Single hen

[Chickaboo]

Please can you let me know your thoughts. We are going away the end of next week, and I want to take my two girls to my parents to be looked after (and have a little holiday themselves!). but my husband adamantly refuses to let them travel in the car, saying its too stressful for them as we are only going for a few days. They can be fed at home by neighbours but I would feel so much happier knowing they are being properly looked after. What do others do, is it unduly stressful for them in the car (the journey would be 30mins)

[Nicola H]

They should be fine in a cardboard box with plenty of air holes.......My first 2 chickens were delivered by Omlet and they must have had a journey of over 4 hours and I have just bought 2 new chickens which were in the car for about 30mins. they survived the journey and seemed happy enough when they arrived.......Once the chickens go into the box it will be dark and they will just roost until they are let out again.....

[Jules.]

I don't think it wolud be stressful at all for your chooks to travel for 30 mins in the car.... Omlet deliver within 2 hours of their premises so it must be ok for hens to travel for that long. I read on the forum that the hens go into roosting mode if they are in the eglu/cardboard box travelling and it is nice & dark in there.

Our girls had a 45 min car journey when we collected them from the farm.

Do you have to do any major re arranging in your car to accommadate the eglu & run- maybe that is what is husband is worried about?

[Richard]

I wouldn't think it would be any problems at all - a cardboard box with airholes would do fine. After reading 'Travels with my Chicken' I bought a cheap plastic cat box (less than a tenner) and use that now.

 

By the way I didn't think much to the book - nowhere near as good as the first one (Hen and the art of ...)

[chocchick]

I've taken them to the vets a lot in a box, and they just just sit still. 30 mins isn't that long really.

The problem would be getting a lively chicken to stay in the box while you put the flaps down.....

[Jules.]

Could they not travel in the eglu with the door shut?

[Chickaboo]

I think it will be fine to. I will use all your replies to try and persuade him. Why shouldn't chickens have holidays too!

[Gallina]

My first pair of chickens were delivered at 6pm on the hottest day of the year, having been in a box in the Omlet van since 8am, and they were as fresh as a daisy when they came out.

 

My second pair of chickens spent many hours on a train with my son on their way to me, and they weren't stressed either.

 

They go into sleep mode as soon as they are shut away, and don't even need food or water.

[Jules.]

Chickaboo

Have you decided what to do yet?

[Flo]

We recently had to take Lucy to the vet (again) and she was fine in a cardboard box. We had to stop at Pets At Home on the way back and got some funny looks in the car park when she poked her head out!

 

We handle ours a lot and she seemed quite curious about the whole thing...