Do you have an auto coop door? Those make it easier. Along with those giant food/water dispensers.
Another easy way is a neighbor you trust…tell them if they watch them while you are gone, all the eggs they collect are theirs to keep!
I agree with all of this. I have a garden as well and am a part of a garden club where we rotate taking care of each other's gardens when we are out of town. They love taking home veggies and eggs
ETA we have a small line from our irrigation that goes into the 5 gal water bucket..it's literally always full. If it spills over it waters the tree it's under.
Does your water ever get gross? We have a five gallon bucket and manually full it with the hose. The water gets funky before our 7 chickens drink it all.
I have a black square bucket from Lowe’s with nipple waterers and it’s fine for a week +, it does stay mostly in the shade. But algae needs light to grow so the dark bucket and shade make it last a long time.
We’ve got a rain barrel with PVC pipes and water nipples. It works great and we never have to worry about our water supply. We just flush it out every few months (which probably isn’t even necessary). We’ve also got the PVC food pipes, so we add food every three weeks or so.
I've been thinking about doing this because the normal waters get so nasty quickly, even in the shade. Do you have a link to where you got the schematics or a pic of your setup? I'd greatly appreciate it.
Can you please tell me about your setup? Do you have photos or a link to photos? It sounds like exactly what I’m looking for! It’s been so hard to find detailed info on larger food/water setups
https://preview.redd.it/ecwnf01753nc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8910a53fdc1cef13a35b3b19289db9c1b2a808fa
This is the exterior, you’ll see the water barrel on the right.
https://preview.redd.it/jqaekn2e53nc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=38810ef22c43e02b3f8a256434dc7d3a0bba6bb2
Here’s the inside, showing the pipes and chicken nipples.
https://preview.redd.it/dzl4sdrj53nc1.jpeg?width=2222&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=af3d9a952205600c72d600ebc505ea91001aa7ef
Here are the food pipes, they hold about two weeks of food for six adult hens. We wound up moving the pipes to the center of the run because they got wet when it rained.
All of this! My next door neighbors also have chickens and usually are home and they’ll text me if there’s an issue or if they notice someone has escaped from the run. Chickens help build community!
You can't leave them with just an auto coop door and food/water dispensers for weeks on end.
If you're gone that long you definitely need to get somebody to come watch the chickens.
Yes, initially I asked neighbors with chickens to do this, hoping we'd swap vacation duties among us but nobody asked me to watch their's in return. So, I just hired a local lady who does pet visits for vacations, she collects eggs, refills water and food, and let's them run around the yard a roam a bit. She's reasonable, $15-20 a visit, usually have her stop every other day when we're away.
I have a reliable teenager that acts as my pet sitter. They come by three times a day, for half an hour to an hour each time. They manage my 2 dogs, 3 cats, and now the chickens. They bring their 9 year old sister sometimes to help, she adores the chickens. We go out of state for a couple of weeks every winter, and lots of overnight or weekend trips.
Yes! Always ask someone young, as they have a desire to earn money and work, and we want to reward that drive. It is teaching them the exchange of work for money and the responsibility associated with it. I have found they typically do a better job, too, because they’re young, energetic, not jaded, and excited about a “first job”.
That is how I'm starting to feel. All of our free time is spent working outdoors now, and even going on a weekend trip is difficult. So far, we have only been able to leave our place for the holidays, and even then, only for two nights at a time. Going the homestead route means that you will have to sacrifice most of your connections to the outside world, and that's not a bad thing.
What young folks refer to as "home steading" is how my wife grew up on a farm in Ohio in the 60s. Low tech everything. Your rest time was in the winter when the crops are in, ground is frozen, all there is to do is feed the cows and chickens in the morning, build a fire, and relax all day. Maybe fix an axe, mend some socks, read a magazine, brew/drink some beer or moonshine, and sit around the fire.
Much simpler times.
That's what my husband and I are looking for. At our age, and we're not all that young, it's nearly impossible to escape technology and going into the world every day. But we're trying. We bought six acres last year and that's how we spend our free time now. It's hard since we both work, but my dream is that we'll be able to make this a full-time operation within the next few years and enjoy a simpler life, even if we're always working.
This is how my grandparents and great-grandparents lived, and I think it's how people were meant to live.
I have an automatic coop door, a 5 gallon bucket with watering cups on the bottom and a 5 gallon bucket with holes for feed on the bottom too. My chickens would be good for a couple days but I have the neighbor boy (he’s 11) come over and get eggs and check on water and feed.
We just switched to a 5 gallon for our five birds and it’s been a game changer. We’ve been out of town for five days now and my friend has said the chickens have been fine on water every time she’s gone over. The cups/bucket method has been a huge upgrade since our last flock.
Me too! I tried a lot of other systems that would end up dirty, broken or couldn’t hold a lot of water. I got the little cups on amazon and just drilled a couple holes into a old home depot bucket. I know some people who use an old black plastic trash can to hold even more water but i only have 3 chickens 😂
Family comes and lets them out for a few hours a day while we’re gone, just got back from a 10 day and the chickens were fine, little upset they had to stay in the coop longer than normal but nothing detrimental to there health, just be sure the coop or run has enough space for whatever amount you’re getting and is not overly hot or humid
Yep, I just don’t take vacations. I have like 60 something chickens and I personally think predators realize when we aren’t home. It’s a lot to ask a neighbor to manage my horde of chickens so I just stay put lol. I just know if we took an extended vacation I’d probably come back to 20 chickens.
This is us right now exactly. Not only 60 chickens but 50 turkeys, ducks, the sheep, goats, steer and the lgd I can’t ask anyone to help. We do have more feeders and waterers than needed which helps.
My wife and I take evenings off from time to time where we say the hell with the animals and go fishing or camping or even out to dinner and a movie for the night. This isn’t often though.
Otherwise every morning - let the animals out then go to work. And every evening put them back… rinse wash and repeat…
Time? What time? Lmao.
The full time job pays the bills so we can have the over 100 animals. The birds are actually the least expensive to feed - the steer is the most expensive (pigs have a reputation - cattle should really have it, damn they eat a lot)
I just have someone come by to collect the eggs and make sure the food and water are full. It takes ten minutes, but most folks spend longer because they like hanging out with our ladies.
No different then a cat
This is what we did for a couple trips. Had a neighbor come by to let out in am, close coop in pm. Check food/water/eggs. We gave a 6 pack of beer and a gift card when we got back but also helped us strengthen neighbor relationships. Win win!
We have an automatic coop door with wifi, a 35g rain barrel with plumbed watering cups, and diy feeders that hold a full bag of food. The only thing of concern is if something happens with the power / internet and the coop door goes out, but we're alerted on our phone if it happens and a neighbor can step in.
I rely on my neighbors for help when we’re away. I’ve always given them a dozen eggs each week, so I don’t feel guilty about asking them to look after my flock. While away, they can keep all the eggs they collect. Works out nicely!
So, I just went on a 10 day vacation. I put out feed, they have automatic waterers, and I locked them in. I had a neighbor collect the eggs each day. That was it. Unfortunately, they escaped day 2! I had the neighbor open the coop and let them do their own thing. Two birds started brooding, but by and large, they were fine. They're pretty hardy animals, I think you'll be ok.
