Could you help with a couple of things????

[ajmellu7]

Hi guys, was wondering if you could offer advice on a couple of chicken and holiday related things???

Am going away for 3 nights in a couple of weeks and really was wondering the best way to go about things? The girls are in a large pen and have a coop obviously too, I normally let them out first thing in the morning and close the coop up at night, but would I be able to leave the hatch open the whole time and they be ok? Would obviously make sure they have plenty of food and eater, but has anybody done this before or could you advise the best thing to do? I do have another 2 metre long run that attaches to the coop that I could put on for this time as well which I removed when I extended their pen, just was too small for a permanent run I felt.

On a slighty separate note, i have 4 girls and was thinking about introducing more, do I have to buy in 2's or can I just buy one and would I be able to put a couple of ducks in with them or not??

Thanks in advance for any help.

Andy

 

[kegs]

Can't you get someone to let them out and lock them in at night with the promise of free eggs? There is the chance that a fox could get to them while you're away, or the chickens might tip over their water?

As far as adding to your flock, I'd certainly buy more than one which will help when you integrate them. I'd also quarantine the new ones for a couple of weeks beforehand, and bear in mind that it's not a good idea to mix vaccinated and unvaccinated chickens.

 

[Marigold]

There is no need at all to shut them up at night and let them out in the morning at this time of year, as they will prefer the fresh air, won't get cold, and you won't have to worry about whether they are OK if you have asked someone else to be down there by 6a.m. to let them out. Of course this depends on you feeling happy that your run is secure against predators but this applies during the day as well. In an emergency you could just leave them for 3 days, but sod's law would probably operate, it always does when your back is turned for 5 minutes, and you would enjoy your break better if you felt someone was at least checking them daily and doing the basics. I've trained a local teenager to do mine when I'm away, she gets pocket money and keeps the eggs to add to the ones her dad sells at the gate, and he acts as backup if anything goes wrong (so far it hasn't.) Or maybe a friend or neighbour would check them for you? Is there another chicken keeper nearby, who would be prepared to look after yours in return for help with their hens when they go away? Seems to me this problem is likely to recur, and if you can find a solution for this short visit, you could find out if it would be OK for a longer holiday sometime in the future.

There's a lot on here about introducing new hens, so if you use the Search facility you should find plenty to help you. Yes, basically always introduce at least two, keep them separate for a couple of weeks and follow advice about how to actually introduce them when the time comes. I'll leave it to the Waterfowl people to decide about the mixed duck/chicken situation but it doesn't sound a brilliant idea to me. Maybe post a new query about this in the Waterfowl section?

 

[Chuck]

My personal believe is that livestock should not be left unattended for more than 24 hours. At least someone should be checking on them.

 

[charliefox]

hi realy you need to arrange cover for the time your away and it needs to be someone who has chickens or had which ever the case may be you can add one hen to a flock but best done at night while roosting the colour variation needs to be similar after the pecking order has been sorted things should settle down. duck and hens do go but? ducks like water so keep it shallow as hens may drown if its to deep( they learn by what they see ) also they make a lot more mess due to big flat feet and water, after all its there natural enviroment hope this helps .uncle fox

 

[chrismahon]

We found a duck was very agressive to the hens -perhaps a one-off? Introducing single hens is frought with problems and is extremely difficult to do successfully short term or long term as we know -they end up living a solitary life never properly accepted by any of the others. Pairs are difficult enough Ajmellu.

I wouldn't leave ours unattended for more than a few hours. Water gets knocked over easily or very hot spell and they drink it or someone poos in it. Depends how fox proof your run is as well. After all it would have several days to get in, undisturbed by you or anyone else.

 

[Mrs Brewster]

I have one of neighbours pop over and shut the door and open it in the morning. Leave enough food and water, just show someone how to change the water if needs be. It only a few days after all, as long as your coup is secure and someone is going everyday to lock and unlock, they'll be fine. My neighbours loves doing it.

 

[Marigold]

I kept hens for quite a while many years ago, then had a few years without any, until I was asked to help a friend who wanted someone to look after his hens whilst on holiday. This made me realise how much i was missing so I got started again. As Mrs Brewster says, it's not hard to find someone who will actrually enjoy doing it, and you can always either give them a nice present when you return, or do something for them as a trade-off.

nb; when i said in my earlier post that you could leave them for three days in an emergency, I didn't mean to imply that this was acceptable, it's not, but just that if you were really pushed they would probably be OK. But it would be very worrying to do that, it's difficult enough wondering how they are getting on even if you think the care is good!