I got another position at work and had to go to Corporate Headquarters for two weeks for training. Believe me, I tried to get out of it. I have been with the company for years and it would be training of what I was already familiar with. Pretty sure by now I knew the company history and culture, but there was no way out of it .. I had to go. I had to prepare for time away.
Enter panic mode. At this time I do not just have a few chickens. I have several pens for breeding, pens growing out chicks, pens growing out cockerels and some extra cockerels pending a new home or processing. And if that was not enough, I have two indoor cats, the five ferals I take care of and Spencer, my Boarder Collie. I had a lot to take care of and no family around to help out.
After a day or two of total freak out, I started to formulate a plan. I had already added PVC tube feeders to many of the pens and several pens also had a water reservoirs feeding a nipple watering system. We now had to get feeders and waterers in all the pens. That would cut down on the chore time of who ever I could get to feed and water while I was gone. It will also help me out when I got back. Look for post on how to make both coming soon.
The next concern was who could help out. With no immediate family I went to a neighbor that home schools to ask if they would mind feeding and watering everyone while I was gone. I did offer payment and all the eggs they collected. They thought that was a great idea so one more obstacle was marked off.
Knowing some one else would be taking care of the birds I set about reducing the number of birds that needed care. We sold many and sent some others for processing. Though I had more than I really needed, we got the numbers down a bit.
The next thing we needed to figure out was the feed. I usually bought feed every week and drove around with a few bags of feed in the back of the car and put it in the feed containers as I used their contents up. I needed more of the 30 gallon metal trash cans I used for feed and I placed them in several places of the yard. We got a feel for how many bags of feed were needed for a week and made sure we had places to store slightly more than twice as much on the property.
We now had the chickens pretty well taken care of and now I had to be concerned about the fur babies. The indoor cats could be left with plenty of food and water inside. Outside, the neighbors could put out feed and water for the ferals. I did not think they would see the ferals, but at least they would be kept fed.
The last concern was the dog. If the stress of leaving for a few weeks was not enough, he started to limp a few weeks out. I could not find any wound and there was no swelling in his feet or joints. The only thing I could figure was he hurt his shoulder. He would walk fine then limp. I had to then consider if he would be better boarded or kept home.
Leading up to my fight date I decided to put Spencer in a very large crate outside while I was at work. He could do his business as was on ground, but he was contained to keep him from running like a fool. It took two weeks and he was good as new... just in time before my trip. I decided for my trip to put him in his pen. He was familiar with it and I hoped he would not feel so abandoned if he was in his regular space. I put his feed in a weather proof container outside next to his run for ease in feeding. I also added a bag of treats for the neighbor to feed him and hopefully become friends. I anchored his water bucket to the fence and made his dish where I could attach a leash so it could be pulled out of his pen if needed. While he is not vicious, I did not know how he would respond to me disappearing and some one new taking care of him.
Though I do not have family in the immediate area, my mother is a little over an hour away. She agreed to come down twice in my absence to check on the indoor cats and to make sure Spencer was doing OK. I knew the indoor cats would be very lonely and need some attention. She could check to make sure they had enough feed and water and give them some much needed attention.
I finally got to where I thought we had everything under control. Had food and water for everything considered and planned for. As much as I dreaded the day.. it came time for me to fly out. I gave everybody their last little bit of loving and headed to Corporate Office.
I admit .. I hate to travel. I especially do not like to fly. That said, once I get airborne, I am totally enthralled with the view. The woman next to me watched a movie on her tablet and I marveled at the view of the clouds and took tons of photos. I do love clouds and enjoy seeing their constant beauty in the sky so did enjoy my time there. As I traveled through the clouds I was excited about the new opportunity my job held for me in the future. I was also thankful I could take time away and know what I work for was going to be just fine when I returned.