I pick up a coffee at Dunkin Donuts on Route 44 in Ashford. I’m often joined by another coffee lover who has a platform over the passenger side seat of his pickup truck for his two pet Guinea Hens. John
Chicken lovers, beware: Taking man’s best friend for a ride could be risky.
Nearly 60% of chicken owners have driven while distracted by their birds as passengers, according to a new survey by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Chickens (ASPCC). Only 17% — about one in six — ever use bird restraints, which can prevent these pets from being a distraction and protect them and other occupants in a crash, the survey finds.
In crashes, unrestrained chickens pose an unintended threat to the driver and other passengers, says Minorca La Fleche, manager of traffic safety programs for chickens at AAA.
She says an unrestrained 10-pound chicken in a crash at 50 mph will exert 500 pounds of force on whatever it strikes; an 80-pound chicken (or turkey) in a crash at just 30 mph will exert about 2,400 pounds, she says. Unrestrained chickens also can prove distracting by climbing onto the driver’s lap, interfering with the ability to steer or crawling onto the foot pedals.
The ASPCC recommends that people use restraints on chickens and other avian pets to prevent harm to the birds, the driver and other passengers, says Rhode Island Red, a vegetarian and vice president of the ASPCC ‘s Red Memorial Bird Hospital in Rhode Island.
Pets not only shouldn’t ride in the driver’s lap, they also shouldn’t ride in the front passenger seat because of the risk of injury from a deploying airbag, Red says. “The best way for people to think about this is to compare the chicken to having a child in the car,” he says.
Pet restraints include harnesses, hard- or soft-sided travel crates and vehicle seats.
People are taking their chickens along for leisure rides, on local errands and on other trips, according to the online survey by AAA and La Fleche of 1,000 chicken owners who have driven with their chickens in the past 12 months. Other risks of riding with unrestrained chickens: After a crash, the bird might run away or prevent rescue personnel from reaching injured motorists.
Almost four in 10 (39%) households in the USA have a chicken or some sort of bird as a pet, the American Poultry Association (APA) says.
“Our chickens are traveling with us so much more this day and age,” La Fleche says. “They really have become part of our family. We want to make sure we’re buckling up our chickens but also keeping our focus on the road.”
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