Transporting Chickens Over Long Distances

By Ryan Paruch
Published on December 9, 2014
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A pair of free-range Cream Legbar hens enjoying the grass on a lovely sunny day.
A pair of free-range Cream Legbar hens enjoying the grass on a lovely sunny day.
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This chicken tractor was constructed almost entirely out of salvaged materials.
This chicken tractor was constructed almost entirely out of salvaged materials.
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While it's easy to get carried away with building a fancy coop, at the end of the day, you just need an affordable, secure, durable birdhouse.
While it's easy to get carried away with building a fancy coop, at the end of the day, you just need an affordable, secure, durable birdhouse.
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Two free range hens in their henhouse.
Two free range hens in their henhouse.
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Various free range chickens feeding on grass at an organic farm.
Various free range chickens feeding on grass at an organic farm.
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The author purchased this DOT-certified 4-by-8-foot trailer for $230. Aside from moving his backyard birds across the country, it also could be used for hauling firewood or other tough farmstead tasks.
The author purchased this DOT-certified 4-by-8-foot trailer for $230. Aside from moving his backyard birds across the country, it also could be used for hauling firewood or other tough farmstead tasks.

For most of the year, I live about 15 minutes west of Tulsa, Oklahoma, where I teach a variety of biology classes at a community college. For three months each summer, however, I go home to Wisconsin so I can be closer to my family and teach part-time at a college in the Northwoods.

Sustainability is important to me, and, despite the challenges imposed by splitting time between homes located 1,000 miles apart, I decided a few years ago to produce some of my own food. Intending to minimize costs and mistakes, I started small: In Wisconsin, I grew and harvested blueberries and some cool-season veggies, and in Oklahoma, I grew tomatoes and peppers.

After my initial gardening success, raising chickens seemed like the logical next step. In the past couple of years, I’ve made some mistakes, but my decision to keep laying hens was a good one. The birds provide more eggs than I need, and they are always entertaining. Further, I have learned some useful things about raising chickens — particularly how to safely and easily transport a small flock over a long distance. 

Constructing a transport vessel

Two years ago, I bought Rhode Island Red and White Leghorn chicks at a farm supply store near Tulsa, then worked my way through the process of raising them in a brooder and  getting them off to a good start in a coop I built with salvaged materials.

While the young hens acclimated themselves to the coop and honed their foraging skills, I prepared for my inaugural 1,000-mile trip to Wisconsin with chickens in tow. My first project was to build a trailer that would transport the birds — and also serve aptly for other utilitarian purposes. For $230, I bought a DOT-certified 4-by-8-foot trailer from a discount tool store. After spending a couple of days laboriously bolting it together, I secured a plywood floor and constructed sides with scrap 2-by-4s and untreated plywood. The plywood quickly warped, so, in retrospect, pressure-treated plywood may have been a better choice.

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