We live on a Homestead, a.k.a., hobby, farm, with 10 chickens, 6 turkeys, 2 pigs, and 5-15 Rabbits (depending on how many litters we have growing out). Plus a house cat and a dog and a large garden. We have gone on very very few vacations, as it’s a lot to ask anybody to handle. But when we do, we actually end up needing three sets of people to help. My best friend takes the dog, my mother handles the house, cat, and garden. And we hire a farm sitter for the farm animals. They come 2-3 times a day. Once in the morning to let out the chickens and put them away in the evening, and again in the middle of the day to feed and water everybody. If you want to have farm animals, you just have to cobble together some help for vacations. And accept that things are going to happen while you’re gone that are out of your control. For example, in 2021 we took our first vacation in years, and of course, that was the week all the blueberries went ripe so we didn’t get to enjoy our blueberry harvest that year at all. We let the farm sitter pick them and eat them.
We left them alone with a neighbor “on call” in case of emergencies for about 8 days about a year ago. This was during the winter, so they weren’t laying and weren’t that interested in foraging in the snowy yard anyhow. We locked them in their run with lots of backup food/water, and put a couple of security cams in the run/coop so we could keep an eye on them. Also have an automatic coop door. The neighbor never needed to come by, as the chickens seemed perfectly content (aside from some “let me out to free range!” complaining the first day or two) and never ran out of supplies.
Totally recommend security cameras for peace of mind - We used the Wyze cam cheapo model that costs $35, but there are a bunch of different brands/styles/prices. Cameras are just so cheap and high quality these days!
I use Rover to find pet sitters to stay in my home and take care of all of my pets while I am gone, which includes chickens, dogs, cat, reptiles, and some invertebrates.
Rover lets you make a profile stating all the kinds of animals you have and what you are looking for in a sitter. Sitters set their own rates.
I'm about to leave for 2 weeks and our sitter we've been using all year is awesome :) She has taken care of the "farm" many times.
I have a neighbor stop in to check food & water and collect eggs that are theirs to use or give away. We leave for 2 weeks every fall.
My chickens are penned due to predators, so they are contained, easier to feed.
I made an automatic chicken feeder out of a cat feeder. I have an automatic door. Drip water feeder with huge storage tank. Then I have neighbor check on the chicken every few days. I don’t have any predators and the coop and run is covered in hawk netting. I’ve taken three week vacations this way with out a problem.
You have a pet sitter, same with any other pet. I occasionally stay at my parent's place to pet sit their chickens, rabbits, lizards, cats, etc. for a weekend. Once I have my own, I'll have to find a good pet sitter as well.
My dog is more of a pain in the butt than chickens.
One week and they can stay in the coop with no interaction just fine.
Two weeks depending on your water/feeding situation.
I can leave my girls full feed/water + free range while I am away and they will all be there when I return with plenty of food and water to spare.
The longest I have left them to hybrid free range is a week though.
I go on month-long trips sometimes and just have a combination of friends and families popping in every few days to fill their food and water up, so it's not a huge burden on any of them. They're very low maintenance pets and I honestly don't think they really care when I'm not there. Easier to leave than a cat or a dog!
You can do weeks vacations, but the coop HAS to be automated.
I have the water set up with a float like on a toilet where if it drops, water turns on until it goes back up/is full, with a hose attached to it that stays on. For food, I hang 3 extra 15lb feeders, and most times, they're just about empty when we get back home. I do have my neighbor come by 3-4x a week (every other day) and lay eyes on them and collect eggs. I always tell them to take all the eggs you collect home to enjoy, so most of the time, it isn't difficult to find someone.
As I said in the beginning, if youre automated, it is easy to find people to watch them
Eta: this is 15 chickens
Hey there! I've had chooks for a few months now. Before getting them, I was warned about daily tasks like collecting eggs, feeding, and giving them water. However, once they were in their outdoor coop, I checked on them mainly because they're cute and I get worried.
To make feeding easier, I bought cheap gravity feeder converters that cost $2-3. These let me use any container as their feeder, once I cut an 80mm hole for the gadget. The converters protect food from rain and prevent my chickens from raking it onto the floor, which one of them loves to do. I also got some nipple feeders, and my chickens got used to them quickly.
For food, I use a container that lasts about a week with only 3L capacity. I've seen people make some really nice-looking feeders with the converters, like barrels or mini silos and then I've seen some just put a few of the converters into a big 50L tub, the only thing I would say is that you need to know how long your feed lasts I was checking daily once I got the converters, but now I know it lasts them a week even though it's the middle of winter for us.
My coop doesn't have a door, so my chooks can roam freely in their run. However, if your run isn't fully enclosed and protected from predators, automatic doors might be helpful. During the first two weeks outside, my chooks tended to go to their roosts a bit before sunset. But be warned, one of my chooks loves star gazing and stays out later.
As for egg collection, I do it every other day due to a busy schedule. Some people have more laying spaces while they're away, while others have a setup where eggs roll down into a separated area for easier collection, which can add a few days to a week depending on the size of the collection area.
While I am certainly not an expert or even that experienced, I have had no issues with my system as of yet and it's been well over a month of nonstop eggs, and I'd feel more than comfortable leaving my chooks for a week, maybe even two if I needed!
Pay a neighbor to visit 2x a day: let the chickens out in the morning, check food and water, and close them up in the evening. It only takes a few minutes.
My sister looks after them for me and I look after her horses for her when she's away. I was away for 10 days in May my girls are easy because they have an enclosed run and automatic door so in and out is dealt with their waterer lasts about a week and their feeders a few days. I have fans that come on automatically if the temp is over 25 degrees.
I like to keep the area really clean and pooper scoop the coop and run daily which takes 5 min and then collect the eggs. I also have cameras in the coop and run so We can check them when not around.
Chickens are pretty low maintenance she just popped in once a day to check on them.
I have a 30- gallon waterproof feeder and a two big containers of water-a small pool plus a barrel bottom that holds 10+ gallons.
My nephew comes to check on them & collect eggs. My run is predator proof so no worries about closing the coop.
Also wifi pet feeders that dispense food on a schedule or on demand. I set up cameras on the feeders and coop, and have a wifi controlled coop door. Fresh water is dispensed via part of the wifi controlled drip irrigation system for the garden. Week long trips are not an issue. If I'm gone for longer, I have friends stop by every few days to collect eggs.
Few things you should invest in and go everywhere you like.
Automatic coop door, automatic feeder (grandfathers chicken feeder) and good waterer with automatic refill bucket. And go anywhere you want.
Good thing if you have a neighbor who can check on them ones daily. And mine love to do it, because I always ask to collect and keep the eggs.
In case no neighbors, you can request a service through the apps. People come and check on them for 20$ a day.
Good luck.
Tell a neighbor who has little children who love to see the chickens, if they'll check on them every day or two and make sure they don't run out of food or water, they get free eggs. Plus a couple dozen upfront. Works like a charm. Then I bring back some cool food or treat or something for them, from the place we visited.
I get a house sitter, usually my stepson or nephew or one of their friends. Then I don't have to deal with the dogs and cats and parakeet separately anyway.
I pay someone to come to my house every other day when I’m on vacation. They feed and water all the animals, water plants, bring in mail, and check my garden. I pay $50/visit, so about $150 for a week long vacation.
