You're welcome. My best advice is to always feed the freshest feed you can find and give them the best ventilation you can. Some people think their birds have adequate ventilation but I can tell you, they don't.
Long distance move to cold climate - keep or rehome old hens?
- Thread starter Bk5566
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- cold climate rehoming
I think realistically, there is a good chance you will loose birds on this trip. What will you do with the remains? No matter how you do this trip, it will be highly stressful on your birds, stressed birds are much more apt to pick up strange diseases. ANY disease will be strange to your birds at that distance.
I cannot imagine the stress this is going to cause on the people involved in this move. Water, ventilation, heat are problems with short trips, clear across the country, it is going to be a nightmare. I would assume, that even with two people driving, you are going to have to stop overnight. Where do you stop with a vehicle or trailer full of birds?
This would not be worth my marriage, it just makes me giggle to think of suggesting this to my husband.
As for the birds, they don't remember a flock mate that has been take out for a week to recuperate. Do not think that they will go into a state of decline if you leave, they won't. There is a good chance that they will die, but they are 7 years old, if you do nothing, there is a good chance they will die. And everything does die eventually.
Trust me, you will love the new birds in the VA. It will be fun, it will be a great way to meet people.
Mrs K
I cannot imagine the stress this is going to cause on the people involved in this move. Water, ventilation, heat are problems with short trips, clear across the country, it is going to be a nightmare. I would assume, that even with two people driving, you are going to have to stop overnight. Where do you stop with a vehicle or trailer full of birds?
This would not be worth my marriage, it just makes me giggle to think of suggesting this to my husband.
As for the birds, they don't remember a flock mate that has been take out for a week to recuperate. Do not think that they will go into a state of decline if you leave, they won't. There is a good chance that they will die, but they are 7 years old, if you do nothing, there is a good chance they will die. And everything does die eventually.
Trust me, you will love the new birds in the VA. It will be fun, it will be a great way to meet people.
Mrs K
Chickens have been transported thousands of miles in what many would consider appalling conditions.
It is probable that Americans have chickens because the Spanish brought them by boat from Spain when they discovered the Americas. The chickens survived on these ships and later established themselves on land.
The Romans brought chickens from Asia in cages on carts back to Rome and outlying districts.
I've seen chickens loaded into airplanes in Asia and flown from one region to another.
The man I know who keeps Fayouimies here collected his chickens from Egypt and brought them to Catalonia in a van.
Chicks are packed in boxes and shipped all over the USA, sometimes surviving for three or four days in a cramped cardboard box, in the dark with no food or water.
I'm not endorsing any of the above; just pointing out that it can be and has been done over incredible distances.
With modern transport and some thought and care there is little doubt in my mind that you could transport these birds. Whether you should and whether you are prepared to cope with the inconvenience is another matter.
It is probable that Americans have chickens because the Spanish brought them by boat from Spain when they discovered the Americas. The chickens survived on these ships and later established themselves on land.
The Romans brought chickens from Asia in cages on carts back to Rome and outlying districts.
I've seen chickens loaded into airplanes in Asia and flown from one region to another.
The man I know who keeps Fayouimies here collected his chickens from Egypt and brought them to Catalonia in a van.
Chicks are packed in boxes and shipped all over the USA, sometimes surviving for three or four days in a cramped cardboard box, in the dark with no food or water.
I'm not endorsing any of the above; just pointing out that it can be and has been done over incredible distances.
With modern transport and some thought and care there is little doubt in my mind that you could transport these birds. Whether you should and whether you are prepared to cope with the inconvenience is another matter.
One question that has not been asked or addressed in this thread yet that I have seen: how do you plan to transport the chickens during the move if you do decide to take them? Plane, train, automobile, cruise ship? JK on that last one, unless you route through the Panama Canal, lol.
