Transporting chickens for the BIG day

[thunderbolt&marjorie]

Hi all,
I recently purchased a Kuhl crate
http://www.flemingoutdoors.com/plastic-low-cost-poultry-coop.html

It says it can hold 12-14 full grown birds (I have to transport 13 Barred Rocks; 16 wks old, about 40 min drive to processing plant)

I put the thing together last night and went 'Really?'

Can anyone give comments on that crate, any other crates/transportation stuff? Seems like they will be packed in there, maybe that is ok? Not ok?? Help! I really don't want to buy a second crate, but may need to..

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[CMV]

This time of year it wouldn't be a problem to pack them in, but I wouldn't want to use it in the heat of the summer. They won't be fluttering around and getting hurt if they are wedged in, but in the heat they may drop dead from overheating. I use a large dog crate to transport the few birds I process off-premises, but I have found they get a bit beaten up and thrown around on the sorry excuse for roads we have around here. I have often thought it would be better if I could minimize movement during transporting them. If I transported more birds I would invest in one of those.

Good luck. I hope it works out for you.

 

[Dogfish]

I used a pheasant box earlier this year, same idea. The birds will be fine, and have less of a chance of injury. It is not like you plan to keep them in there as their primary living space. It is solely transport.

 

[thunderbolt&marjorie]

Thanks folks!
This is for transport only, and the processing plant will not allow dog crates/cat carriers etc, which is why I made this purchase. I will buy a second one for summer use (plan on doing more birds then anyway) and might buy a larger one for crate #2.

 

[schmism]

12-14 8 lb birds....

you figured out how your going to pick up a 100 lb crate?

 

[aka Rachel]

My processors lend crates for us to use to bring in our birds, and they look just like the one you purchased.

I was a little leery as well, they told me 8 birds to a cage. In my case I had heavy red meat birds and I kept thinking no way these are going to fit! In the end I could have put another 4-5 birds in the crates easy. It keeps them from trampling each other and if its not too hot they can be in there nice and cozy so they're not tumbling around.

Did they say how come they don't allow dog crates??? I took my turkeys in in dog crates and no complaints. Actually, my processors are really good, they even let you bring birds in loose, lol. Can you imagine!

Oh, and my barred rocks are about 2/3 the size that my meaties were. You shouldn't have any problems.

I had help lifting those crates