How to transport chickens
Have you ever wondered how to transport chickens? I’d never pondered this one before until recently when we had the chance to adopt some adult chickens from a family living two hours away from us. They were moving and needed to find a new home for their flock of four adult hens. We connected in a regional group on Facebook and started chatting about how we could make this chicken transport happen. Since they were coming to our town for an appointment, re-homing chickens a couple hours away wasn’t unrealistic if we could just figure out how to safely transport them!
My first thought was to put them all in a big box with some air holes in it. This isn’t the best idea because they might peck at each other in that small enclosed space. A wire cage isn’t the best option either if you are planning to transport chickens in your car! Just imagine fresh chicken poop, feathers and bedding being flung all over the interior of your car. Yuck!
The family giving us the chickens came up with this brilliant idea to transport the chickens. They got four cardboard file boxes with lids and placed some straw in the the bottom of each box. Then each chicken was placed into a box and the lid taped on tightly so they couldn’t escape in the car (can you imagine driving down the interstate at 70mph with a loose chicken or two flapping around your car?! Yikes!!)
The chickens had an air hole and peep hole where the handle was cut out on each side. I thought it was rather cute to see them sticking their little heads out the hole to check me out!
We met up in town and moved the boxed up chickens to my car. They didn’t make a peep! I drove about 15 minutes back to our homestead to unload them. I was so excited to meet our new chickens! We already had a temporary coop and run set up at our greenhouse that isn’t in use yet this season.
I carried one box over at a time to the new run, sat the box down and carefully took the lid off. I never saw the chickens or even pictures of them before they arrived here so for me it was like Christmas taking the lids off! The chickens are all so beautiful. When the lid was removed, each one sat there a few seconds looking at me and their surroundings them hopped up out of the box to start exploring.
The Wyandotte chicken even laid an egg in her cardboard box!
The chickens all made the trip with no issues and seem to have adjusted just fine to their new surroundings. Here they are happily searching for some scratch I threw out for them.
About an hour after I unpacked our new chickens and had them settled in, I just happened to see a free ad on Craigslist for some free wire animal cages. I needed to go back into town so swung by the alley where they were and was the first to arrive and get my pick of cages! I picked up two decent sized metal cages that we can use to transport chickens in the back of our truck if need be in the future. We also plan to use them to help transition our spring chicks to outdoors. What a great score!
Have you ever had to transport chickens? Do you have any tips to share?
I’ve used a portable dog kennel, or crate, to transport or even isolate a sick chicken. I had a rooster with an infected comb that the other two roosters kept picking at. I kept him in the crate for several days until it was mostly healed. He felt better and was able to recover in peace. He’s now our top rooster.
That’s a great idea! I actually have been searching for some dog kennels at yard sales to use for those same purposes!
We want to take or 6 Hens with us. We are moving to North Carolina from California. We would traveling for at least 5 days. Really worried and don’t want to give them away.
Were the chickens able to stand up inside the box? I need to make a 3 hour travel with my chickens and I have those type of boxes but they seem to me not tall enough for the chickens to stand.
I have transported chickens for years and learned the hard way to be wary of cardboard. Cardboard hold the heat so if you’re transporting from a hot area or in the middle of the summer you should be very cautious – even with LOTS of air holes. What I have found works best for me are the plastic crates/file boxes that can be purchased at Walmart for just a few dollars each. They stack well, are easily cleaned (we line the bottoms with several layers of open newspaper), and will easily fit about 2 hens each. We made lids out of paneling, drilled holes on each side of the top edge, and used long screws to hold the lids in place. We lay down an opened up fabric bed sheet to protect the vehicle interior and set the crates on top of it. While a bit smelly, this system has worked for years for us and we’ve never lost another chicken. The crates stack well when not in use too.
I to just learned the hard way of transporting grown chickens in a cardboard box. Had lots of holes. Top was not sealed completely. And I lost all but one hen out of 6. It was a very large box. Filled the entire back seat of my car. I even had the air conditioning on. No go. I will never do it again. I’m devastated.
Thanks for sharing. I’m sorry for your loss.
A lot of SPCA’s have animal cages donated to them.
But they have very few birds turned in to rehome.
Our local SPCA has a couple of sheds full of cages of assorted sizes.
By donation you can select what you need.
The extra huge parrot cages take up a lot of space.
They appreciated that I took one for our condo chicken.
I will use it as long as needed, then return it.
I also use ex covered cat litter boxes for egg boxes.
Or a large dog travel carrier for broody boxes.
When we travel I have a 18″ x 18″ x 28′ small animal cage.
They usually come with feed cups and water bottles.
The kind with a 5″ deep plastic tub and wire above.
I put an open full newspaper in the bottom and an old towel
You can sneak out a couple of dirty sheets to toss.
Still have a non slippery footing and something to lay on.
Chickens learn in three.
The first time they do something it is terrifying.
They are chickens.
The second they are not sure…
The third time they have been doing this forever…
So if you are going on a long trip.
Take them to the store for a few trips.
Put a snack in their cage. Mine love carrots
The point for them being…
They have survived this experience before.
Cardboard File Box also Nice idea.! I am using pet carriers for transporting my flocks. And put into water and some veggies for them because my farm is far from my home. So I am using a pet carrier. But if your duration is few minutes or nearby you want to transport, then Cardbox box is the best way.
I have transported many chicks, and adult chickens and ducks in my SUV I also lay a sheet down under my boxes, But First I lay down a $store plastic table cloth. Just in case!
I have had great luck with cheap rectangle shaped laundry baskets, they have plenty of air holes and can be bleached and rinsed out easily. I put a lid from a plastic storage tote on top and grey tape it on for adult chickens and ducks. I put A few layers of newspaper and some clean straw in the bottoms. A piece of cardboard for a lid, works for smaller breeds or chicks. I usually put two or three adults in a basket, depending on size of birds.
If the baby chicks are littler and not trying to fly yet, I just use a plastic tote with paper towels on the bottom so the babies don’t slide around in the plastic bin. I put food and water for them in lids from clean mayonnaise or peanut Butter jars or toy sized cake pans. The flat bottoms don’t spill as easy and they are shallow enough no babies could drown. I put oatmeal with warm broth or water in for food, so its not so messy for chicks. For adult birds, I add some cracked corn or laying mash too.
These are great tips, thank you for sharing!