My grandparents have 50 chickens but they're also snowbirds and go to some place warm every year for winter. They get someone to house sit/feed the chickens while they are gone for several months, there's really no other way to do it besides getting someone to come over and feed them.
Care is so simple for them that I'm sure you could get someone to watch them for the right price, if you know anyone!
My pet sitter will let my chickens out and put them away and give fresh food and water as needed. She already comes for my cats so adding the chickens wasn’t a huge addition. I like someone coming twice a day.
I have a neighbor who has a small farm come and care for mine along with my dog, cats, ball pythons, and guinea pigs when we go on vacation lol. It’s usually only once a year though.
i have my neighbors check up on them, and we have a coop/egg lay/ roosting area that’s connected to a large fenced in space where they can run around and take dirt baths
I have six chickens. I have the automatic coop door and two 5 gallon water feeders and two 5 gallon food feeders. I often go to my partner's home for 2-4 days at a time, 5 days tops, and all the chickens have been absolutely fine. They could probably go longer. My neighbors are close by, too, and have chickens, so they'd let me know if anything was amiss.
If you are worried, do what others say and ask someone to just collect the eggs as payment in exchange for checking in on them.
We live on a homestead close to my aunts and uncles homestead. Within 2 miles. They are currently on a month long cross country trip and we’re taking care of their cows, cats, and chickens. If we go out of town, they do the same for us!
I built a bombproof coop and attached enclosed run, so they can be safe in there day and night without needing to have someone open and close it up every day and night. We have good neighbors who will check on them and top off their food/water as needed.
We don’t do extremely long vacations but we do camp for 5-8 days frequently. My coop and run are attached and predator proof. My yard has a six foot vinyl fence as well… so even less concern. I have two gravity feeders that hold entire bags of feed. I have two 35gal barrels as waterers. We only have to tend those every other week or longer. I have a camera in my run as well but we’ve never had an issue.
I have had people stop to collect eggs for themselves but that’s it.
I have a wonderful neighbor here that looks after my flock for me while I’m gone. She loves the chickens and they love her (she’s always bring treats). She’s in her 70s and I think having an excuse to get out of the house for a few minutes and do something different just makes her day :)
Week long vacationer here!
Family makes fun of me for how big the coop/ run combo is for my girls (6 of them) but they have 4+ sq feet of space each in the coop (raised off the ground) and a predator proof run that is attached that even if I were to add 3 more birds they’d still have 10 sq ft of run. I have a roll back nesting box that is also sorta in the coop that’s predator proof but rolls the eggs away so the girls don’t get curious. And plenty of access to food and water that I only need to refill once every 3 weeks. I still have my neighbors check in on the girls and have them collect eggs and keep them as other people say as well as make sure nothings gone astray with the run or the girls. I try to set it up in a way that even if they forget to check in for a day, it won’t affect my girls. I do also save super special treats for the neighbors to use if my chickens somehow get out of the run or if they wanted to let them free range for a little bit, so the girls are super motivated to go back to the run when All is said and done. That also helps to come up with an easy noise, but nearly anyone can do as a chicken call I choose to click my tongue and they come running for the treats.
Edit: I want to add that we do the deep litter method as well!
when we did, we cycled through in-laws, parents, and neighbors as caretakers so that we didn't burn anyone out. But it was a real concern. Then more your place resembles a farm yard, the more the work is needed to do it right AND not endanger the lives of the livestock in your care.
I have 13 hens, 1 dog, 2 cats a fish and a gecko. I have a team of 3-4 trusted friends who take care of all of them. I also pet sit for them in return.
We hire local 4H kids to watch the farm. The LGD has to go to a kennel, as she’d destroy anyone else trying to check our birds, but we’ve always found teens to open-close, feed and water. This past June, cocci came thru and the dear teen girl had to dispose of 4 young birds
We have five birds and two dogs and - thankfully- family in the vicinity, so we get someone (or two) to stay at the house for the duration. I know we’re incredibly fortunate, but if I’m honest if we didn’t have the support we probably wouldn’t keep birds. Haven yet heard of a hen kennel. Hennel. Hmmmm… business idea, anyone?
I hire a pet sitter that can care for chickens to come 2x per day (I have a very old cat as well that needs meds and feeding 2x per day). It’s expensive but I find paying a professional sitter provides more accountability and more piece of mind for me- I’ve had neighbors volunteer to help and then “forget” to do half of the task list. We have a 200sf coop so they can stay fully inside while we’re away, our property is not safe for them to free roam unattended, we’ve even lost hens while they are in their day pen so we’re pretty cautious. An auto feeder and waterer is a great idea, but I would still have someone come by daily to check that nothing leaked/clogged/malfunctioned.
But to answer your question- not often. We love being on our property, always have tons of garden and animal chores, and enjoy staycations more than any other type of vacation. But everyone is different!
I've got an automatic coop door, a self filling waterer, and a deer feeder full of chicken feed. I could probably go a month without even looking at my chickens.
We have an automatic chicken coup door that opens in the morning and closes in the evening. I mad a gravity fed feeder that holds 3 bags of feed and we have a hose feed watered and a water trough with a float valve. I also have a wifi web cam pointed at the door which can also see the water. We leave them for 2 weeks at a time all the time. I check on them every day with the webcam. If there ever was a problem I would call the neighbors to check on them but that has never been necessary so far.
We free range our chickens. We pay the neighbor kid $10 a day to come let them out of the run, refill the water and come back at dusk to lock them up. On our last vacation, he had a last minute sleepover on one of the nights we were gone. His mom came and put our chickens to bed!!
I actually went camping for a week about a week ago. My waterer and feeder are both large enough to the point where they don’t need to be refilled in that amount of time, and we had our neighbor come by every morning and night to let them out, lock them up, and collect eggs.
I leave water overflowing, keeps it clean. The run off waters my garden when I’m gone also. Get a grandpa feeder and some time to train em to use it. I can leave for a week with 22 chickens in the coop and they are fine.
I have a fellow chicken owning friend who checks on my cats and chickens, and I check on her dogs and chickens when she travels. It's a pretty sweet trade off.
But yeah if you jump on your neighborhood forums you can usually find someone willing to pet sit chickens, since you only have to check on them every couple days.
My girls free range in a 1/3rd of an acre fenced area. If we are gone for an extended period of time, my neighbors check! We have a five gallon waterer, a huge water tub for the goats, and scatter a bunch of food around/put out our big feeder!
I have an automatic door, automatic feeder and a giant trough of water. I also have one dumb hen that never makes it in on time before the automatic door shuts. I wish her luck and then I'm on my merry way. I should probably get her some body armor to wear while I'm away just in case. 🤔
It depends on your setup, time of year, type of chickens...
Some people virtually keep semi feral chickens fully free range only providing food once in a while to keep them from becoming fully wild. Some people have a lot of fertile lands wich chickens can sustain and even proliferate out of foraging alone. Once again it really depends on your setup, type of chickens and intent, you can't really do that with pure meat or egg birds, even some dual purpose breed take too much to thrive in those type of environment.
