trailer park chicken trash

[Xtineart]

So my car lease is up soon and I've wanted a campervan for Sooooooooooooo long, like since high school. I finally have the cash and the opportunity as I work free lance, unfortunately I now have 3 chicken babies.

I want to be able to travel a lot more especially at weekends, but as there's no such thing as chicken-kennels and I don't want to leave them in the care of neighbours as I live middle of no-where right now and there aren't a lot of good folks around.

I was wondering if there was any way to make it possible to bring the birds on the road with me?

I know plenty of people travel with animals, but mainly cats and dogs, though my birds are basically cats with wings. It would be quite easy to make a large cage/nest box that could be transported and I've seen pop-up pens and cages, meant for rabbits, but that would work as a day-creche pen for them. They are always pretty calm on trips in the car to the vets and so on, and they'll have me with them so I'm sure that would give them some sense of safety. I'm fairly worried about the stink-factor and whether it's going to totally mess up egg-laying.

Do you think It'd be really cruel to try travelling with the chicks in tow or just resign myself to a lifetime of never leaving the house while the chicks are still alive?

 

[rc4u]

dog kennels work great either the wire or plastic and so many sizes to choose from..and you can just cover them to quit them or settle them when moveing....jeff

 

[Xtineart]

oh good idea, normally they travel (up to 2 hours) in a cat box but that doesn't give them room to move around or eat. The more they hang about with me the more I'm sure they'll be just fine on the road for a day or so.

 

[aart]

You could probably pull it off....but....you'd probably have a much better time traveling as the obligation of taking care of animals along the way may severely limit some possibilities of activities.

It will throw them off and stress them out to spend the week at home then two days in a van. Chickens like security and consistency...any changes can throw them for a loop.

 

[Xtineart]

I know they are the sort of animals who dont like change, but finding chicken-sitters round here is like finding hens teeth. I'd like to be able to have the odd holiday and my work is going to require me to travel to their head office 500 miles away for a few days a month soon too. I know they really have been out of sorts if I've gone away and left them in the care of someone else in the past, going really clingy and cuddlier/noisier than normal when I've got back. Wondered if it might actually be kinder to them to keep them with me, even if their surroundings have to change?

 

[dpenning]

Another alternative to chicken sitters is making them self sufficient enough to stay home alone for a few days. I wanted chickens for about a year after we bought our property but I thought I couldn't do it until I lived there full time. I've had them for 3 months now and I'm only here on the weekends. The setup is totally low maintenance. I have a 5 gallon waterer with nipples, PVC feeder that easily holds a week + worth of food, electronic pop door that is light sensitive and a solar fence for a run. So far it has worked great.

 

[Xtineart]

I think I might have to look into that, I know they are really people-attached but I'm due away for work in a couple of weeks and my usual go-to chicken-sitter has broken her leg and can't help. I cant do the expense of getting a whole new coop or electric door, and I have no idea what a solar fence is safe to say that it probably wouldn't work in dreary dull Scotland anyway. They do have a large-ish run attached to the coop though, not huge, but a couple of metres wiggle room.