Patridge bantam chicken poorly foot?

[Faye&Ant]

We are due to go on holiday in September for 10 days and it will be the longest time we have left the girls. We have family and neighbours who have offered to open up, change water and food and shut them away at night but... the girls are not going to out of their run at all for 10 days and thats something they wont be used to. Although we have extended the run and they have plenty of room I was wondering whether anyone did any 'boarding' or chicken sitting like you can with dogs and cats? We are in the essex area and wouldnt want to take them too far as I think it would stress them out.

 

Is there such a thing or am I a bit barmy?

[MadMitch]

Have you checked out the chicken sitter part of the forum? You may find someone on there.

 

http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewforum.php?f=24

[Faye&Ant]

Thank you! I will have a browse now

 

Would have been a good place to start hey

[Hen Watch]

I'm sure they will be fine for 10 days. We got away for 7 days and my lot are fine. Sometimes my chicken sitter lets them out for a free range whilst having a cup of coffee but apart from that they stay in their run.

 

Shame you don't live near Egluntine in Sheffield. (Take a look at the chicken sitting link).

[jomaxsmith]

If they went to a sitter there's no guarantee they'd get to free range. Mine go to stay with a friend who has a spare coop and attached run, when we went away in June the hens were in that run for a fortnight with no free ranging (my friend's flock were surrounding them so at least they had new things to look at!) and they suffered no ill effects.

 

Jo

[Abbey Road Girl]

If they went to a sitter there's no guarantee they'd get to free range. Mine go to stay with a friend who has a spare coop and attached run, when we went away in June the hens were in that run for a fortnight with no free ranging (my friend's flock were surrounding them so at least they had new things to look at!) and they suffered no ill effects.

 

Jo

 

Recently, I had my builder working in the garden fixing a new lid to my coal store. Even though the hens were confined to their run, they seemed to be very happy to have a human activity to observe.

 

If you can have a neighbour pottering around in your garden, your hens may be sufficiently hentertained without having to be let out of their run.

 

Good luck!

[Olly]

They'll be fine in the run - don't be blackmailed by all that pacing up and down! Better safe than sorry.

 

Jomaxsmith is right, I am in Essex, and I've put my name on the chicken-sitter list, but my own chooks can only free-range when I am in the garden, so if I were to look after someone elses, there would be very limited free-range time.

 

They're probably better off in their own home, with someone checking on them. Ten days won't do them any harm.