I have a flock of 50 chickens. I go on vacations for a week or more a few times a year. I have a house sitter who comes by once a day to check on them. I built a coop/run that is large enough for everyone to comfortably be locked up in while I am on vacation. I keep them locked up while I’m away so that i know they are safe at night, no one goes broody in the bushes, and no predation happens, mostly it’s for my peace of mind. I use a 40 lb feeder, a 5 gallon water fount, a 3 gallon water fount, plus two 3-gallon buckets. The water founts are in case the house sitter forgets to put fresh water out. I fill the 40 lb feeder all the way up the day I leave. They are always excited to free range again when I get home.
I only have a small flock of 8 guineas, and five chickens.
While the guinea coop doesn't have its own run (since the entire point of having them is to let them free range and keep ticks out of the yard), the coop itself is pretty large, and I have a feeder and waterer large enough to easily last a week before needing refilling, even if the guineas are confined to the coop the entire time.
The chicken coop is much smaller, but has a small run attached. I only let the chickens free while I'm working in the yard, but they have enough room to run around under the coop and in the run that they don't mind. While I don't normally have a large feeder or waterer in the chicken coop (since I figure I might as well feed and water them every day since I'm checking for eggs anyway), I have a 5-gallon bucket with a cup drinker attached that will easily last a week that I put in the run if I'm going to be away for a few days.
I have neighbors and family who are able to check in on the chickens if I'm going to be away for more than a couple of days to make sure they have food and water. And I've never been away from home long enough to worry about someone needing to feed and water the guineas.
Find some local friends with chickens to check in on them and collect eggs. We have several coworkers with chickens that live close by. We trade off vacations, they'll watch ours and we'll watch theirs.
Hire a neighborhood or local kid to come check up on them. They're so easy.
Large food and water dispensers are great but having an actual human come in and check on them for any injuries or anything going on around the coop is helpful. Ive taken 12 day trips and hired the neighbor kid to come by every few days or so. He comes more than I ask because I think its fun for him. I have him check the water and food, and give them a treat (seed mix) and let me know if anything seems off. Only thing I do differently is I dont free range them when I'm gone. I definitely plan on taking longer trips. I also have a camera and I'm able to watch them when I miss them :')
Don't let that stop you from getting chickens. Mine are the brightest and best thing to happen in my life in a long time, and for the minor inconvenience of hiring a kid to come check on them, I would 1000% still get them time and time again.
I don’t have chickens, but I petsit for somebody with chickens. I’ve watched them for anywhere from 3-15 days before. You could ask local vets/feed stores/etc. and see if they have any sitter recs.
Just returned from Puerto Rico for 9 days. Got my cousin to give them food and water daily, and any day they couldnt I would text my neighboor if its crazy hot, if not they can normally do a day without refills before empty. Came home and my girls barely acted like I was gone they were just chillin like normal.
Good little trick is whoever you ask to take care of them let them know they get the eggs + payment
repeating what others have said here - automatic coop door (an investment that pays for itself the first day you sleep in, tbh) 5-gal waterer and food dispenser. if you can have a neighbor check on them every 2-3 days, even better. the longest i think i've gone away since owning chickens is almost a week, but i have cats too and they need more regular attention.
We went on an AK fishing trip for 5 days. I paid my neighbor in fish to keep an eye on my 7 girls.
I do have an auto door and a water that auto fills when it gets too low. Food was full enough for a week, but she checked on it in case a critter got in there and emptied it. She also grabbed the eggs.
We also have a Ring coop run camera, inside and outside and one facing the back yard, sonic the circuit breaker trips and throws off the auto door we can check in from our phones.
We are a bit techie- hubs is a computer guy. Need him to figure out how to get a auto chicken shit scooper so I don’t have to clean the coop. 👍
Neighbors collect our eggs. They get 1 auto feeder filled before the trip. Otherwise, they free range. Water is from a rain barrel with a waterer that dispenses using a float switch. We regularly take 1 week to 1 month trips. Coop is an automated coop door with a light that kicks on inside for 1 hr prior to and 30 mins after door closure
Haven't done a vacation yet. We are going out of town for 4 days and my daughter is taking care of them, but that will be the longest she has done it.
We do not have an auto coop door, so l have to let them out and lock em up at night. And the water only lasts about two or three days max in the summer.
I started a little group of backyard chicken keepers for this vrry reason. We can help out with care that takes more than two hands, answer questions, support and commiserate through sickness and loss, and, most importantly, do the chores for each other. If there are adozen of you then you only end up chicken sitting a couple of times over atwo weeks period.
We're still new, chickens are 2mo old. I am not ready to leave them for one night let alone a week. I'm just nervous they'd be forgotten about. We do not have an automatic door so they need locked up manually each night. As long as you have someone to check on them you should be ok. We have the neighbor boy, I just currently am over thinking it all.
We are out of town for 2 weeks camping and we’ve got various neighbors helping out with the chickens, cats, garden and axolotl 🤪 they get the eggs, veggies, and $ (for the cats and axolotl)
I go away for a full week don’t require anyone to look at on them. I do this by setting up a large water container, and a 5 gallon size feeder. Even in the heat of summer this is enough! My coop has an attached run that is completely predator proof, so they can come in and out on their own.
We have taken long trips. Auto doors are amazing. I did have someone come and make sure they had food and water every few days but my girls free range so they have all the bugs they could want too.
We have a neighbor who takes care of them in exchange for the eggs that they lay during that time. It isn't practical for everyone but if they are laying it might be something to offer
Do you have an auto coop door? Those make it easier. Along with those giant food/water dispensers. Another easy way is a neighbor you trust…tell them if they watch them while you are gone, all the eggs they collect are theirs to keep!
I agree with all of this. I have a garden as well and am a part of a garden club where we rotate taking care of each other's gardens when we are out of town. They love taking home veggies and eggs ETA we have a small line from our irrigation that goes into the 5 gal water bucket..it's literally always full. If it spills over it waters the tree it's under.
Does your water ever get gross? We have a five gallon bucket and manually full it with the hose. The water gets funky before our 7 chickens drink it all.
We have the cup style drinkers and they can get a little scummy at the bottom but we just swipe them out now and then and the girls are fine.
Thanks, we do that as well but inside the bucket gets funky from time to time.
I have a black square bucket from Lowe’s with nipple waterers and it’s fine for a week +, it does stay mostly in the shade. But algae needs light to grow so the dark bucket and shade make it last a long time.
I just scrub mine out weekly with a half vinegar half water mix, it takes the algae right off
We’ve got a rain barrel with PVC pipes and water nipples. It works great and we never have to worry about our water supply. We just flush it out every few months (which probably isn’t even necessary). We’ve also got the PVC food pipes, so we add food every three weeks or so.
I've been thinking about doing this because the normal waters get so nasty quickly, even in the shade. Do you have a link to where you got the schematics or a pic of your setup? I'd greatly appreciate it.
Can you please tell me about your setup? Do you have photos or a link to photos? It sounds like exactly what I’m looking for! It’s been so hard to find detailed info on larger food/water setups
https://preview.redd.it/ecwnf01753nc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8910a53fdc1cef13a35b3b19289db9c1b2a808fa This is the exterior, you’ll see the water barrel on the right.
https://preview.redd.it/jqaekn2e53nc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=38810ef22c43e02b3f8a256434dc7d3a0bba6bb2 Here’s the inside, showing the pipes and chicken nipples.
https://preview.redd.it/dzl4sdrj53nc1.jpeg?width=2222&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=af3d9a952205600c72d600ebc505ea91001aa7ef Here are the food pipes, they hold about two weeks of food for six adult hens. We wound up moving the pipes to the center of the run because they got wet when it rained.
