Has anyone ever moved long distance WITH their chickens?

[NurseELB]

It looks like we may be headed back to Southern CA. I'm wondering if anyone has ever traveled over 1200 miles with their chickens? We love our 5 girls and want to bring them with us, but I'm afraid it will be too cramped and stressful for them to make the trip

Opinions? Stories? Suggestions?

 

[chickieboy]

we moved from louisanna to oklahoma with our chicken , duck, and turkeys and cats

 

[NurseELB]

Did you bring them in the car? Did you have to stop overnight?

 

[wenlo]

We drove our five girls 400 miles in a large pet crate. I hung a wire shelf to make it "two stories." Hard to keep water in one place in a moving vehicle, but we all made it!

 

[jettgirl24]

Not sure if it would work for chickens but when we haul the horses long distance we put a short length of 2x4 in their water buckets to keep the water from sloshing out. Maybe if you got a sort of deep water container and put a length of 2x2 in it that would keep it from sloshing out? Not sure but worth a try

 

[txcarl1258]

I don't see why it would be a problem. Birds are shipped across the country through the mail all the time. I think it would less stressful on them traveling in the car in a crate then being moved all the time in a box. Just my opinion.

 

[Buttercup Chillin]

People use oranges and apples instead of water to help keep them hydrated. Stop and give them water breaks like you would with dogs or cats. And do the clean out thing with the poo trays under the cages.

When we moved cross country - 3 days- with dogs and cats, I used those dosposable litter pans (should be good for the chickens too. and for the dogs, I lined an area in the car with the puppy training pads. (never did need those though). I traveled daytime. But with chickens, I would drive at night mostly, I think. Would be a lot less hassle than feeding and watering them constantly.

But if you stop over at night or day, what can you do with them. Where could you stop. You may need to figure something out or drive through. So how many hour drive is it going to be.

There's a person on here that drove a car full of ducks (big ones) from texas to Colorado, I think. So ya, it can be done.

edited: ok so around 20+ hours. I think the duck traveler drove till got tired, used truck stops or whatever, rested for a few hours and drove on. Said it really wasn't as bad as expected. Was a teacher, delivering mostly grown Muscovies to Dad's after the class had hatched them until they could be brought. I have done similar drive straight throughs when younger, with kids, dogs and cats across most of the country. You'll be tired when you get there is all. Plan on that.

Most Best Western's take dogs and cats, check with them and let us know. If they are caged with trays, don't see why not. Pick one North of Sacramento for a half way point and call and see what they say. Serious. Or leave the chickens in the car and go get some sleep. Tell them people on BYC want to know. Cause we do. What do Chicken Show people do? Maybe they could travel to farther shows if Best Western would take Chickens. Just an idea and for all I know they just might, they deal with people that travel with animals.

 

[WhetzelMomma]

We used dog kennels. The kind you use for flying. Put three hens (BO crosses) into a med sized kennel. Put hay in the bottom, but for a longer trip, I'd use wood shavings so I could get in and pick up poo once in a while. They seemed to like the dark close quarters... Almost like it made them feel safe not to have too much room to move. I used a rodent food dish to feed them, and a rabbit water bottle on the outside of the cage for water. They had never used a rabbit bottle, but they figured it out when they got thirsty.

They all laid an egg in that crate by the following day, and we never had an interruption in production, so I'd say it worked really well!! lol

 

[mandelyn]

Isn't it Motel 6 that's the most animal friendly? One place let me bring in my 3 dogs, and they told a story about a lion that stayed there. If a Lion is ok, surely caged chickens are. Plot your route and call a bunch of hotels along the route so you can make a plan. Or you'll be sleeping at the rest areas.

Just take a break every 4 hours, time your coffee intake to match, so every stop has at least a dual purpose. Get gas, water the birds. Stop to pee, water the birds and clean the cage. If you're using the plastic dog transport carriers, give them a whole tomato or fruit for extra hydration and something to do.

Totally do-able.

 

[cjvdub]

I drove from Massachusetts to Wisconsin this summer. That's a bit over 1000 miles. I was delivering 20 or so 3 month old chickens and four 1 month old goslings. They all rode in the bed of an uncovered pickup. I left at 11 pm and arrived at 3 pm the next day. They were in either crates or a coop built to fit in the bed of the truck. All the crates/cages had wire bottoms for water spillage. Everything was made so that direct wind couldn't blow on them and chill them. They also had a bit of room to move around.

I stopped after about 10 minutes on the freeway to see how everyone was doing. The chicks were cooing and the goslings laying down preening. None were any worse for wear. Mostly they were just acting like tired geese and chickens. After that, I stopped every 300 miles or sooner for gas and checked them then. I also gave them water/food, etc... I cut holes in soda bottles for water and left it in the cages, but

I'd suggest lettuce and bread for food. I didn't plan that out, so mine got rest stop donuts.

They all arrived just fine. On the trip back, I brought back some 5 month old pullets. They made the same trip in the day, in 95+ degree heat. I just kept the crate shaded and stopped a bit more often for water. Never had any problems.

Having them in a car for that long, I would think would stink in a hurry.

corey