As I've mentioned in another post, I'm looking to move to a more rural area. I want to have some chickens as well as a few other animals. I'm thinking of getting a few chickens now, where I am, and was wondering if the birds will travel well or not when I make the move. Or would it better not to take them elsewhere when the time comes. Thanks for any input!

-- Bob Johnson (Backwoods_Bob@excite.com), January 30, 2001

Answers

They should be fine if moved correctly .I would get them you may be there a while .

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), January 30, 2001.

We got a bunch of chicks just before we moved. We just kept them in a pet-taxi and they moved JUST fine. :0)

-- Cosmic Country Girl (CosmicCountry@Yahoo.com), January 30, 2001.

If you plan to free range the chickens at your new place, you should keep them in the pen for a week before letting them loose so they know where their place is.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), January 30, 2001.

Dee, we do what works for us, but I pen for a longer period so the birds stay home ~ chickens for 3 weeks, guineas for 6 weeks.

For moving the birds, I used pet carriers and I have some 4 foot long dog cages that I use.

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), January 31, 2001.

I thought this was about a rock group "The Traveling Chickens" That was Tom Petty, Dylan, Roy Orbison and some others right? :]

-- John in S. IN (jsmengel@hotmail.com), January 31, 2001.

Believe it or not, we moved 48 chickens from Florida to Texas on a flat-bed trailer and they did fine! My late-father-in-law's wife (my step-mother-in-law?) wanted to move back, so we drove out there to get her, loaded all her stuff on the trailer and made a make-shift chicken pen out of her furniture, matresses and some chicken wire. We cinched it up tight, covered it with tarps when we went through a rain-storm in Mississippi, and made it back with only one fatality! And better yet, despite us thinking that they would surely not lay for a month after that, there was hardly a noticeable slowdown. She keeps hers in a huge pen, so I don't know for sure if they would run off if allowed to free-range after moving.

-- Wingnut (wingnut@moment.net), February 04, 2001.

I think the most important consideration in moving chickens is care in not overcrowding. Have moved them very long distances without a problem as long as they have a little room, shelter and good ventilation. I moved a bunch short distance once in over crowded condition and lost a couple. Felt really bad when I realized they had piled up and smothered the ones on the bottom.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), February 04, 2001.