I'm going to be moving here in a week, and the birds are coming along. My question is, what's the best way to transport chickens? We have a 2.5 hour drive, and I have 12 full grown birds. How do you think I should accomplish this?
Put the chickens in some container that will keep them safe, with enough ventilation, and just a little bit of space to move around. You don't want them bouncing all around as the car drives, but you also don't want them stacked on top of each other.
For 12 chickens, you may want to use several containers.
Put something underneath them to deal with droppings, and to provide traction for them. The wire floor of a dog crate with a tray under it could work (check the size of the holes), or you could use an old towel and throw it away afterward, or shavings/hay/straw (but those are more likely to make a mess in your car.)
Since the drive is only 2.5 hours, do not give them water or food while traveling. Just pack them up, drive, and provide food & water again when you get there.
For containers, I have personally used a dog crate, a plastic storage bin with hardware cloth on top, a cardboard box with chicken wire on top, and a large garbage can (I forget what I covered that with--it might have been the metal grating from a barbecue grill.) I tend to tie a rope around the container to hold the makeshift cover in place.
The chickens flap and try to get out and act panicked for a short time, but then they settle down, and when the car is actually going they tend to just sit down and wait for it to be over, at least for the first hour or two. They might get used to it and start moving around more later in the drive.
It is a good idea to make sure all the containers fit in the vehicle, before you actually put the chickens in them.
