Shiney Chez Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 ..in April and am worried about leaving my girls. Ladies at work have said they will pop in at lunchtime every day to feed them & give them fresh water, but I'm concerned about not being able to close them up in the evening. Will they cope ok with the EGlu door being open all night and only having little human contact? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 Yes...they will be fine as long as someone checks on them regularly, replenishes the food and water, collects the eggs and, depending on how long you are away for, empties the poo tray and changes the bedding in the nest box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shiney Chez Posted March 5, 2008 Author Share Posted March 5, 2008 I am probably worrying about nothing!! I've only had the girls for 4 wks and feel so protective over them. I was going to take them to in laws but they live over 30 miles away and I don't want to disturb them too much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 I was just the same as you last October . I'd had them about 4 or 5 weeks and went away for 8 days. I had friends coming every 2 days (so less than you), they had no free-ranging at all and the door was open permanently. Hard to tell I know, but they seemed none the worse for wear when we returned. I insisted on regular texts to keep me from worrying . (Any they weren't laying so my friends had no payment - apart from the goodies I brought back for them .) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shiney Chez Posted March 5, 2008 Author Share Posted March 5, 2008 They only thing I really worry about is missing my first egg! The girls are only 19 wks old so knowing my luck they will have their first egg when I;m away We do worry don't we about our little ladies!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Watch Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 They will be fine. We've left ours 3 times no problem. We left the eglu door open all the time. My sister just popped in once a day to change water, add pellets, collect eggs and that was it. I got a spare set of grub/glug feeders so in the Summer I knew their water wouldn't run out if they had 2 but you won't need to do that as it's only April. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 Mine were 28 and 39 weeks when they first laid so chances are you'll be OK . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyren Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Don't worry - they'll be fine! I only close the eglu door when it's really cold (i.e. -5 or so) - the rest of the year I leave it open and they get themselves up. And they really don't need human contact in the short term - they're not like cats or dogs, who get attached to their surrogate parents/pack-members and pine when you're away. If you went away for months, they might become a bit less tame simply because they had forgotten you were the nice person who used to bring them treats, but for normal holiday lengths, you won't see a difference. As long as someone has your phone number just in case of questions or an emergency, you can safely leave them and enjoy your hols! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 we left ours in October and over the new year. A teenage friend of ED came in every afternoon to collect eggs and top up food and water. The Eglu door was left open on both occasions and they were fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...