What Residential Movers for Families Handle and What Homesteaders Move Themselves

Photo by Magnific

Residential moving crews are built around the household: furniture, beds, boxes, appliances and everything else that needs to get from one home to another. That covers a lot. But a family with a backyard homestead has another move happening at the same time, with kids, a flock of hens, a playhouse and a few raised beds that the usual checklist never mentions.

So this guide splits the job in two. What a residential moving crew can take off your plate, and what stays on yours.

Before You Book Movers: Get the New Homestead Ready

Before you call for estimates, take some time to plan the new property. Walk it with a sketch and decide where each thing goes: the coop, the run, the playhouse, the garden beds.

A few things to check while you're there:

• Local rules on backyard poultry, including any HOA or town limits on flock size or roosters
• Where the nearest water spigot is, since you'll be carrying water to the coop every day
• Whether the ground is level and drains well where you want the coop and playhouse
• Which spots you can see easily from the house, especially if you'll want to keep an eye on the kids while working indoors

If you can, build or repair fencing before moving day. Getting the fencing done before moving day means you can secure the chickens as soon as they arrive.

Talk to the Kids About the Move

A move can be a big change for kids, so it helps to involve them in the process. PBS KIDS for Parents suggests showing children photos of the new home and the area around it, and letting them help pack and decorate their own boxes. It also notes that a new place can take a few months to feel like home.

So give them a small job. It won't make moving magically easy, but it can give kids a sense of control over what's happening. Packing their own toys works. So does helping pick where the playhouse goes.

Make a Separate Plan for the Chickens

The flock needs its own plan, separate from the household move. The CDC advises that children under 5 shouldn't handle or touch chicks or other poultry and that everyone should wash their hands with soap and running water after touching birds or anything in their area. It also recommends keeping poultry and poultry equipment outside the house.

For moving day, that translates to a few practical things. Older children can help with feeders and waterers with adult supervision, while younger children can take on a different task. Make sure soap, water and other hand-washing supplies are available at both properties.

Decide early who's transporting the birds, what carriers you'll use, and when they'll go. If you're transporting the flock yourself, plan their arrival for after the new coop and run are ready and secure.

Decide Which Structures Are Worth Moving

Not everything in the backyard needs to come along, and the answer shapes what you'll ask movers to quote. Before you take anything apart, go through each structure and ask a few honest questions:

• Is it a kit that was designed to come apart, or was it built in place?
• Is it anchored in concrete or set on posts?
• What condition are the panels, roof and floor in?
• Would it fit where you've planned to put it at the new property?

Kit playhouses and coops can be easier to move when they were designed to be assembled and disassembled. An older structure that's been through years of weather, or one that's set in concrete, might be worth leaving for the next owners. Replacing it can be a budget call as much as a moving one.

Playhouses deserve a little extra thought. Kids get attached to them, and moving the playhouse can help the new yard feel familiar. If it's staying behind, consider letting the kids help choose the new one.

Disassemble Playhouses, Coops and Garden Beds

This is where a little organization saves hours on the other end.

For playhouses and coops:

• Take photos of every side, inside and out, before you remove a single screw
• Number each panel with painter's tape and write the numbers on a quick sketch
• Bag the hardware by section and tape each bag to the panel it came from
• Keep roofing, windows and doors together, since those are the easiest parts to damage

Raised beds are simpler. Emptying the beds before the move is usually more practical than transporting large quantities of soil. Pull the boards apart, bundle them, and label which bed they belong to.

For plants in the ground, check your sale or lease terms before digging anything up, since some buyers and landlords expect established plantings to stay. If you're crossing state lines, also check the destination state's rules before transporting plants or soil. Divisions and cuttings are a good middle ground.

What Residential Movers Can Handle

The household side of the move is where a residential moving crew can take a lot off your plate. For families in Central Illinois, Moving Mountains offers residential moving services that include furniture assembly, fragile-item handling and appliance moving, covering many of the jobs that are harder to manage when you're also preparing a backyard homestead.

Backyard items are less predictable, so walk the estimator through the yard, not just the house, and ask during the estimate instead of assuming.

When comparing residential movers for families, ask:

• Will you disassemble and reassemble beds, cribs and bunk beds?
• Can you load outdoor items like grills, planters or panels from a structure we've already taken apart?
• Is there anything you won't carry, such as soil, propane or live plants?
• How is fragile packing handled, and is it priced separately?

What You Should Transport Yourself

Some things are better handled separately from the household move. Live animals require separate transportation arrangements, so confirm your mover's policies before moving day.

Two boxes should ride with you too.

The kids' box: favorite stuffed animals, a few books, a night-light, snacks, a change of clothes, anything that makes a strange room feel familiar on night one.

The yard box: work gloves, a drill and bits, zip ties, basic tools, the coop hardware, and whatever feed and water supplies you'll need to settle the birds in.

Set Up the New Yard Before the Animals Arrive

This is one of the parts of the move that matters most for the flock. Get the coop fully ready before a single bird goes in.

A setup checklist:

• Inspect the reassembled coop for gaps, loose panels and doors that don't latch
• Walk the fence line and confirm the run is secure
• Check that you have easy water access nearby
• Set up shade and shelter in the run
• Have feed and bedding in place before the birds arrive

That last part is easy to overlook when everyone's eager to see the hens roaming. Give the chickens time to settle into the coop and run before allowing them to range more widely, following your normal poultry-management practices.

Day One at the New Homestead

Set up the coop and the kids' rooms before the kitchen. That order sounds backward. It isn't, when you've got small people who need to sleep and birds who need a roost.

Then walk the new yard together and let the kids help place the playhouse, if it made the trip. It gives them a stake in the new place.

Nothing about a family move goes exactly to plan. The hens may take a little time to settle in, and the kids may surprise you by adapting faster than expected.