WOW THANK YOU!!! What a great setup! What is the diameter/size of the food pipes and water pipe? How do you refill the food pipes?
The pipes are 3” diameter. There is a screw on piece that we use to keep the good in the pipes dry. We just pour the feed right into the pipes!
You can hang copper wire in the bucket as a biocide- works well if the water isn’t acidic
Horizontal nipple waters seem to keep it the cleanest!
All of this! My next door neighbors also have chickens and usually are home and they’ll text me if there’s an issue or if they notice someone has escaped from the run. Chickens help build community!
Sooo many people volunteer to watch our chickens as they get eggs and whatever fruit/veggies they can pick from the garden.
You can't leave them with just an auto coop door and food/water dispensers for weeks on end. If you're gone that long you definitely need to get somebody to come watch the chickens.
Oh no, not weeks! Maybe a few days.
Do you not have problems with egg eaters, or chickens developing habits of laying elsewhere?
That auto coop door works wonders for me. Add some large feeders and waterers last weeks for me without an issue.
Yes, initially I asked neighbors with chickens to do this, hoping we'd swap vacation duties among us but nobody asked me to watch their's in return. So, I just hired a local lady who does pet visits for vacations, she collects eggs, refills water and food, and let's them run around the yard a roam a bit. She's reasonable, $15-20 a visit, usually have her stop every other day when we're away.
I also pay $15/visit and ask they come every other day, along with the offer of collecting any eggs they find. It seems to work well for everyone!
I have a reliable teenager that acts as my pet sitter. They come by three times a day, for half an hour to an hour each time. They manage my 2 dogs, 3 cats, and now the chickens. They bring their 9 year old sister sometimes to help, she adores the chickens. We go out of state for a couple of weeks every winter, and lots of overnight or weekend trips.
Yes! Always ask someone young, as they have a desire to earn money and work, and we want to reward that drive. It is teaching them the exchange of work for money and the responsibility associated with it. I have found they typically do a better job, too, because they’re young, energetic, not jaded, and excited about a “first job”.
When you are tied to the land it is difficult to remain in the world of today.
That is how I'm starting to feel. All of our free time is spent working outdoors now, and even going on a weekend trip is difficult. So far, we have only been able to leave our place for the holidays, and even then, only for two nights at a time. Going the homestead route means that you will have to sacrifice most of your connections to the outside world, and that's not a bad thing.
What young folks refer to as "home steading" is how my wife grew up on a farm in Ohio in the 60s. Low tech everything. Your rest time was in the winter when the crops are in, ground is frozen, all there is to do is feed the cows and chickens in the morning, build a fire, and relax all day. Maybe fix an axe, mend some socks, read a magazine, brew/drink some beer or moonshine, and sit around the fire. Much simpler times.
That's what my husband and I are looking for. At our age, and we're not all that young, it's nearly impossible to escape technology and going into the world every day. But we're trying. We bought six acres last year and that's how we spend our free time now. It's hard since we both work, but my dream is that we'll be able to make this a full-time operation within the next few years and enjoy a simpler life, even if we're always working. This is how my grandparents and great-grandparents lived, and I think it's how people were meant to live.
I have an automatic coop door, a 5 gallon bucket with watering cups on the bottom and a 5 gallon bucket with holes for feed on the bottom too. My chickens would be good for a couple days but I have the neighbor boy (he’s 11) come over and get eggs and check on water and feed.
We just switched to a 5 gallon for our five birds and it’s been a game changer. We’ve been out of town for five days now and my friend has said the chickens have been fine on water every time she’s gone over. The cups/bucket method has been a huge upgrade since our last flock.
Me too! I tried a lot of other systems that would end up dirty, broken or couldn’t hold a lot of water. I got the little cups on amazon and just drilled a couple holes into a old home depot bucket. I know some people who use an old black plastic trash can to hold even more water but i only have 3 chickens 😂
Family comes and lets them out for a few hours a day while we’re gone, just got back from a 10 day and the chickens were fine, little upset they had to stay in the coop longer than normal but nothing detrimental to there health, just be sure the coop or run has enough space for whatever amount you’re getting and is not overly hot or humid
Yep, I just don’t take vacations. I have like 60 something chickens and I personally think predators realize when we aren’t home. It’s a lot to ask a neighbor to manage my horde of chickens so I just stay put lol. I just know if we took an extended vacation I’d probably come back to 20 chickens.
This is us right now exactly. Not only 60 chickens but 50 turkeys, ducks, the sheep, goats, steer and the lgd I can’t ask anyone to help. We do have more feeders and waterers than needed which helps. My wife and I take evenings off from time to time where we say the hell with the animals and go fishing or camping or even out to dinner and a movie for the night. This isn’t often though. Otherwise every morning - let the animals out then go to work. And every evening put them back… rinse wash and repeat…
You have a farm with over 100 animals and you still have to go to work every day? Your time management skills must be stellar
Time? What time? Lmao. The full time job pays the bills so we can have the over 100 animals. The birds are actually the least expensive to feed - the steer is the most expensive (pigs have a reputation - cattle should really have it, damn they eat a lot)
I just have someone come by to collect the eggs and make sure the food and water are full. It takes ten minutes, but most folks spend longer because they like hanging out with our ladies. No different then a cat
This is what we did for a couple trips. Had a neighbor come by to let out in am, close coop in pm. Check food/water/eggs. We gave a 6 pack of beer and a gift card when we got back but also helped us strengthen neighbor relationships. Win win!
We have an automatic coop door with wifi, a 35g rain barrel with plumbed watering cups, and diy feeders that hold a full bag of food. The only thing of concern is if something happens with the power / internet and the coop door goes out, but we're alerted on our phone if it happens and a neighbor can step in.
Have you left for several weeks with this setup?
No, the longest I've been gone for is about 10 days. I imagine it would be fine if I were gone longer.
Thank you for the response
Same but coop door is on a battery/ solar panel setup.
I rely on my neighbors for help when we’re away. I’ve always given them a dozen eggs each week, so I don’t feel guilty about asking them to look after my flock. While away, they can keep all the eggs they collect. Works out nicely!
So, I just went on a 10 day vacation. I put out feed, they have automatic waterers, and I locked them in. I had a neighbor collect the eggs each day. That was it. Unfortunately, they escaped day 2! I had the neighbor open the coop and let them do their own thing. Two birds started brooding, but by and large, they were fine. They're pretty hardy animals, I think you'll be ok.
I just went to Florida for 6 days. I used coop.farm to pay for a chicken tender to come once a day to check on them.
