How to transport chicks by car?

[ridgefire]

Alright seeing as we just got back from our 2 hour tour, with a box of chicks. This is what we did, put them on the floor between my wifes feet, turned the heat to the floor and kept the car very warm. The lid was on the box so I wasnt worried about it blowing on them. You could tell when they were warm they would quite down, and if you opened a window and let some of the heat out they went nuts.
















The other thing you do is turn the radio up

 

[bionic_chicken]

^^^^^^This is why I love BYC!

 

[hobobrando]

Thanks for asking the question I was wondering the same thing myself. I will definately be using the handwarmer thing.

 

[cjeanean]

Wow, that handwarmer idea is awesome!!! Someone should tell the hatcheries about it so they can ship warm chicks instead of cold, mad little chickies!!! LOL!!!! Those things do get warm, too, I used to use them when we'd go hunting, and with one of those in each shoe you'd be good to go!!! Great idea!!

 

[ticks]

Will it matter for a 15 minute drive?

 

[nicciap]

Hi, new member here. My girls are not chicks - 3 of them are a few years old but I am going to be moving from north queensland to Victoria soon. I really want them to come down there with us but am worried the 4 day car trip and sudden change from tropical to chilly weather might kill them. Has anyone tried this or has any advice on this? Thanks heaps.

 

[earnhardtlvr]

Quote:
I ordered from mypetchicken.com and my baby chicks did come with 2 of those handwarmers in the box! I was so happy! Everyone is still doing great!

 

[Arielle]

Nicciap wrote---Hi, new member here. My girls are not chicks - 3 of them are a few years old but I am going to be moving from north queensland to Victoria soon. I really want them to come down there with us but am worried the 4 day car trip and sudden change from tropical to chilly weather might kill them. Has anyone tried this or has any advice on this? Thanks heaps.

I had 2 mo old pullets that really needed to get out of my house. THe house was warm: 70 day time, down to 60 at night. And they had a red heat lamp at night. Late March is still winter here: mid 20's at night and any temp during the day (40-60). A big change for the girls. THis is what I did:

Keep food and water the same and the feeders and waterers. I add cider vinegar to the water; if you use CV you can disguise the flavor of their new water IF they are used to having CV at their original home.

I increased the number of heat lamps from 1 to 2 and put up a thermometer at their level to monitor the actual temp. I moved the thermometer up when they roosted and down to the coop floor when they were "up" for the day.

THe first 2 nights were tough; all 25 huddled together thru the night, and were a little less huddled during the day. I was pleasantly surprised that by day 3 and 4 they were normalizing, doing more of the chicken things they were doing in the house. Most of our night still get into the high 20's, with more staying in the low 30's, so I have continued to give them 1 heat lamp at night. It's enough to heat up the 5x7 coop to 40 at night and then it's off for the day.

THe run can be a cold and windy place so I always allow them to get back inside at anytime. And on the warmest days I replace the door with a very large screen (for my house windows) to increase the fresh air with in.

Bottomline: A slow transition. GL in your new home!!!!!​

 

[TN_BIRD]

Quote:
Nah.

I got my chicks from a guy that lived 100 miles from the house. He makes the trip in to town a couple times a week and I met him mid morning that day. I'm sure the chicks were in the little box for a few hours that day.

The hand warmer idea does sound like a good one. I suspect I simply might wrap em in a towel and toss in the box because they can get hot to the touch.

 

[Carobean]

Carobean here, with an update on our resolution of the 6-hour car trip (originally posted almost 3 years ago now!): Although I liked the handwarmer idea, I wasn't sure they'd keep the box warm enough (I guess it probably would've, judging from the many posts about this method...), and didn't want to have to keep changing them out. My husband ended up wiring a small lightbulb that I could plug into my cigarette lighter-power-outlet thing in my car. I made a hole in a small cardboard box (half-shoebox size), and made a guard for the bulb so the chicks couldn't burn themselves on it. I practiced driving around with the box plugged in, with a thermometer, and found that the bulb heated the box up nicely, warmer than other methods we'd tried. Every half-hour or so the girls would start hollering, and I quickly learned that meant they were hungry (I didn't leave food in the box, but probably should've), so I'd pull over and give them some crumbles. This was a good bonding experience, and they quickly learned that I was the Source of All Food and Water, and I quickly learned that they eat a lot! The five of us arrived safe and happy after a 6-hour drive.