Summer Vacation Guide for Leaving the Flock Behind So You Can Hit the Road! - Treats for Chickens

Hi Treats for Chickens community, it's me, Dawn!

Planning a vacation requires a few thing, especially if you have pets- chickens. Can you take a vacation even if you have chickens? There aren’t chicken kennels that you can book your birds into due to biosecurity. So how do you take a vacation when you have backyard birds? Well, fellow chicken parents, I've made a chicken-care-list to simplify things.

So you might be thinking: “But how can I possibly leave my flock for days and days?”  Fret not! In this post you'll find tips and checklists  (on how to prepare to go away) and for your chicken sitter (on how to care for your flock while you’re gone). 

Basically everything you need to do and the structure you put in place so all things are fine and dandy when you aren’t there. 

GRAB THE LIST AT THE BOTTOM

As long as you have a reliable person taking over chicken-keeping duties for you, these checklists will keep your chickens safe and healthy and keep you from losing your ever-lovin mind! So, let’s get started.

PREPARING TO GO AWAY 

These are all the things to do BEFORE you go, to set your sitter and chickens up to win.

• Plan ahead on who you will have watch your chickens. They need to be dependable and they need adequate notice. Preferably someone with chicken experience, but if not, please be certain to select a sitter that isn’t afraid of birds. 
• Inspect your coop and run for any areas that may need repair, especially where a predator could gain access – you want to fix these areas before you go away!
• First Aid Kit. If you don’t already have one, now is a good time to put one together. Here is a great link on what to include in it along with a nifty free label you can download: Chicken First Aid Kit (thank you Ashley at Lil Blue Boo)

• Clean the coop and run. If you haven’t done a deep clean in a while, and you have time before you head out, go ahead and do a full clean, otherwise a normal every day cleaning will suffice.
• Make sure you have plenty of feed on hand as well as their favorite treats (like certified organic Cluck Yea or Chicken Crack). [Shameless plug for our treats, indeed 😉.] Keep all the food and treats in the same place that is easy to access by your sitter.
• If your hens are laying, make sure to freshen up their nesting boxes with some certified organic Nesting Box Blend. If you’re not familiar with this product, it is a high quality, non-toxic, humane and environmentally-friendly way to keep your chickens calm and free of mites, lice, pests and contaminants. The organic wormwood, tansy, catnip, calendula and spearmint serve as a pest-repellant are anti-mite preventative + anti-parasitic, + anti-microbial and antiseptic. Lavender, chamomile, eucalyptus and peppermint are soothing, healing and aromatic + provides anti-fungal and antibacterial benefits to your flock’s living environment aka nesting boxes. Ahnnd, again, it smells amazing! 
• Leave contact information for how to reach you and also the name of your avian vet (if you have one) just in case the unthinkable happens while you’re gone. Discuss payment for services [is this a cash situation or is this an egg-a-day deal?], and make certain they know that they are welcome [required] to take eggs home with them in your absence.

NOW FOR THE SITTER 

MORNING ROUTINE

1. As early as possible after sunrise, let the chickens out of their coop and into their run or protected area.
2. After letting them out, if your set-up is such that you pick up poop daily - then that's the first call of order - clean up their droppings from the day/night before.
3. Refresh water and refill food if needed. Scatter some treats on the ground or hand feed snacks.
4. Take a few moments to observe the flock to make sure they are behaving normally and haven’t developed any physical issues since the last check-in. 
5. Collect eggs if there are any.
6. After finishing morning chores, make sure door to the run and/or protected area is secured before you leave.
7. If it is very warm (in the 80s or above) come back in the afternoon to make sure they still have plenty of water. It’s critical that chickens have plenty of cool water to drink when its hot.

EVENING ROUTINE

1. As close to dusk as possible, make sure to count the chickens and to ensure they have “put themselves to bed” by going in the coop and sitting on their roost. If there are any stragglers, just encourage them (aka herd them) into the coop with the others.
2. Gather any additional eggs that were laid during the day.
3. Close their coop door(s) and be sure to lock (if applicable). Make sure the exterior door to the run is locked (if applicable).

MY VACATION CHECKLIST

In PDF (print it + GO!): Word (open, revise, customize.. ahnnnd then GO!)

We tend to overly stress about things. Butttt when it comes down to it, we can’t stop living our lives because of worrying about what MIGHT happen. Keeping chickens is awesome, but you cannot forget to live your life at the same time. After you are well prepared, head out to your vacation and enjoy yourself!

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