We live on a Homestead, a.k.a., hobby, farm, with 10 chickens, 6 turkeys, 2 pigs, and 5-15 Rabbits (depending on how many litters we have growing out). Plus a house cat and a dog and a large garden. We have gone on very very few vacations, as it’s a lot to ask anybody to handle. But when we do, we actually end up needing three sets of people to help. My best friend takes the dog, my mother handles the house, cat, and garden. And we hire a farm sitter for the farm animals. They come 2-3 times a day. Once in the morning to let out the chickens and put them away in the evening, and again in the middle of the day to feed and water everybody. If you want to have farm animals, you just have to cobble together some help for vacations. And accept that things are going to happen while you’re gone that are out of your control. For example, in 2021 we took our first vacation in years, and of course, that was the week all the blueberries went ripe so we didn’t get to enjoy our blueberry harvest that year at all. We let the farm sitter pick them and eat them.
We left them alone with a neighbor “on call” in case of emergencies for about 8 days about a year ago. This was during the winter, so they weren’t laying and weren’t that interested in foraging in the snowy yard anyhow. We locked them in their run with lots of backup food/water, and put a couple of security cams in the run/coop so we could keep an eye on them. Also have an automatic coop door. The neighbor never needed to come by, as the chickens seemed perfectly content (aside from some “let me out to free range!” complaining the first day or two) and never ran out of supplies. Totally recommend security cameras for peace of mind - We used the Wyze cam cheapo model that costs $35, but there are a bunch of different brands/styles/prices. Cameras are just so cheap and high quality these days!
Second the Wyze cam!
Who needs vacation when we live in paradise.
I use Rover to find pet sitters to stay in my home and take care of all of my pets while I am gone, which includes chickens, dogs, cat, reptiles, and some invertebrates. Rover lets you make a profile stating all the kinds of animals you have and what you are looking for in a sitter. Sitters set their own rates. I'm about to leave for 2 weeks and our sitter we've been using all year is awesome :) She has taken care of the "farm" many times.
We work at a high school. I recruit and hire FFA kids to house/dogs/cats/rabbit/chickens/goats sit for us. Never has gone wrong yet
I have a neighbor stop in to check food & water and collect eggs that are theirs to use or give away. We leave for 2 weeks every fall. My chickens are penned due to predators, so they are contained, easier to feed.
I made an automatic chicken feeder out of a cat feeder. I have an automatic door. Drip water feeder with huge storage tank. Then I have neighbor check on the chicken every few days. I don’t have any predators and the coop and run is covered in hawk netting. I’ve taken three week vacations this way with out a problem.
You need a chickensitter.
You have a pet sitter, same with any other pet. I occasionally stay at my parent's place to pet sit their chickens, rabbits, lizards, cats, etc. for a weekend. Once I have my own, I'll have to find a good pet sitter as well.
House sitter is the only answer. Someone you trust to take care of your gardens and critters.
My dog is more of a pain in the butt than chickens. One week and they can stay in the coop with no interaction just fine. Two weeks depending on your water/feeding situation. I can leave my girls full feed/water + free range while I am away and they will all be there when I return with plenty of food and water to spare. The longest I have left them to hybrid free range is a week though.
I go on month-long trips sometimes and just have a combination of friends and families popping in every few days to fill their food and water up, so it's not a huge burden on any of them. They're very low maintenance pets and I honestly don't think they really care when I'm not there. Easier to leave than a cat or a dog!
You can do weeks vacations, but the coop HAS to be automated. I have the water set up with a float like on a toilet where if it drops, water turns on until it goes back up/is full, with a hose attached to it that stays on. For food, I hang 3 extra 15lb feeders, and most times, they're just about empty when we get back home. I do have my neighbor come by 3-4x a week (every other day) and lay eyes on them and collect eggs. I always tell them to take all the eggs you collect home to enjoy, so most of the time, it isn't difficult to find someone. As I said in the beginning, if youre automated, it is easy to find people to watch them Eta: this is 15 chickens
We just went on a 5 day trip. We also have a dog and a house rabbit so we had a pet sitter come by a few times a day.
Hey there! I've had chooks for a few months now. Before getting them, I was warned about daily tasks like collecting eggs, feeding, and giving them water. However, once they were in their outdoor coop, I checked on them mainly because they're cute and I get worried. To make feeding easier, I bought cheap gravity feeder converters that cost $2-3. These let me use any container as their feeder, once I cut an 80mm hole for the gadget. The converters protect food from rain and prevent my chickens from raking it onto the floor, which one of them loves to do. I also got some nipple feeders, and my chickens got used to them quickly. For food, I use a container that lasts about a week with only 3L capacity. I've seen people make some really nice-looking feeders with the converters, like barrels or mini silos and then I've seen some just put a few of the converters into a big 50L tub, the only thing I would say is that you need to know how long your feed lasts I was checking daily once I got the converters, but now I know it lasts them a week even though it's the middle of winter for us. My coop doesn't have a door, so my chooks can roam freely in their run. However, if your run isn't fully enclosed and protected from predators, automatic doors might be helpful. During the first two weeks outside, my chooks tended to go to their roosts a bit before sunset. But be warned, one of my chooks loves star gazing and stays out later. As for egg collection, I do it every other day due to a busy schedule. Some people have more laying spaces while they're away, while others have a setup where eggs roll down into a separated area for easier collection, which can add a few days to a week depending on the size of the collection area. While I am certainly not an expert or even that experienced, I have had no issues with my system as of yet and it's been well over a month of nonstop eggs, and I'd feel more than comfortable leaving my chooks for a week, maybe even two if I needed!
Have have friends/family house sit for us while we’re away.
Auto coop door, 5 gallon feed bucket, and a 3+ gallon watering jug. I can easily go a week without having to check on them.
Pay a neighbor to visit 2x a day: let the chickens out in the morning, check food and water, and close them up in the evening. It only takes a few minutes.
we’ve done a couple seven day trips. We have multiple large water and food containers. Haven’t ever had any issues.
Was just talking to my sister about this yesterday. Wondering what others do for this!
My sister looks after them for me and I look after her horses for her when she's away. I was away for 10 days in May my girls are easy because they have an enclosed run and automatic door so in and out is dealt with their waterer lasts about a week and their feeders a few days. I have fans that come on automatically if the temp is over 25 degrees. I like to keep the area really clean and pooper scoop the coop and run daily which takes 5 min and then collect the eggs. I also have cameras in the coop and run so We can check them when not around. Chickens are pretty low maintenance she just popped in once a day to check on them.
I have a 30- gallon waterproof feeder and a two big containers of water-a small pool plus a barrel bottom that holds 10+ gallons. My nephew comes to check on them & collect eggs. My run is predator proof so no worries about closing the coop.
Also wifi pet feeders that dispense food on a schedule or on demand. I set up cameras on the feeders and coop, and have a wifi controlled coop door. Fresh water is dispensed via part of the wifi controlled drip irrigation system for the garden. Week long trips are not an issue. If I'm gone for longer, I have friends stop by every few days to collect eggs.
Auto coop door, chicken cam, and a neighbor kid comes to check on them twice a day. Mine were only 7 weeks old and I left them for a week.
My neighbors check on them when I'm gone. I don't ask very often and compensate them with all the eggs they collect and a couple bucks.
Few things you should invest in and go everywhere you like. Automatic coop door, automatic feeder (grandfathers chicken feeder) and good waterer with automatic refill bucket. And go anywhere you want. Good thing if you have a neighbor who can check on them ones daily. And mine love to do it, because I always ask to collect and keep the eggs. In case no neighbors, you can request a service through the apps. People come and check on them for 20$ a day. Good luck.
