A Daily Visitor With Two Fixed Visits Is The Core Arrangement
Two visits a day anchor the week because a Plymouth Rock flock needs the coop opened in the morning and, far more importantly, shut and latched before dark when predators start moving. Agree the times, walk both visits with your sitter before you leave, and show them exactly how the pop-hole door, run gate and coop latches fasten, since most flock losses trace back to a door somebody thought was shut. Confirm a backup person for the evenings your sitter cannot make, because the night visit is the one that can never be skipped or left late. Calm birds forgive a lot; an open coop forgives nothing.
Feed And Water Set Up So A Visit Is A Top-Up, Not A Hunt
Supplies should be staged so the sitter's job is checking rather than searching, because a Plymouth Rock eats steadily and a feeder found empty on day four means the staging was wrong. Fill the main feeder before you go, leave the feed bin beside it with a scoop and a line showing how much a day looks like, and put out a second waterer so a knocked-over drinker does not leave the flock dry until the next visit. Show the sitter where the tap is and ask for waterers to be rinsed, not just refilled, since a slimy drinker puts birds off drinking. In cold weather, agree how ice is dealt with each morning.
Eggs Collected Daily, And The Broody Hen Explained
Egg collection needs a sentence of its own because Plymouth Rocks lay well and also go broody readily, and the two facts collide in the nest boxes while you are away. Ask the sitter to collect every egg each day, including from under a broody hen, wearing the glove you leave for the purpose if she pecks. A broody Rock will sit tight, growl and fluff up, which alarms a new sitter unless you have explained that she is healthy, needs lifting off once a day to eat and drink, and that her behaviour is expected rather than an emergency. Eggs left under her for a week come back as a problem you did not plan for.
A Quick Daily Look At The Birds Themselves
The sitter should look at the flock, not just the equipment, because Plymouth Rocks are unobtrusive birds and the one sitting apart under the coop is easy to miss among contented hens. Ask for a slow minute at each visit: everyone up and moving, everyone coming to feed, combs bright rather than pale, and no bird being kept from the feeder by the others. Droppings under the roost that turn watery across the whole flock, or one bird with a drooping tail and closed eyes, earns a message to you the same day. That habit of looking is what separates sitting from merely feeding.
Contacts, Permissions And The One Emergency That Matters
Finish with the practical permissions because a sitter who finds a bird trapped, badly pecked or limp in a corner needs to know they may act first and apologise later. Leave your number, the vet's number, and plain agreement that a seriously hurt or suffering bird goes to the vet on your account without waiting for you to reply. Name the secure carrier and where it lives so a bird can be moved safely. KinsLe's Care Pass keeps the sitter's visit times, the broody-hen note and those permissions as temporary access that switches off when you are home.