleychicks]

are they feathered enough not to need heat?
Make sure your feeder and water is large enough to last them a few days,maybe add a second one?
Do you know someone than can stop by and check on them?

We are going to make large pvc feeders and we have several water bottles for them. The use the water nipples. I'm not sure if I can get a neighbor to check on them. I will have to see if they are staying in town. Yes the are fully feathered, they no longer need a light.

 

[Rocky Rhodes]

I have a question for the more experienced chicken owners. At what age would it be ok to leave our young chickens for a couple of days in their coop and run on their own? We wanted to go see our Mothers for Mother's Day out of state. We have hardware cloth on our coop and run and are making feeders/ waters that should last a few days. Our chicks will be about 12 weeks old by then.

Let me first say, I do not claim to be an expert. I do raise quite a few hatchlings(fuzz butts) every year, and have been for several years. I think that if you are confident that the coop is predator proof and you make sure to provide plenty of food and water, they should be fine. This time of year temperatures are not going to be a problem. I would provide a perch off of the ground for them to roost on. I usually move my chicks to an outdoor coop as soon as they develop feathers on their breast. Be sure the coop will stay dry if it rains.

 

[Quack Addict]

http://augusta.craigslist.org/for/4445838242.html

What kind of ducks are these?

At that age it's hard to be positive but based on their color a good bet would be Pekin

 

[sanchabird]

I have a question for the more experienced chicken owners. At what age would it be ok to leave our young chickens for a couple of days in their coop and run on their own? We wanted to go see our Mothers for Mother's Day out of state. We have hardware cloth on our coop and run and are making feeders/ waters that should last a few days. Our chicks will be about 12 weeks old by then.

I have left of chickens when they were about 4months old. If I am gone for a week, I have my neighbor check on them. I came back to alive and healthy chickens every time. On the 3 or 4 day vaca's, I just leave them with an extra feeder and waterer and if my neighbor is gone, I just leave them alone, if not he collects eggs. I always add an extra feeder and waterer and I give the bag of chicken food to the neighbors to feed them if they're there. They should be fine though.

 

[mrsdszoo]

Lucky you, Mrs D.. I wish that was all my girl did.. She also craps herself all night long, and this is a 75-pounder. We stayed at my grandmother's last night so I had one heck of a mess to clean when I got home (she stays in my bathroom at night).. I don't know how much more of her I can take. :/

Thank goodness this one doesn't do that! He does get an upset digestive system though, and you can hear his guts churn from across the room. He frantically begs to go outside, but of course the minute he gets outside, it gets worse - and he darts around the yard in a panic. I confined him op his crate last night after his pill and shut the door to our bedroom so we couldn't hear him. It's tough to manage dogs like these! Of course since the bedroom door was shut, I didn't hear the other old guy ask to go out this morning, so he relieved himself quietly in the dining room. I just finished cleaning the carpet - again. I'm thinking with three of the four dogs between 10-11 years old, they'll all sleep in their crates now. Between the three old dogs, I'm over cleaning carpets so often . The other one is five and very good out of her crate, but she likes to bury herself in her blankets at night, so she gets crated too. I really appreciate the outdoor animals on days like this!

 

[mrsdszoo]

Lucky you, Mrs D.. I wish that was all my girl did.. She also craps herself all night long, and this is a 75-pounder. We stayed at my grandmother's last night so I had one heck of a mess to clean when I got home (she stays in my bathroom at night).. I don't know how much more of her I can take. :/

I was just thinking; Benadryl might not knock her out enough (my anxious guy is only 47 lbs. ), but an Ace (acepromazine) would knock her out enough to sleep blissfully through the storm. I know meds aren't the first choice for this sort of thing, but when you've tried all the homeopathic/etc. methods to calm an anxious dog, sometimes you need them. I have friends who have tried Thundershirts with mixed success, and the same for Rescue Remedy floral essence. My guy has too much adrenaline going during his anxiety attacks for those things to work, and if the humans don't sleep, their work suffers the next day - making an impact on the ability to buy critter food.

 

[mrsdszoo]

http://augusta.craigslist.org/for/4445838242.html

What kind of ducks are these?

My husband is getting on my nerves! He keeps saying no to everything I want! Even free ducks!

I was gong to answer the first question with "Your ducks", but I see that your husband might be related to mine . Although mine finally threw in the towel and hasn't been much of a bother since he got to meet Roboduck and GAMarans. I don't know what they said to him, since I was not home, but I keep meaning to say thanks

 

[LingaB]

I told my husband today that I am beginning to question his farm intentions. So far he has told me no to ducks, donkeys and a few dogs I have wanted. It's not like he does the chicken chores anyway!

But according to him we need housing for the animals. A small house for 2 ducks, made out pallets would take a day and dogs live inside. Plus we still have the big coop that is only partially built.

Humph! I should just start bringing the animals home without asking and just saying since I am a stay at home mom, I was just being motherly and raising animals.

That'll work, right? Right!?

 

[LingaB]

are they feathered enough not to need heat?
Make sure your feeder and water is large enough to last them a few days,maybe add a second one?
Do you know someone than can stop by and check on them?

When our chicks were 5 weeks old we had to go out of town for a few days. I didn't provide any heat source for them and had my sister and mom come every other day to check on them. We have hardware cloth that surrounds the sides and chicken wire on top and had no issues at all.