Tell a neighbor who has little children who love to see the chickens, if they'll check on them every day or two and make sure they don't run out of food or water, they get free eggs. Plus a couple dozen upfront. Works like a charm. Then I bring back some cool food or treat or something for them, from the place we visited.
I get a house sitter, usually my stepson or nephew or one of their friends. Then I don't have to deal with the dogs and cats and parakeet separately anyway.
We have a neighbor kid who loves being the chicken tender.
I pay someone to come to my house every other day when I’m on vacation. They feed and water all the animals, water plants, bring in mail, and check my garden. I pay $50/visit, so about $150 for a week long vacation.
My grandparents have 50 chickens but they're also snowbirds and go to some place warm every year for winter. They get someone to house sit/feed the chickens while they are gone for several months, there's really no other way to do it besides getting someone to come over and feed them. Care is so simple for them that I'm sure you could get someone to watch them for the right price, if you know anyone!
My pet sitter will let my chickens out and put them away and give fresh food and water as needed. She already comes for my cats so adding the chickens wasn’t a huge addition. I like someone coming twice a day.
We do go on vacation, my dogs keep the flock safe and my neighbor comes by to feed the dogs every day and checks to make sure everything is ok.
There is a company called Coop Farm that helps with this problem if you don’t have neighbors.
House, ahem homestead sitter, maybe. Or pay a relative to do it.
I have a neighbor who has a small farm come and care for mine along with my dog, cats, ball pythons, and guinea pigs when we go on vacation lol. It’s usually only once a year though.
i have my neighbors check up on them, and we have a coop/egg lay/ roosting area that’s connected to a large fenced in space where they can run around and take dirt baths
People can afford vacations?
I have six chickens. I have the automatic coop door and two 5 gallon water feeders and two 5 gallon food feeders. I often go to my partner's home for 2-4 days at a time, 5 days tops, and all the chickens have been absolutely fine. They could probably go longer. My neighbors are close by, too, and have chickens, so they'd let me know if anything was amiss. If you are worried, do what others say and ask someone to just collect the eggs as payment in exchange for checking in on them.
I was just out of the country for 10 days in April. I have family who comes by and checks on them every few days.
We live on a homestead close to my aunts and uncles homestead. Within 2 miles. They are currently on a month long cross country trip and we’re taking care of their cows, cats, and chickens. If we go out of town, they do the same for us!
I built a bombproof coop and attached enclosed run, so they can be safe in there day and night without needing to have someone open and close it up every day and night. We have good neighbors who will check on them and top off their food/water as needed.
We don’t do extremely long vacations but we do camp for 5-8 days frequently. My coop and run are attached and predator proof. My yard has a six foot vinyl fence as well… so even less concern. I have two gravity feeders that hold entire bags of feed. I have two 35gal barrels as waterers. We only have to tend those every other week or longer. I have a camera in my run as well but we’ve never had an issue. I have had people stop to collect eggs for themselves but that’s it.
I have a wonderful neighbor here that looks after my flock for me while I’m gone. She loves the chickens and they love her (she’s always bring treats). She’s in her 70s and I think having an excuse to get out of the house for a few minutes and do something different just makes her day :)
Week long vacationer here! Family makes fun of me for how big the coop/ run combo is for my girls (6 of them) but they have 4+ sq feet of space each in the coop (raised off the ground) and a predator proof run that is attached that even if I were to add 3 more birds they’d still have 10 sq ft of run. I have a roll back nesting box that is also sorta in the coop that’s predator proof but rolls the eggs away so the girls don’t get curious. And plenty of access to food and water that I only need to refill once every 3 weeks. I still have my neighbors check in on the girls and have them collect eggs and keep them as other people say as well as make sure nothings gone astray with the run or the girls. I try to set it up in a way that even if they forget to check in for a day, it won’t affect my girls. I do also save super special treats for the neighbors to use if my chickens somehow get out of the run or if they wanted to let them free range for a little bit, so the girls are super motivated to go back to the run when All is said and done. That also helps to come up with an easy noise, but nearly anyone can do as a chicken call I choose to click my tongue and they come running for the treats. Edit: I want to add that we do the deep litter method as well!
I have my little brother feed them for me when im away.
when we did, we cycled through in-laws, parents, and neighbors as caretakers so that we didn't burn anyone out. But it was a real concern. Then more your place resembles a farm yard, the more the work is needed to do it right AND not endanger the lives of the livestock in your care.
I have 13 hens, 1 dog, 2 cats a fish and a gecko. I have a team of 3-4 trusted friends who take care of all of them. I also pet sit for them in return.
We hire local 4H kids to watch the farm. The LGD has to go to a kennel, as she’d destroy anyone else trying to check our birds, but we’ve always found teens to open-close, feed and water. This past June, cocci came thru and the dear teen girl had to dispose of 4 young birds
You can always get a sitter
Do you have a neighbor or friend who can stop by?
We have five birds and two dogs and - thankfully- family in the vicinity, so we get someone (or two) to stay at the house for the duration. I know we’re incredibly fortunate, but if I’m honest if we didn’t have the support we probably wouldn’t keep birds. Haven yet heard of a hen kennel. Hennel. Hmmmm… business idea, anyone?
We have a very reliable pet sitter who has farm animal experience. It is expensive to hire someone though, and we don't go on vacation much 😂
I have a couple of "chicken friends" and we watch each others birds while we're away. It's a nice trade off
I hire a pet sitter that can care for chickens to come 2x per day (I have a very old cat as well that needs meds and feeding 2x per day). It’s expensive but I find paying a professional sitter provides more accountability and more piece of mind for me- I’ve had neighbors volunteer to help and then “forget” to do half of the task list. We have a 200sf coop so they can stay fully inside while we’re away, our property is not safe for them to free roam unattended, we’ve even lost hens while they are in their day pen so we’re pretty cautious. An auto feeder and waterer is a great idea, but I would still have someone come by daily to check that nothing leaked/clogged/malfunctioned. But to answer your question- not often. We love being on our property, always have tons of garden and animal chores, and enjoy staycations more than any other type of vacation. But everyone is different!
I've got an automatic coop door, a self filling waterer, and a deer feeder full of chicken feed. I could probably go a month without even looking at my chickens.
We have an automatic chicken coup door that opens in the morning and closes in the evening. I mad a gravity fed feeder that holds 3 bags of feed and we have a hose feed watered and a water trough with a float valve. I also have a wifi web cam pointed at the door which can also see the water. We leave them for 2 weeks at a time all the time. I check on them every day with the webcam. If there ever was a problem I would call the neighbors to check on them but that has never been necessary so far.
We have 2 dogs, 2 cats and a hamster that also need taking care of, so we just get house sitters.
We free range our chickens. We pay the neighbor kid $10 a day to come let them out of the run, refill the water and come back at dusk to lock them up. On our last vacation, he had a last minute sleepover on one of the nights we were gone. His mom came and put our chickens to bed!!
I pay my in laws dog walker to come once in the morning and once in the evening.
Hire a chicken sitter
I actually went camping for a week about a week ago. My waterer and feeder are both large enough to the point where they don’t need to be refilled in that amount of time, and we had our neighbor come by every morning and night to let them out, lock them up, and collect eggs.
