Transport Crates

[Welllaidacres]

I have a batch of 125 cornish cross I'm raising currently. On 10/23 I am taking them to the processor. What does everyone use for Poultry crates? I have a a pallet that I built a tiered platform on that can hold about 20 birds per level. I was thinking about building a couple more to put on my trailer to haul birds in. I like the looks of the plastic crates and I think loading them would be easier than my current setup, but man are they expensive. Most seem to hold about 8 birds. I would need 16 of them for this batch. The cheapest I've found them online is strombergs for $45/crate. That seems like an awful lot of money for some transport crates. Do you guys know of any outlets that may be cheaper? or should I just build more of my pallet "crates". Its a pallet on the bottom, with 3 levels to hold chickens. Each level is 48x40. The outside is wrapped in chicken wire on 3 sides and the remaining side has a hinged door with a latch.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Personally I think that's fine if its a shortish (an hour or less) trip.

 

[Welllaidacres]

Personally I think that's fine if its a shortish (an hour or less) trip.

1 hr 15 mins. I leave home at 6AM when its cooler.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Okay, I still think it would be fine.

 

[Welllaidacres]

Okay, I still think it would be fine.

Why would the plastic crates be better than my pallet crates for longer hauls?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I don't think so. I misread part of the post, and I thought they were standing on wire. I think it's fine, especially since they're going to the butcher and not a show or someone's flock

 

[iwltfum]

I think your idea of a couple more pallet crates is great. They may even have a fork lift at the processing place that can take them off the trailer for you, beats hand loading. And your transport crates will never go missing since they are home-made and unique. I think it's a wonderful idea. I use lobster crates for transporting and holding over night (I process myself so mostly it's just bringing them up the hill for me ), but since I'm in a fishing area, I can get used lobster crates for cheap. I say use what you have around

 

[Welllaidacres]

I think your idea of a couple more pallet crates is great. They may even have a fork lift at the processing place that can take them off the trailer for you, beats hand loading. And your transport crates will never go missing since they are home-made and unique. I think it's a wonderful idea. I use lobster crates for transporting and holding over night (I process myself so mostly it's just bringing them up the hill for me ), but since I'm in a fishing area, I can get used lobster crates for cheap. I say use what you have around

The processor I go to has a telehandler that they can unload it with. I hate when i get there behind guys with chickens "loose" in cattle trailers and the like. Takes them forever to unload as they have to catch each bird individually and place in crates. Last time I got stock behind a group of 800 needing unloaded by hand and stuffed in processing plant supplied crates. I can rent crates from my processor, but that would require a drive down there the day before to pick them up. They only charge $2/crate for rental, but the 2.5 hr drive total is what turns me off that idea. Plus, I plan to continue raising these birds so having a more permanent transport solution instead of just renting cages makes the most sense. Long term, I'd like to get the poultry producers processing exemption in Illinois so that I could legally process and sell my own birds. However, that would require me to completely renovate my garage or put up a building dedicated to that. Thats a few years down the line. Ideally it'd be a meat processing facility in the back, certified kitchen in the middle, and a store upfront to sell my meat, eggs, produce, and canned goods out of.

 

[poultryprofessor]

I use the fancy purpose-built plastic crates. For me, I like that they are sturdy, have good airflow, and can be cleaned/sanitized. I just took 129 birds to the processor yesterday. I used 16 crates which fit 2 wide and 3 deep in a full-size truck bed. However, they are expensive (and definitely hold closer to 8 birds than the 10 I generally see advertised), so they may not be the right answer for you. If you are only doing a batch or two of birds a year, the price is hard to justify. If you are looking at plastic crates, I recommend ones with hinged lids on top - ours have sliding lids and are harder to open/close than they need to be.

When I drop my birds off, I see all manner of transportation methods. I have seen birds in home-made crates (usually wood, sometimes metal), wire dog crates, plastic dog crates, loose in a stock trailer, loose in the back of a pick-up bed. The processor we use has a set of crates that they keep on site - if you don't bring your own, they unload your birds into those crates.

The biggest drawback to wooden crates is that they are hard (if not impossible) to fully clean and sanitize. If you ever have sick birds in them (or set in an area where sick birds have been), they can harbor bacteria and/or parasites. They also do not last as long (especially if exposed to the elements), but the cost savings may be worth it.

Do you know anyone in your area who may be willing to split the purchase with you? Those crates are definitely not something you need every day, so they may be useful for a co-op situation. You use them one week, someone else uses them another. I'm not aware of anyone doing something like this, but I'm sure it is possible.

 

[poultryprofessor]

Here is a decent homemade design I've seen:
http://projectfreedomranger.blogspot.com/2012/06/transport-crate-build.html