Hi. My husband and I have a house in the mountains that we visit quite often for a few days at a time. We take our dogs with us but have to leave the chickens here for my son to watch over. We would like to be able to stay for longer periods of time during the summer, but I start missing my chickens and worrying about them. Has anybody heard if it would be too stressful for them to be moved to a different coop for a few weeks and then back home to their regular coop for a few weeks? Our chickens are spoiled rotten and I would never want to do anything that might hurt them in anyway. If we see that we might could transport them, we would do it at night after they had gone to roost and inside a vehicle with no wind. I would cover the crate to keep it dark but it would still be well ventilated. Does anyone have an opinion about this or any suggestions about how to make the transition less stressful?
Quite an interesting idea. A reply may make your thread more visible. Would love to see what the experienced will say. I'm still a novice, my girls are 21 months old now. But in my opinion, they don't accept even small changes well, and I don't think I would try moving them around. But those that breed and show their chickens do transport them and maybe they will have some advice.
If you aren't worried about them laying eggs, sure move them. But, it will be stressful for them. Its true that chickens don't like change, they are creatures of habit. Mine have stopped laying simply because I moved the waterer. On the contrary, we moved 6 of our birds 550 miles when we moved from Va to Tn, and there were 3 eggs waiting for me when I opened their hutch up at the end of the journey. So... If you must take them, go for it. But, they probably won't be happy being shuttled back and forth between houses, even if they wake up where you're taking them. If it were me, I'd just continue letting DS care for them and enjoy my vacation (and the slight break from chicken chores)!
One more thought. I have had chicken camera surveillance on mine since they were babies. Chickens do wake and sleep on and off all night. Not the "trance like state" books describe. But with that said, every time we introduce something new in their environment they do get used to it and adapt but not quickly.
Once they got used to the new coop and run, and the travel time, they might be fine with a change in scenery. Probably would effect their laying tho. Never know until you try.