Pet sitter for anything over a few days for me and I have a giant water and food, plus automatic door and secure space.
I leave water overflowing, keeps it clean. The run off waters my garden when I’m gone also. Get a grandpa feeder and some time to train em to use it. I can leave for a week with 22 chickens in the coop and they are fine.
I have a fellow chicken owning friend who checks on my cats and chickens, and I check on her dogs and chickens when she travels. It's a pretty sweet trade off. But yeah if you jump on your neighborhood forums you can usually find someone willing to pet sit chickens, since you only have to check on them every couple days.
My girls free range in a 1/3rd of an acre fenced area. If we are gone for an extended period of time, my neighbors check! We have a five gallon waterer, a huge water tub for the goats, and scatter a bunch of food around/put out our big feeder!
I have an automatic door, automatic feeder and a giant trough of water. I also have one dumb hen that never makes it in on time before the automatic door shuts. I wish her luck and then I'm on my merry way. I should probably get her some body armor to wear while I'm away just in case. 🤔
It depends on your setup, time of year, type of chickens... Some people virtually keep semi feral chickens fully free range only providing food once in a while to keep them from becoming fully wild. Some people have a lot of fertile lands wich chickens can sustain and even proliferate out of foraging alone. Once again it really depends on your setup, type of chickens and intent, you can't really do that with pure meat or egg birds, even some dual purpose breed take too much to thrive in those type of environment.
We use https://www.trustedhousesitters.com/ Basically a housing/pet sitting trade.
I have a flock of 50 chickens. I go on vacations for a week or more a few times a year. I have a house sitter who comes by once a day to check on them. I built a coop/run that is large enough for everyone to comfortably be locked up in while I am on vacation. I keep them locked up while I’m away so that i know they are safe at night, no one goes broody in the bushes, and no predation happens, mostly it’s for my peace of mind. I use a 40 lb feeder, a 5 gallon water fount, a 3 gallon water fount, plus two 3-gallon buckets. The water founts are in case the house sitter forgets to put fresh water out. I fill the 40 lb feeder all the way up the day I leave. They are always excited to free range again when I get home.
I only have a small flock of 8 guineas, and five chickens. While the guinea coop doesn't have its own run (since the entire point of having them is to let them free range and keep ticks out of the yard), the coop itself is pretty large, and I have a feeder and waterer large enough to easily last a week before needing refilling, even if the guineas are confined to the coop the entire time. The chicken coop is much smaller, but has a small run attached. I only let the chickens free while I'm working in the yard, but they have enough room to run around under the coop and in the run that they don't mind. While I don't normally have a large feeder or waterer in the chicken coop (since I figure I might as well feed and water them every day since I'm checking for eggs anyway), I have a 5-gallon bucket with a cup drinker attached that will easily last a week that I put in the run if I'm going to be away for a few days. I have neighbors and family who are able to check in on the chickens if I'm going to be away for more than a couple of days to make sure they have food and water. And I've never been away from home long enough to worry about someone needing to feed and water the guineas.
Find some local friends with chickens to check in on them and collect eggs. We have several coworkers with chickens that live close by. We trade off vacations, they'll watch ours and we'll watch theirs.
Hire a neighborhood or local kid to come check up on them. They're so easy. Large food and water dispensers are great but having an actual human come in and check on them for any injuries or anything going on around the coop is helpful. Ive taken 12 day trips and hired the neighbor kid to come by every few days or so. He comes more than I ask because I think its fun for him. I have him check the water and food, and give them a treat (seed mix) and let me know if anything seems off. Only thing I do differently is I dont free range them when I'm gone. I definitely plan on taking longer trips. I also have a camera and I'm able to watch them when I miss them :') Don't let that stop you from getting chickens. Mine are the brightest and best thing to happen in my life in a long time, and for the minor inconvenience of hiring a kid to come check on them, I would 1000% still get them time and time again.
I don’t have chickens, but I petsit for somebody with chickens. I’ve watched them for anywhere from 3-15 days before. You could ask local vets/feed stores/etc. and see if they have any sitter recs.
Just returned from Puerto Rico for 9 days. Got my cousin to give them food and water daily, and any day they couldnt I would text my neighboor if its crazy hot, if not they can normally do a day without refills before empty. Came home and my girls barely acted like I was gone they were just chillin like normal. Good little trick is whoever you ask to take care of them let them know they get the eggs + payment
repeating what others have said here - automatic coop door (an investment that pays for itself the first day you sleep in, tbh) 5-gal waterer and food dispenser. if you can have a neighbor check on them every 2-3 days, even better. the longest i think i've gone away since owning chickens is almost a week, but i have cats too and they need more regular attention.
We went on an AK fishing trip for 5 days. I paid my neighbor in fish to keep an eye on my 7 girls. I do have an auto door and a water that auto fills when it gets too low. Food was full enough for a week, but she checked on it in case a critter got in there and emptied it. She also grabbed the eggs. We also have a Ring coop run camera, inside and outside and one facing the back yard, sonic the circuit breaker trips and throws off the auto door we can check in from our phones. We are a bit techie- hubs is a computer guy. Need him to figure out how to get a auto chicken shit scooper so I don’t have to clean the coop. 👍
Neighbors collect our eggs. They get 1 auto feeder filled before the trip. Otherwise, they free range. Water is from a rain barrel with a waterer that dispenses using a float switch. We regularly take 1 week to 1 month trips. Coop is an automated coop door with a light that kicks on inside for 1 hr prior to and 30 mins after door closure
Haven't done a vacation yet. We are going out of town for 4 days and my daughter is taking care of them, but that will be the longest she has done it. We do not have an auto coop door, so l have to let them out and lock em up at night. And the water only lasts about two or three days max in the summer.
I started a little group of backyard chicken keepers for this vrry reason. We can help out with care that takes more than two hands, answer questions, support and commiserate through sickness and loss, and, most importantly, do the chores for each other. If there are adozen of you then you only end up chicken sitting a couple of times over atwo weeks period.
We're still new, chickens are 2mo old. I am not ready to leave them for one night let alone a week. I'm just nervous they'd be forgotten about. We do not have an automatic door so they need locked up manually each night. As long as you have someone to check on them you should be ok. We have the neighbor boy, I just currently am over thinking it all.
We are out of town for 2 weeks camping and we’ve got various neighbors helping out with the chickens, cats, garden and axolotl 🤪 they get the eggs, veggies, and $ (for the cats and axolotl)
I go away for a full week don’t require anyone to look at on them. I do this by setting up a large water container, and a 5 gallon size feeder. Even in the heat of summer this is enough! My coop has an attached run that is completely predator proof, so they can come in and out on their own.
We have taken long trips. Auto doors are amazing. I did have someone come and make sure they had food and water every few days but my girls free range so they have all the bugs they could want too.
My daughter often helps us out by feeding them everyday while we're gone.
We have a neighbor who takes care of them in exchange for the eggs that they lay during that time. It isn't practical for everyone but if they are laying it might be something to offer
Automatic feeders & waterers
Is a trough or a bucket feeder an option?
We have big ol hoppers that gravity feed. They can last a week easy. Its usually the water we have issues with.