this is my first post but I thought this was the most obvious place to ask this question
I have a couple of lovely hens but I am going away for a week in August and have no-one who can look after them. My neighbour would usually pop accross and do it but she is also away. We live quite rural and I feel unable to ask friends in the nearby village if they would do it as it's quite a drive up and down, if you know what I mean. So my question is, are there companies that will come and let out and feed in a morning and then come back to lock up at night? and how do i go about finding someone?
Can't help I'm afraid as I live in Northumberland, but, the guy we bought our hens from also runs a chicken hotel, all you have to do is provide your own feeders and drinkers. There may be someone like that in your area, it's a worry trying to find someone you can trust. Cat and dog boarding kennels are so common but as chicken keeping is becoming more popular, you'd think people would cotton to the idea of boarding hens.
Best of luck with your hunt.
ps welcome to the Lane
Mother of two, stepmum to two, all grown up and flown the nest. Grandma to Lucy, who's 12 and is my best friend. Two dogs, 6 Gingernut Rangers, and one lovely hubby!
As a young teenager I earned good money during the summer holidays watering peoples gardens, looking after their chickens and even trusted with some prize breeding siamese cats, So finding a bored 13 year old with naff all to do in the summer holidays shouldn't be hard in a rual setting. I currently have a 12 year old in training for just such an event My cousin offers a boarding service but he's in norfolk, so not much good to you. contacting you local breeder seems like sensible advice if you cant find a willing teenager.
I found a lovely lady by google searching "chicken sitting Nottingham" She has boarding facilities on her own land...lovely coops and runs that my ladies have made use of and been well cared for in. She charges £3.25 daily per run, not per lady, for a small flock. You might find something similar in your area...good luck!
Emma
Love my boy Sylvester and his current wives Beatrice, Gladys, Isabella, Juniper, Kitty, Lottie, Maud, Nora, Milly and Prudence. Gone but never forgotten Arabella, Clara, Dolly, Edwina, Florrie and Hilda.
Hi there, We are taking our birds back to the breeder when we are on holiday. She runs "Hennels" so we will have peace of mind which is really reassuring. For the odd weekend we ask either neighbours or family to pop in, but I've already sussed out some local dogwalking services as a back-up.
I know a dog walker/pet sitter in Northampton who would do this locally, so as others have said your local dog walkers probably would. Alot of chicken breeders also keep a pen spare for hensitting, I've done this with mine a couple of times, I used to pay about £25 for the week for the pen. I may be looking for somewhere too this year for one of my hens & her 2 chicks, one is partially blind so needs extra tlc
"He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." --Immanuel Kant
Thank you for all your help and the links. I contacted my breeder and they didn't know of anyone at all who could do it but those dog walking links look helpful so i will ring them :)
Hello Pipling, had had a quick search on the net for you and found this website...
