Moving with chickens?

[5hens&aroo]

Alright y’all. I need some advice. There’s no right or wrong answer just looking to see what others would do! I’m getting married sometime in the next year and my fiancé has asked if I plan on keeping the chickens. I of course say yes! I can’t get rid of them. So he wants to know if I plan on keeping ALL of them(he didn’t really seems very excited about it) My first response is ....well duh, I love them. But then I get to thinking do we really need the exspense of 30 chickens right off. Now I do have two dogs and two geckos also and plan on taking them. He has one dog already too(who isn’t a chicken fan. Never killed any but has chased them before)I believe our yard will still be about the same size as the one I have now where my chickens can free range all day and the coop I have is moveable and would come to. Fiancé just doesn’t seem to thrilled and I worry about the transition for the chickens. I also sell the eggs to quite a few people. Has anyone else been in this situation and what was your solution? Should I down size, get rid of them or keep them all?

 

[Trux]

Maybe you need to have a more in depth talk with your fiance...just sayin
Another though would be, are all your girls the same age or do you have a age separation where you could retire the older girls and keep the younger ones...just my thoughts

 

[DobieLover]

Alright y’all. I need some advice. There’s no right or wrong answer just looking to see what others would do! I’m getting married sometime in the next year and my fiancé has asked if I plan on keeping the chickens. I of course say yes! I can’t get rid of them. So he wants to know if I plan on keeping ALL of them(he didn’t really seems very excited about it) My first response is ....well duh, I love them. But then I get to thinking do we really need the exspense of 30 chickens right off. Now I do have two dogs and two geckos also and plan on taking them. He has one dog already too(who isn’t a chicken fan. Never killed any but has chased them before)I believe our yard will still be about the same size as the one I have now where my chickens can free range all day and the coop I have is moveable and would come to. Fiancé just doesn’t seem to thrilled and I worry about the transition for the chickens. I also sell the eggs to quite a few people. Has anyone else been in this situation and what was your solution? Should I down size, get rid of them or keep them all?

That is a very personal decision.
I guess for the sake of compromise, I would select my favorites from the flock and rehome the rest in preparation to moving them to where ever it is you and your fiance are going.

 

[5hens&aroo]

Maybe you need to have a more in depth talk with your fiance...just sayin
Another though would be, are all your girls the same age or do you have a age separation where you could retire the older girls and keep the younger ones...just my thoughts

Well they are all pretty close to the same. 8 of them are about 4 months younger than the others but that’s it.

 

[Shamo Hybrid]

Honestly..... if he can't accept your chickens, you should dump him. That, or ask him to get rid of his other 5 motorcycles and see how he likes it.

 

[Shorty22366]

I would not get rid of my chickens. I also would not get rid of my kids. If a person can't accept you and your animals maybe he is not the one.
I love my animals and thank God my husband loves them too. (He won't admit it though)

 

[5hens&aroo]

I would not get rid of my chickens. I also would not get rid of my kids. If a person can't accept you and your animals maybe he is not the one.
I love my animals and thank God my husband loves them too. (He won't admit it though)

Lol he is the one. He likes animals but he doesn’t really see the need for chickens.... he sees it more as a hobby which for the most part it is but I can’t get rid of them and won’t I’m sure. He will just have to deal with it. But I know he will do whatever makes me happiest even if it means chickens everywhere.

 

[chickenmomma16]

Moving chickens isn’t a big issue, just have their new place all set up (or their temporary one) and they actually travel really well. Just put them in a dog kennel nice and snug and they just sit down and enjoy the ride.

My husband doesn’t care for my chickens either and he would gladly get rid of them today if he could, especially my rooster. But he knows they are my thing and he doesn’t have to lift a finger for their care unless I need something built. That being said, I wouldn’t get rid of my husband, ever. I put up with his things too! We just agree to put up with each other and whatever makes us happy.

Here is what I would do in your situation:
Don’t get rid of all of them! It will be much harder talking him into getting chickens again if you gave them up once. I would pick your favorites and rehome the ones you can part with. I might be tempted to rehome most of them and raise a few new chicks (good layers like sexlinks/leghorns) to make sure you have lots of eggs to feed your soon to be hubby! Worst thing is having a hungry man in the house and no eggs HaHa! I do think downsizing would be a good idea while you focus on combining households. You can always get more!!! I’d stick to a dozen chickens give or take and just have enough hens for your household.

Be considerate of what his issues are with them. Ask him why he’s not excited about having them. The answer might surprise you. For example, my husband hates chicken poop so I keep the coop clean and the chickens out of our main walkways when they free range. He also hates the rooster crowing so we usually have white noise in the bedroom. Stuff like that goes a long way to keeping the peace in our house. Just taking his concerns into consideration makes him feel better about the chickens. And if I do need him to work on the coop I usually offer to do something for him, an exchange of favors.

Sorry this is a long post. Hope it helps!

 

[springvalley123]

I moved recently with just 4 chickens. The biggest issue is setting up the new property before the move. Both my old and new place closed simultaneously, so I didn't have the luxury of keeping the birds at the old place a few days while I set up the new place for the birds. Once I got the phone call that the property recorded (title transferred), I had to catch the birds, move them, then during the rest of the daylight, modify the existing coop at the new property to have adequate ventilation. Not to mention clean it out.

However, previously I moved with 4 ducks. We were able to set up the new property before moving the ducks. It can be done, it's great that you have a hubby who sees how important the chickens / hobby is to you and is willing to help.

The biggest issue might be catching the birds. If you herd them into the coop or pen, roost bars can become an obstacle. Best of luck with the move!

EDIT: should have added, if you decide to thin the flock, it's nice if you can make a note of any pairs/buddies and plan your sales accordingly. I once sold some leghorns (all brown) and was saddened to see one of them later sitting under a bush by herself.

 

[5hens&aroo]

I moved recently with just 4 chickens. The biggest issue is setting up the new property before the move. Both my old and new place closed simultaneously, so I didn't have the luxury of keeping the birds at the old place a few days while I set up the new place for the birds. Once I got the phone call that the property recorded (title transferred), I had to catch the birds, move them, then during the rest of the daylight, modify the existing coop at the new property to have adequate ventilation. Not to mention clean it out.

However, previously I moved with 4 ducks. We were able to set up the new property before moving the ducks. It can be done, it's great that you have a hubby who sees how important the chickens / hobby is to you and is willing to help.

The biggest issue might be catching the birds. If you herd them into the coop or pen, roost bars can become an obstacle. Best of luck with the move!

EDIT: should have added, if you decide to thin the flock, it's nice if you can make a note of any pairs/buddies and plan your sales accordingly. I once sold some leghorns (all brown) and was saddened to see one of them later sitting under a bush by herself.

I’ve got two ladies who are OBSESSED with my rooster Walker. And I know if I thinned them I’d have to keep them both but I don’t really like them two. I’ve got a couple other hens that are buddies but I just love them all