I am moving to the countryside. Need advice.

[MaeM]

So, I live in a suburban area. Due to a situation of violence with my dad, I had to leave the family house - and my chickens.

All I can afford in this area are small apartments but I really don't want to live like that. So I talked to my boyfriend and we decided to move together to a more isolated area (or the countryside), where we can take the chickens and just have a quieter life.

But we don't have experience in this and one of my worries is how to take care of the chickens in that environment. Hell, I don't even know how to transport them properly.

I only know that free ranging is more dangerous than it is in the city due to a higher number of predators. And I feel insecure because there won't be an avian vet nearby, though I do have a chicken first aid kit with antibiotics, syringes, etc.

So I need advice about pretty much everything, lol, any kind of advice/instruction will be appreciated. I still don't know where I'm going to go exactly but I thought it'd be best to ask these things beforehand.

Thank you.

 

[LaFleche]

So, I live in a suburban area. Due to a situation of violence with my dad, I had to leave the family house - and my chickens.

All I can afford in this area are small apartments but I really don't want to live like that. So I talked to my boyfriend and we decided to move together to a more isolated area (or the countryside), where we can take the chickens and just have a quieter life.

But we don't have experience in this and one of my worries is how to take care of the chickens in that environment. Hell, I don't even know how to transport them properly.

I only know that free ranging is more dangerous than it is in the city due to a higher number of predators. And I feel insecure because there won't be an avian vet nearby, though I do have a chicken first aid kit with antibiotics, syringes, etc.

So I need advice about pretty much everything, lol, any kind of advice/instruction will be appreciated. I still don't know where I'm going to go exactly but I thought it'd be best to ask these things beforehand.

Thank you.

I am sorry you had to leave your chickens behind.

If you have to rent your new place, make sure that your landlord will agree to chicken keeping first.

For your new setup it would be important to determine how much you will be able to spend on housing, (electric) fencing, netting etc. which will be the prerequisite for the amount of birds you will be able to keep.

Determine the purpose: is it meat, eggs, both or rather pets giving you the occasional egg?

 

[aart]

First you'll need a secure coop and run of adequate size for your birds.
Before that better make sure you can have poultry in your new area.
Best of cLuck!

 

[MaeM]

I am sorry you had to leave your chickens behind.

If you have to rent your new place, make sure that your landlord will agree to chicken keeping first.

For your new setup it would be important to determine how much you will be able to spend on housing, (electric) fencing, netting etc. which will be the prerequisite for the amount of birds you will be able to keep.

Determine the purpose: is it meat, eggs, both or rather pets giving you the occasional egg?

They're pets that make me breakfast. They're 5 and I don't plan to increase that number until I'm used to managing chickens in the new environment.

I will likely take their current coop and run with me. The run is fully enclosed as I've previously dealt with hawks (yes, in a suburban area!), and the coop has doors that I never needed to lock but I could add a padlock at least.

 

[Folly's place]

Safe coops are sturdy and have no openings larger than 1/2" anywhere. In bear country, electric fencing is very important, and anywhere, having the safest run you can manage does matter.
Make sure it's legal to have chickens, and that if you are renting it's fine with the property owner. If there's no fencing, consider two large dogs attacking your coop/ run, and build to protect the birds from them!
Mary

 

[Folly's place]

And country living is the best!
Mary

 

[saysfaa]

... how to transport them properly.
...

If you are going not more than several hours or can drive through the night then a cardboard box works well - something around the size of a nest box. One chicken per box if they are adults.

Put a little clean bedding in the bottom of it to make it more comfortable and absorb droppings. Keeping it darkened helps the chickens stay calm.

The time I took adults, I only went a few hours so didn't need to stop along the way to give them feed or water.

 

[springvalley123]

If you're taking your existing coop/run, figure out how long it takes to tear it down, load it, unload it, and re-assemble it. That's usually a matter of days, not hours, and I'm talking about setups that were designed to be portable. You'll need to think of some type of temporary housing for that time period--maybe a 2.5 x 4 ft wire crate or two? an x-pen in someone's garage or porch?

 

[Coops Dad]

As for transporting in boxes, I got a box about 12"x12"x18" and cut a 3" round hole in the top close to one side in order to transport a chicken from Kansas to central Texas in the cab of my tractor trailer. The chicken just kept her head out of the hole most of the trip (7 hours).

 

[Sally PB]

What kind of vehicle do you have for transportation?

What is your budget for buying or renting a place?

How far away is it from where you are? Is your situation now such that you can make more than one trip? Can you get some friends to help with the move?

Be safe and good luck.