Moving out of state with 3 pullets, 2 hens and 1 rooster.

[Cave Creek Chicken Mama]

Hi. I wasn't sure where to ask this question, so I just started a new thread? I have looked at a few comments with regards to moving chickens. We are moving, or planning on it, from AZ to MO in the first part of November. 3 will be 10 months of age, and the other 3 I'm not sure of their age, a few years old. They were gifted to me by a neighbor to start our chicken raising! We have thought we'd take an RV as we have 4 dogs, then tow my truck on a trailer......possibly put the chickens in cages in the truck, windows partially down for ventilation. OR the moving truck, but the cat will be in that one in the cab. IF we have them in the truck, our thought was that it wouldn't be too warm the first part of November to travel. We figure 3 days of driving, not rushing. We are transporting our donkeys later on, they are going first class on a air ride semi truck. I had thought about asking them if they could also transport the chickens for us, but we wouldn't be able to monitor that,, so not feeling confident with that choice. Plus the donkeys will most likely come out a little later, staying with a friend, so don't want to burden her with the chickens too,,,not sure.....lots of decisions! The back seat of my Dodge Ram goes down, but not that large of a space. I would probably put the rooster by himself? as he is always jumping on the girls....one in particular. I could divide them up by personality into 3 or 4 cages. I had read to keep them in close space, cover the cage with a blanket. I'm sure I'll be stressed out moving them.....any suggestions??? They'll need food and water, that will be challenging too. We've gone through a lot of properties to find one that would allow all of our animals, so they are all very important to us and I can't imagine leaving them behind. Thanks in advance!!

 

[chicknmania]

Well dividing them up is a good idea. They will need to not be crowded. I've never transported chickens for that long, but transporting them shorter distances, my experience has always been that they zone out and sort of sleep during travel in a car, especially in a carrier, so there is that...but they wiil need some time each day to relax, eat and drink. I've never shipped anything but when we received our peahen from out of State, if I remember correctly I think the breeder told me that they would put a piece of cucumber (I think it was) in the crate with her...a little snack plus also some hydration there. You might research how poultry are shipped long distances, or maybe consult with a breeder or hatchery for ideas on how to safely and humanely transport them.

Good luck on your adventure! Sounds like fun!!

 

[Happy hen lover]

Cucumber is correct, for my chicks last year they're were a couple of slices of cukes and some sort of gel stuff.

 

[Cave Creek Chicken Mama]

Well dividing them up is a good idea. They will need to not be crowded. I've never transported chickens for that long, but transporting them shorter distances, my experience has always been that they zone out and sort of sleep during travel in a car, especially in a carrier, so there is that...but they wiil need some time each day to relax, eat and drink. I've never shipped anything but when we received our peahen from out of State, if I remember correctly I think the breeder told me that they would put a piece of cucumber (I think it was) in the crate with her...a little snack plus also some hydration there. You might research how poultry are shipped long distances, or maybe consult with a breeder or hatchery for ideas on how to safely and humanely transport them.

Good luck on your adventure! Sounds like fun!!

Thank you!!!!! I appreciate your response....hopefully you are correct,,,,loads of FUN!