Moving 66+ chickens...

[secuono]

How do you move 66+ pet chickens in a small car?
When we move sometime in May, I will have to transport my flock of birds and 6 ducks. I would like to do it in one trip, in the passenger seat, backseat, trunk[open to the backseat] in my '03 Mustang. I do not have a cage and I'm thinking it would be easier to just line the car's interior with plastic and use my car as the cage! Lol, ideas, pictures?

 

[jasonm11]

Quote:
Borrow a big trash can and lay it on the side insert chickens with a little bedding and put a wire mesh top on it by taping it securely. It would be big enough for a short trip and not as messy. Just know that when you put lots of birds in a little place they will get cannabailistic toward one another very fast. I would do it at night meself so they are calmer and it is cooler for the birds.

 

[greenSearcher]

how far are you moving them? Time not distance. Will you be moving them at highway speeds?

Is their new home ready for them to take immediate occupancy? This is critical, no matter what or how they are moved. It is very stressful riding in a vehicle and going somewhere strange for humans, and for chickens it can kill them.
The suggestion to move them at night is great! If it is a short local move I suggest renting or borrowing a panel van and getting 2 appliance boxes that will fit on their sides inside the van. Make lots of holes in the "top" for ventilation, and cut the real top so it flaps down out the back door of the van. Put a couple inches of bedding in the boxes, place no food or water have that in place in the new home. Gather the sleeping birds and put them in the boxes, tape the lid securely and drive directly to new home. When arriving home unload as quietly and peacefully as possible to avoid hysterical hens. Work in the dark or as dark as feasible so they think it is sleep time. Keeping themin the boxes will make clean up for the van pretty easy. This is a matter where your sanity needs to be weighed against monetary savings.

Moving them inside the car will one, ruin the car, they will poop excessively due to stress, claws can rip up the interior and they will panic and you could have a cyclone of flying chickens while you try to drive. Even with ear plugs the noise level will probably be painful, literally.

I drove from OH to NM with the backseat of my Galant made into a cat kennel, and for 4 days 4 cats screamed every one of 2000+ miles. I thought I was ready for commitment when we got to the new house.

 

[secuono]

Hmm, thanks, that might work. It's a 12 mile trip, so hopefully they can be calm long enough. AC during the trip, will keep it on for them, lol.
maybe I can find some scrap fencing or something to make a cage literally in my car and then take it apart once I'm done so it can be removed. I'll see how the trash can idea fits.

 

[jeaucamom]

Here is how I moved 80 chickens two years ago..


I dismantled coop during the day and had the guys move and put it up in new home... around sundown I backed the Uhaul with the ramp right were the coop was. The vast majority of them just wandered up the ramp and got in the back of the truck. We had to chase down a few.. but we got them all in. Then we drove.. really slowly to new home taking all the back roads... we unloaded them right into their familiar coop.. and WALA.. new chicken home.... They did get to free range for a day or two while I was dismantling the fence and putting that back up again...

Uhaul is only 20 bucks a day.. so even if you aren't using it to move.. you could still use one to move the chickens.

 

[Dixiedoodle]

I would think that just placing the 66 chickens in the car could be very dangerous! what happens if a few start freaking out??? I would thing a few flying into your line of vision and or getting caught in /under / on the pedals/wheel dash!!

I love the Uhaul idea, Moving them at night would be better.

 

[Cass]

If you are only moving 12 miles why do you have to do it in ONE trip? It might be less stressful for the birds if you take them a dozen or even 20 at a time to their new home. It would only be 3 or 4 trips... an easy night's work.

 

[secuono]

It's too much wasted gas, my car likes to eat it, then you add in we have mountains, crazy turns and people who suddenly have no idea how to drive or know where they live...[they go 10m under, blinker on and slow on and off] There's lots of people on the road that need to either get more sleep, not drink before driving, read the speed limit and follow it[55 all the way down, 20miles] or get a map and figure out where they need to go...
Anyway...all that = my car just eating gas like chips.
Maybe I can split it into two trips...idk. Got a little while before I need to move them.

 

[mommyofthreewithchicks]

I like the idea of moving them at night.

My thought is a big dog crate. I ended up buying two off of craigslist and have used them multiple times for a poultry hospital. When we moved the chickens last year (from someone elses house about 20 miles) I put 12 in one dog crate- it was packed but they were fine.

I don't think I would let the chickens loose in a car- I have seen some of the poop on a normal day-YUCK, and I don't think I want to see scaired poo!!! Nor would I want to have any chicken scratches in the seat. If not something sturdy like the garbage can idea or dog crate then at least a big box would be the way to go- Line the box somehow either on the outside with a trash bag just something as again I would not want any poo to get into my car...

Good luck with the move!!!

 

[scbatz33]

card board boxes. I go to an office supply store and get teh file boxes. you can fit several full grown birds adn a bunch of chicks in one. Plus they stack nicely and are reusable . just make sure you tape the lids on!