4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Chicken Lady]

Hello, has anyone got any ideas on how to keep my chickens more entertained?

 

I have a fixed run - it's reasonably big (about 20ft x 7ft, one half of a larger area - I rotate between the two halves to keep the land from going stale). But unsurprisingly they've eaten both sides to the ground - the grass does recover while I'm "resting" each side but not enough to prevent them taking it back to bare earth within a day or so of getting in to the new run!

 

Anyway - I do let them out into the rest of the garden while I'm around for any length of time, but this usually means only about a couple of hours each day. So I was wondering what I could do to help them have a more interesting life while they're in their run.

 

I already give them kitchen s"Ooops, word censored!"s at lunchtime and corn halfway through the afternoon, and then they have their constitutional late afternoon/early evening usually. But I don't think that's enough - one major consideration is that I'm having lots of feather-pecking problems at the moment and I think the boredom may be at the root of it, so to speak.

 

Any suggestions?

[NClaire]

I've just put a kiddies bench in our run and they love it - it's an old one we don't use anymore, and is perfect for them - they perch on the seat, the arms, the back and can hide away under it.

 

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I've only got an eglu run so not much room but I've managed to fit a few perches in. I usually put a seed bell in and I'm planning on getting a mirror soon too.

 

[Helen&Lee]

I've got a fairly big run, it has aubiose on the ground and I sprinkle some corn all around so that they can forage about for it.

 

I also have a wooden garden bench in it, perches, a big dustbath, and often put a half a cabbage in for them to peck at.

 

Pecka blocks are good too.

[Snowy]

My run has some larger shrubs in it and lots of branches to perch in. They are only out for half the day but keep well entertained when they are confined to quarters

[Electricbarbarella]

ANH,k is that a shoe rack?

[Ain't Nobody Here]

ANH, is that a shoe rack?

 

Yup . Recycled from a neighbour's skip (she threw out two almost brand new Ikea shoe racks .)

[Chicken Lady]

wow loads of good suggestions... actually I've got a spare garden bench (quietly rotting and unsafe for humans!) so I'll put that in.

 

What's "auboise"?

 

and what are pecka blocks?

[Helen&Lee]

Aubiose is a horse bedding, very absorbant and wonderful for them to scratch around in - Some use a similar produt called Hemcore.

 

Pecka blocks are the chickens equivalent to bird seed bars - in fact I do sometimes buy bird seed bars held together with honey. (not suet)

 

HTH

 

Helen

[chelsea]

hanging corn on the cob

hanging broccoli/spinach/cucumber

occasionally hang seed bells (made from honey and not suet)

put some hemcore or aubiose in the run and then at "treat time" in the afternoon chuck in some mixed poultry corn and watch them scratch for England!

[dancing cloud]

I bought mine some plastic kids chairs from Wilkinsons - only cost £2.50 each, and wash off a treat. Because I'm out at work all day and they're only interested in stampeding out to the garden when I get back, I've never yet seen a hen on one, but there's plenty of poo on them so they clearly get used

 

When I can afford plastic roosting bars for the Cube, I thought I would rig up a perch using the current wooden bars for them to play on - spoiled, indulged little monsters that they are.

 

Good job chickens don't want toys. I bought so many for the cats I'd be bankrupt if I had to buy them for the hens as well

[stoice]

After some random reading of old posts I found this...

 

http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=425

 

Good idea I think

[dancing cloud]

I remember buying one of those for fat Puddy, who was far too lazy to even be bothered pushing it around - think tabby and white female Garfield and you've got the picture

 

I'll dig it out and see if I can amuse the ex-batts with it. I tried ping-pong balls (also bought to try and persuade fatcat to move herself and failed ), but the hens didn't really get what they were all about. Something they can get corn out of, or better still grapes, and they may get the point

 

I'll let you know ...