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How to Long Range Travel with Chickens?

 
pollinator
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Location: Whitefish, Montana
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We're moving from NW Montana to NW Washington at the end of the summer.

We have 10 laying hens in a chicken tractor.

What's the best way to transport laying hens over 1 big day or 2 long driving days?

We have a station wagon and will have a Uhaul box truck.

Or should we just sell them and start over?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.
 
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we usually haul our chickens in a dog crate and that seems to work very well, the move will probably stress them so they won't lay for a few days
 
Chris Badgett
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mary jayne richmond wrote:we usually haul our chickens in a dog crate and that seems to work very well, the move will probably stress them so they won't lay for a few days



How many to an average dog crate?

Thanks Mary!
 
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are you going to haul your tractor just put them in it they will feel more at home
 
Chris Badgett
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jimmy gallop wrote:are you going to haul your tractor just put them in it they will feel more at home



Thanks Jimmy, but that won't work as I'm currently thinking about it.

The tractor will be broken down into smaller pieces for transport.

I can't keep it intact in either the uhaul or suburu wagon.
 
Chris Badgett
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Here's a picture of our chicken tractor:

 
Chris Badgett
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By the way the solar powered fence you see in the photo has been awesome for us. There's a lot of predators big and small in our area here in northwest Montana.
 
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Cut an orange in half and wire to the sides of the crate, it will keep them up off the floor and will keep the chickens from dehydrating, much less messy than putting water in for them.
 
Chris Badgett
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Tracy Kuykendall wrote:Cut an orange in half and wire to the sides of the crate, it will keep them up off the floor and will keep the chickens from dehydrating, much less messy than putting water in for them.



That's a great trick with the orange. Thank you Tracy.
 
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I'd stuff them in tight, so they don't get bounced around. They sit close on the roost, right? And a box with holes cut in but in the dark would probably make them feel more secure than being able to see but not get out. You've got moving boxes already.

Earplugs.
 
mary jayne richmond
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we have large dog crate, and i can fit 6-8 birds in there, depending on their size, good luck with your travels
 
Chris Badgett
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Thank you Mary Jayne and Ann for the tips!
 
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I'd start over, unless yoy have emotional attachment to the individual chickens you currently have. I moved with chickens and it was a pain, mostly due to not having time to move in/unpack because I was busy doing chicken things.
 
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