Since you are probably transporting a house full of furniture, we are assuming you'd do it via vehicle(s), moving van and car, etc., and would have to stop and spend nights at motels along the way. Have you considered the logistics of this? I'm going to be a bit brutal for a moment, but it's with the best of intentions.
Do you have a truck and plan to carry them in a crate in the back? Where would the chickens spend their nights? In the vehicle, one assumes. What if it rains or snows? That won't work, will it? Let's put you in an SUV, again with the birds in a cage or crate in the back. Now they're protected from the weather, but... they're completely enclosed. In a small place. In your car. Feed and water will be one thing, but I can tell you that you won't get far down the road before the odor becomes unbearable, much less them sleeping in the car. And it won't just be the chickens and your car that develop an odor. The smell will cling to you as well. Everywhere you go, people will recoil from you, wondering if you have been rolling in manure and when was the last time you had a shower.
This will go on for the three days or so it will take you to make this cross-country trek with your beloved hens. I have transported chickens just a few miles and would not want to do it for days on end.
If you can ship them to yourself by air freight, you'd be a lot better off, but I don't know the cost or what's required.
Good luck making this tough decision and being at peace with it. Change is never easy and you must do what's best for you flock. I wish you joy in your journey.
Since you are probably transporting a house full of furniture, we are assuming you'd do it via vehicle(s), moving van and car, etc., and would have to stop and spend nights at motels along the way. Have you considered the logistics of this? I'm going to be a bit brutal for a moment, but it's with the best of intentions.
Do you have a truck and plan to carry them in a crate in the back? Where would the chickens spend their nights? In the vehicle, one assumes. What if it rains or snows? That won't work, will it? Let's put you in an SUV, again with the birds in a cage or crate in the back. Now they're protected from the weather, but... they're completely enclosed. In a small place. In your car. Feed and water will be one thing, but I can tell you that you won't get far down the road before the odor becomes unbearable, much less them sleeping in the car. And it won't just be the chickens and your car that develop an odor. The smell will cling to you as well. Everywhere you go, people will recoil from you, wondering if you have been rolling in manure and when was the last time you had a shower.
This will go on for the three days or so it will take you to make this cross-country trek with your beloved hens. I have transported chickens just a few miles and would not want to do it for days on end.
If you can ship them to yourself by air freight, you'd be a lot better off, but I don't know the cost or what's required.
Good luck making this tough decision and being at peace with it. Change is never easy and you must do what's best for you flock. I wish you joy in your journey.
Generally not 7 year old birds. Even in the ways you mentioned, it was expensive at the time, and people did not do 7 year old birds.
Neither you nor I have any idea what age such birds were. 7 years old is not particularly old for a chicken.
I think it's up to the OP to decide if the expense and inconvenience is worth it.
For myself and for many others, if you've have kept and known your birds for 7 years you may well have become attached to them.
My opinion is, many people would not think twice about this if it was a dog, or cat.
Awe! How could anyone resist that ad.
Those two things are exactly what NPIP certification tests for. Contact CA Ag department to have your birds tested. If your birds are NPIP certified they can be shipped across state lines. The cost for this was only $10, in Alabama.
- Aug 11, 2015
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I've had chickens for many years and would not think twice about taking them with me if I had to make a long distance move. There are many ways to make chickens comfortable in a van or truck for a long distance. And if you are getting all the proper certifications, etc., I would think the trip would work out fine. Yes, you may lose birds but then again, you can lose birds at home also. You seem to be a very caring chicken keeper so I bet you could work it out.
Whew! I feel as if I am watching a ping-pong match! I do not know about OP, but I keep changing my mind faster than a June bride! 
I will be eagerly watching to see what OP decides. Right now I am casting my vote for "take them, and damn the inconvenience!" 
Please keep us posted, and Admin, maybe you should think about featuring this thread! 
I will be eagerly watching to see what OP decides. Right now I am casting my vote for "take them, and damn the inconvenience!" Please keep us posted, and Admin, maybe you should think about featuring this thread! Similar threads
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