Moving Chickens

[Faith67]

We are moving 40 chickens. What is the best way to move them? We are moving 45 minutes away. Thanks I need answers Soon we are moving in 9 days and have to move them in like 5.

 

[12chickenlover3]

Maybe take them in cages and transfer them into the new coop. But stop like half way and check to make sure their ok. Maybe give them some food, water or scratch. If you have 2 cars you could do 20 and 20 together just to be easier on you.

 

[cassie]

You need to have them in small numbers in small cages or boxes. If you have too many in a cage (crowding has nothing to do with this) they will pile up on top of each other and some will get smothered..

 

[Fred's Hens]

I move chickens back and forth on 500 mile trips many times a year. Show people often transport their birds this far as well, with some regularity. The difference is that we are set up for this. We have travel boxes. Various sizes for different birds.

I often sell birds to folks who live 2 or 3 hours away. It isn't a problem. 45 minutes is a quick cat nap for them. Unless you want to invest in a bunch of crates or travel boxes, I'd likely use large cardboard boxes. Punch a bunch of air holes with a tool like a large shaft screwdriver or sharp instrument of some kind. Plan on moving in the early morning or later in the evening. Summer is coming and heat is your enemy. Run the AC in the vehicle if possible.

Choose a box that will hold 4 birds each. Ten boxes. If the air holes on the sides, you can stack the boxes. Have lots of helping hands. Catch them, pack them, load them, then go go go. 45 minutes later they'll pop out of their boxes in their new home.

People ship birds across the county in cardboard boxes designed for shipping chickens. They are pricey. But the bird sometimes spend a day or two in them. You'll only have them in the boxes for an hour, with good planning.

 

[Faith67]

I have another question We are going to have them free range for a while how do i make sure they go back to the inside coop that we built

 

[Fred's Hens]

You have to "lock them in" for a while. Often, this requires a week. You really want them zeroed in on their new digs. They'll adopt it in 5-7 days. If you want them to get some fresh air and stretch, I'd suggest a temporary run around the new coop for that adoption period. It'll contain them.

Some simple plastic 7' deer fencing and some posts would do the trick.