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mcphail

Stopping chickens getting bored whilst in the run. Ideas?

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I have not had any problems with bored chickens as yet but I do feel guilty leaving them in the run all day while I'm at work. I hang greens when possible but theys never last long. I have heard of CDs being used to amuse them. Does anyone have any ideas?

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hanging broccoli (mine love broccoli) or cabbage/kale/spinach etc.

 

I also bought some seed bells from local garden centre £1.99 for huge bell - made with seeds and honey (not animal fat) and they love that also.

 

A perch to stand on?

 

Scattering treats in the run also keeps mine occupied as they spend ages forraging for them. :)

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hanging broccoli (mine love broccoli) or cabbage/kale/spinach etc.

 

I also bought some seed bells from local garden centre £1.99 for huge bell - made with seeds and honey (not animal fat) and they love that also.

 

A perch to stand on?

 

Scattering treats in the run also keeps mine occupied as they spend ages forraging for them. :)

 

ive been looking around for the seed balls but no luck, can u give me a name of them with honey, are they fattening, do they last them a while? do u use them instead of a treat?

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hanging broccoli (mine love broccoli) or cabbage/kale/spinach etc.

 

I also bought some seed bells from local garden centre £1.99 for huge bell - made with seeds and honey (not animal fat) and they love that also.

 

A perch to stand on?

 

Scattering treats in the run also keeps mine occupied as they spend ages forraging for them. :)

 

ive been looking around for the seed balls but no luck, can u give me a name of them with honey, are they fattening, do they last them a while? do u use them instead of a treat?

 

They are much the same as peckablocks, mine are BELL shaped. I dont know the name off the top of my head but I will be buying some this week so I will let you know :) . I hang them in the run and they last 1 - 2 weeks. They are quite hard so take some pecking so it keeps them occupied. Im not sure about fattening :? but I have cut down big style on my treats, mine only have their morning pellets, broccoli in the run and organic corn before bed and thats it.

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I have not had any problems with bored chickens as yet but I do feel guilty leaving them in the run all day while I'm at work. I hang greens when possible but theys never last long. I have heard of CDs being used to amuse them. Does anyone have any ideas?

 

I reckon mine look a bit bored in the day and that's when I've been here over the weekend? They are new so confined to run at present.

 

I'm wondering what to put in the run before I leave for work tomorrow, I'm waiting for my hanging feeders to turn up. I've put a perch and a mirror in there lol. Might try the small plastic ball? What is this thing re the cd's?

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My hens love having a mirror to look at in their run.

 

And they got a calander of cockerels for Christmas: it's hanging up in the run, but I must remember to change it to March when I get home as I think they're bored of the hunk that is Mr February!

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Hi ya, we've put a perch in there and a bell of wild bird seed but the one that's with honey, not with fat as it's too fattening for them. I've also bought a metal ball with slots all around it whereby you put cabbage and other treats in there and hang it in the run. Not put it in just yet but will do.

 

A mirror sounds like a fun idea, bet they will think there's more hens for the pecking order!

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Hi ya, the metal ball has a clasp at the end of a chain to attach to the run and a bell at the bottom. I took the bell off, thought may drive us nuts! Got it from our local pet shop but I sure somewhere like Pets at Home would sell them. We live in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk.

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Noticed you getting the gingernut ranger, we not let ours out yet as we only had them two days! but the friendlist so far is the gingernut ranger Rosie and she is the first to lay aswell, she laid on the first day and again today! Gingernut is a good choice. The others are friendly too but the most enthaustic about coming over to the edge of run to see us is Rosie.

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I have bought some chain to hang from the top of the cubes and eglu. On the bottom I have peckablocks, those apple hanging devices from Haiths and mirrors which I cut from mirrored perspex. I also have branches that were being cut from trees down at the park by the council. They were quite happy for me to take them away for them.

 

I still feel guilty every morning when I leave for work. So much so that I am saving up to have a 7mtr x 4mtr run built for them. I am planning to put the two cubes in the run and sell the run extensions to get some of the money back.

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And they got a calander of cockerels for Christmas: it's hanging up in the run, but I must remember to change it to March when I get home as I think they're bored of the hunk that is Mr February!

 

That made me chuckle! :D

 

I'm picturing them standing there & wolf-whistling! Look at the spurs on that!

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