Moving with Chickens
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So, last weekend we moved into a new house. I know, I know, we JUST built that beautiful new coop! Truth be told, we looked at the house we are now living in the EXACT DAY that my husband built the new coop. The timing was terrible, but the hens needed a home. He knew that he would be taking it apart in a month.
If you are faced with moving to a new home and plan on taking your chickens with you, you needn't worry! Moving with chickens was a lot easier than I thought it would be. We were lucky enough to be in the position where we didn't need to sell our home before we moved into this new one. The day we moved out, we actually left the chickens at the old house. We only moved a mile away, so this worked out fine. I checked on them in the morning, filled their water and food, collected eggs, and left them to forage in the backyard without the threat of dogs! I think they enjoyed it!
When it came time to move the gals to our new home, I had visions of 10 chickens flapping around my minivan and pooping all over us. What would I put them in? I ended up using my Goldendoodles' kennel. First I had to convince them to get in. I threw some tasty treats in there thinking it would be that easy. Two fell for it. I had to catch the rest. To say they were a little freaked out would be an understatement! Good thing the ride to the new house was less than 5 minutes!
At our new house, we have this fenced in area that is perfect for our feathered friends to hang out, safe from the Doodles.
However, without the coop, they are definitely slummin' it. For a temporary shelter, I put in some empty moving boxes and filled them with pine shavings. My husband put the nest boxes from the coop into the area, however, they aren't using them to lay eggs. They pretty much lay their eggs anywhere.
The chickens didn't waste any time scratching out all of the pine shavings. I am not even going to bother to put in more.
Their coop will be put back together on Tuesday and I bet they are excited. I know I am! We will have to come up with a solution for shade since it is getting warmer and that fenced in area can get hot quickly. Our backyard is not landscaped so we have the ability to design it as we wish!
Have you moved with chickens? Do you have any tips or tricks for moving with chickens you can offer our readers?
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