hope to find some answers

[honeybird]

Hi everyone! Ive had my biddies for almost two years and cant imagine not having the girls with me. I currently live in New Jersey, with 17 free range birds of mixed heritages. My problem is we will be retiring in a feww months and moving to a small farm in northern florida. I need to know how to bring my girls with me, there will be a coop waiting for them but dont know if there are rules on transporting them or how to prepare them for the 12 hour drive. We will drive straight thru cant imagine a hotel wanting my rooster as a guest. Since we will be going in Dec Will the climate change be a problem?

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

Just make sure they are secure and safe. A pet carrier or dog crate will work great for transporting them in. If you don't want them making noise then put a towel or blanket over them.

Once you get to your new home, expect them to not lay for at most two weeks. Chickens are highly susceptible to stress and change so this will put a halt on egg laying.

Give then water and food breaks often and try and keep the drive as relaxing as possible. You'll need to stop often and let them stretch. Make sure again, that they are drinking.

Best of luck and glad you joined! Enjoy your retirement!

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! You might like to check out Florida state thread to see what other people have done https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/305793/florida-always-sunny-side-up don't think weather would be that much of a problem since it will just be some warmer.
pdf on Florida state import requirements http://www.freshfromflorida.com/content/download/35302/830464/PoultryRequirements.pdf http://www.freshfromflorida.com/
Chickens travel well in things like dog crates, you can hang food/water bowls from the sides for long trips. Some straw/shavings etc on the bottom to keep them clean, can cover them if you need to. People ship adult birds via USPS in basically fancy cardboard boxes all the time and the birds do fine, usually just with some fresh fruit like apples (birds should be used to them before hand).

 

[BantamLover21]

Glad you joined us!

Good luck with your move!

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

I have traveled with parrots in the past and is similar to transporting chickens. Birds can stress while on the road. So you might want to keep a towel or blanket over the cage or carrier as Mountain Peeps has suggested. Stop frequently and make sure they are drinking. It is easy for them to become dehydrated. Stop every 4 hours and get them out if you can. Let them stretch their legs and wings and peck around on the ground. It may take you longer to get there, but they will do much better if you give them breaks. Then put them back in and recover them.

And as Mountain Peeps has also said, they are probably going to stop laying for a few weeks after them move. Moving is stressful on them. So expect some down time on laying. The stress may even trigger a molt.

Good luck with the move! They will do fine if you go slow with them.

 

[Wyandottes7]

Welcome to BYC!

We're glad to have you.

MountainPeeps has given some good advice. I hope the move goes well!

 

[drumstick diva]

Playing some soothing music while traveling can help de-stress them.

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. You have received some good advice from the other members, so I'll just say, please feel free to ask any other questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck in transporting your flock.

 

[LIChickens]

Welcome to BYC!

You will find a lot of good information here. Keep on asking questions and you will get many good answers.

You may also want to read the FAQ below.

If you do let your chickens out to stretch, you may want to put take a small portable fence to corral them so that you do not spend all your energy chasing them down if they decide to wander at a rest stop. It will also protect them from predators as you can more closely keep an eye on it.

Personally I would not feel comfortable at all letting them out to stretch their legs in an unknown area. Public rest areas usually have too many dogs around. Local law may make it illegal and you do not know what chicken diseases lurk on the bottoms of shoes that have walked in the public area

My chickens really love zucchini and cucumbers (my garden's surplus). If your chickens eat fruits or vegetable high in water content, it should keep them hydrated and fed enough between rest stops without having to deal with the mess of water splashing and spillage. You can give them water and feed at rest stops.

I would suggest this: If you plan to drive to Florida before the final move, take one chicken with you for the trip back and forth. This will help you work the kinks out so that when you move 17 birds, you know what to expect and what you need to do.

 

[honeybird]

Thanks so much for the advise. I have two large dog crates that will fit in my van, and I plan to travel after dark for most of the trip hoping they will sleep most of it, like when we took the kids on road trips!. My girls love watermelon so I can give them that for hydration. Thanks again for the feedback.