Vacations and Water

[AShelDuck1]

My husband surprised me with a mini vacation.

It was terrible (lol) I worried about my flock the whole time. Kept texting the house sitter.

They didn’t track/count my eggs
They didn’t fill up the waters properly (I don’t know if it was a coincidence but we had a soft shelled egg afterwards and a duck had an eye infection)

We have a much longer vacation in June and now I’m just a mess thinking about it.

How do I ensure they will have enough water? How many water containers do 17 hens need? How many extra water containers do 7 ducks need?

I also have rabbits. How do I make sure they don’t run out of water?

The house sitter will check twice a day but they apparently aren’t the best at it so I have to prepare for human failure.

 

[Backroadlogic]

Plumb up some hanging waterlines with nipples and everyone will have endless water as long as the water is on

 

[rosemarythyme]

Track how long it takes you to use up your water when all the waterers are full, then put out 1.5x that for the duration (so if 1 gallon in 2 days and you'll be gone 6 days, put out 4.5 gal or more). Having a backup waterer if you only have one is advisable anyhow in case they somehow spill or knock theirs over, or if nipples fail.

 

[Ridgerunner]

It's not just water for them to drink, they need clean water to drink. If you water with containers that they can poop in or scratch trash in the water will not stay clean. They pretty much need to be dumped daily or every other day and refilled with clean water if they are getting dirty. After a couple of days poopy water can become disease ridden.

As long as they work, nipples should provide clean water as long as the source is clean.

The ducks are another problem. They need to dip their heads in water to clean their nares (nostrils). So you need bowls of clean water.

I don't know how you are managing your chickens, ducks, or rabbits now. I think you need a long detailed talk with your sitter to manage this. If it were just chickens and was not that long of a trip you probably could set something up but I'd still worry if someone was not checking on them daily.

 

[ChaosMom]

If you have a neighborhood online group, maybe post looking for someone with poultry experience for chicken/duck sitting

Or call your local high school if they have a 4H group for responsible teenagers looking for jobs. Alternatively your county extension office should have a 4H specialist who might be able to point you toward a resource.

I'd want to have someone who has actually caught a chicken before and knows something about them (they would be slightly ahead of me at this point, lol)

 

[AShelDuck1]

It's not just water for them to drink, they need clean water to drink. If you water with containers that they can poop in or scratch trash in the water will not stay clean. They pretty much need to be dumped daily or every other day and refilled with clean water if they are getting dirty. After a couple of days poopy water can become disease ridden.

As long as they work, nipples should provide clean water as long as the source is clean.

The ducks are another problem. They need to dip their heads in water to clean their nares (nostrils). So you need bowls of clean water.

I don't know how you are managing your chickens, ducks, or rabbits now. I think you need a long detailed talk with your sitter to manage this. If it were just chickens and was not that long of a trip you probably could set something up but I'd still worry if someone was not checking on them daily.

They were supposed to check on them TWICE a day!

I don’t think they did good enough.

It was a three day trip so very minimal harm. But my next vacation is going to be 10 days. And in the heat of summer.

I’m freaking out.

I’m home with them usually so I can check throughout the day and also have kids doing chores.

But, I’m worried about this trip.

The buckets I have for the ducks were dry. Even the mud in the bottom that happens, was dry. And their blue pools were pretty shallow. After three days. I mean I’ve missed a few refills here and there, but I haven’t had it been that bad ever.

The chicken 5 gallon was empty and tipped over. And their extra bucket was pretty shallow.

Am I being dramatic?

 

[AShelDuck1]

Plumb up some hanging waterlines with nipples and everyone will have endless water as long as the water is on

I like this idea!

Adding it to my honey do.

I wonder if I can have it connected to ducks, chickens, and rabbits?

 

[Backroadlogic]

I have no experience with ducks. I'm sure you could find a self watering bowl or something that would be the same premise. Maybe a little pump that turns off at a certain level like in the back of a toilet lol

I like this idea!

Adding it to my honey do.

I wonder if I can have it connected to ducks, chickens, and rabbits?

 

[ChaosMom]

They were supposed to check on them TWICE a day!

I don’t think they did good enough...

...Am I being dramatic?

No, not at all!

- But maybe you're being unrealistic in expecting that your typical house-watcher (generally = plant-waterer) has any idea what is involved with poultry.

IME, chickens are very low-maintenance, but the maintenance that they do need is critical.

I'd really want to have someone who has some knowledge of poultry to check in on my crew.