Traveling with goslings advice

[epona4]

It looks like my 4 goslings will be coming in this week. They are being sent to a lovely lady in Ky (thank you shelley!).

I am wondering if I should drive down to get them as soon as possible OR would it be better to wait for a week, when another couple of BYCers will be driving down to get their goslings. (they are somewhere between where I live and where shelley is) Then I would just meet them and pick up my goslings once they got back.

My thinking is that it might be easier on the goslings to only have one hand off. (and there is the very impatient side of me who wants to get the babies NOW)

The flip side is that the goslings will be a week older and might be able to handle the trip better with that extra time under their belts. (and the practical issue of saving time and gas)

More important to me is what would be better for the goslings. I can handle my impatience and the time/gas issue isn't and issue if that is what is best for the birds.

Thanks!

 

[epona4]

Update that...

Shelley picked up the goslings at the post office THIS morning!

 

[nettie]

I've traveled with a duckling as young as 1 week old. I'd wait if you can, mostly because ducks, even adults, have a hard time getting their footing in a moving car. But if they are super small, they might hurt their legs. When my duck Ming Mei was about a week old, she drove 14 hours with us across the country (we moved). She did just fine. She was either in a dog carrier or she was in a special Ducky sky box i made her to go in the front window so she could enjoy the view....

 

[banter]

I took Zeena, my white Seb all over the place as a gosling. She got to go to
work with me (Children's Library) a few times, And she went back and forth between Maine and Mass. constantly for the first 3 month of her life-zero problems.

 

[Shanay235]

I had to go out of town for a week and took my five goslings with me--no problems. (Other than all the peeping driving me crazy) It was a 2 1/2 - 3 hour ride with three 13 day olds and two 2 day olds. Even the two day olds didn't seem to have much trouble keeping their balance.

Actually, on the way down, the youger goslings were still just eggs. I purchased a power inverter and made the trip with the incubator running on the front floorboard.

 

[epona4]

Well, they are a couple days old now. The EARLIEST I could pick them up would be Sunday. So that would give their legs some more time to strengthen.

I'll talk to shelley and see what is going on with her. It might be better for me to pick them up earlier since there is issues with the legbands and trying to keep them marked so we all get our pairs.

Thanks for the advice. And if anyone has thoughts on keeping them marked, here is shelley's post asking for advice.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=168640

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