5 chickens, 2 cars, and 1000 miles-how would you do it?

[leghorn dude]

i did somethin like this we just put the 5 chickens in boxes in the back seat of the kia and drove worked fine it was a 12 hr trip back home they made it fine

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

Quote:

Just got a good mental picture of that!

 

[Wolfwoman]

Quote:
It's a station wagon, so one can easily fold down the backseat. It'll just be my husband and me driving the two cars. We'll also be traveling with our 2 dogs.

I totally agree with you about the kennels being a better option, I just don't want to spend a fortune on dog kennels that I'll probably never use again.

Start hopping Craigslist and garage sales and your local papers.... they can be had for well under $30. Might be a little beat up, but I'd bet you can resell for the same amount once you get where you're going. Plus, keep one for a quarantine/sick cage!

 

[awesomechickens]

You could use wire cages very cheep, and if there chicken ones, there might be a feed box and water box.You also dont want it to get hot,so air condintoning would help

 

[patandchickens]

If you put them in airline-style pet carriers (the plastic ones with the wire door), large ones so you could put 2-3 chickens in each of two carriers, you can feed and water them without opening the carrier. Use a popbottle or nipple cage-type waterer, and the little clip-on food dish that comes with the crate. You can also give them grapes to peck at.

If you have an XXL collapsible wire dog crate available *at the destination*, you can keep them in that for a few days (preferably indoors or in a garage) til their coop catches up.

Good luck, have fun, good luck with the move,

Pat

 

[dsqard]

Quote:
It's a station wagon, so one can easily fold down the backseat. It'll just be my husband and me driving the two cars. We'll also be traveling with our 2 dogs.

I totally agree with you about the kennels being a better option, I just don't want to spend a fortune on dog kennels that I'll probably never use again.

A large dog crate works great for growing out chicks as long as you line the sides with cardboard to keep drafts down. See you could use it again!

 

[elmo]

A shipping box like the ones they use for sending birds through the mail would work, also:

http://www.hm-e.net/products.htm

They also give some good tips for helping birds endure the journey comfortably:

http://www.hm-e.net/care.htm

 

[Tomhusker]

If you have a receiver hitch on your vehicle you can get a small cargo rack for it, then put a large dog kennel on that, covered in a tarp for protection.
Something like one of these on this site:
http://www.pickupspecialties.com/receiver_hitch_racks.htm

They are very handy and can be used to carry all sorts of things safely.

 

[ShrekDawg]

I agree a dog crate would work just fine, or if you dont want to spend a ton of money on a wire one, you could get one of the plastic ones with the wire door, they have bigger ones available, would work just fine, plus dont you have dogs? so you could use it again or use it for chicks and/or as a quarentine cage. Im sure the birds will be just fine. I also agree craigslist, yard sales, your local paper, and the internet are all excelent tools, im sure you could find a cheap one somewhere, i see them on our craigslist all the time, plus you can use it as a temperary coop until your real coop arrives and even if you decide not to keep it you could always clean it up and resell it. good luck with your move!

 

[the lemon tree]

Thanks so much everyone for your input! I'll definitely check out Craigslist for kennels. I'm sooooooo not looking forward to the drive...I can just imagine the smell that will build up in an enclosed car

.