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

[lisaroo2]

Hi All

 

What sort of things do you put in the girls run for them to 'play' with? OH and I want to 'enrich' the girls run and aren't sure what to do? We can't really put anything that they can climb on as Daisy will try and escape as she's an amateur 'Houdini!'

[Scotty]

tricky as you say nothing to climb on, so that rules rather a lot out... I have an old drawer that I fill with compost and ash which they love to dust bath in... I also have plants that they peck and lay underneather. I've hung OH's CD's that I wont let him play any more too the roof of the pen, they sway in the wind and as they are reflective the girls peck them - not sure if they actually like it or find it annoying though?

 

does this give you inspiration?

 

vicky

[LaPoule]

I have a little feeder ball - I think it is designed for guinea pigs - which you fill with corn, and then bits fall out. Although, I have been told that some chickens can get a bit possessive

 

I also have hanging balls I stuff which veg and fruit (tried salad leaves, but apparently, that is only acceptable from a bowl on the ground... ) A Pecka block is also a good idea - expensive, but last ages. Apparently corn-on-the-cob is a great hit too - I haven't tried this yet, so not sure whether it should be cooked first or not.

[Redwing]

My two flocks each have a tyre to play on (its only six inches off the ground after all) they dust bathe in them but also spend hours sitting on the edge chiling out

[eggstravagant]

I have a little feeder ball - I think it is designed for guinea pigs - which you fill with corn, and then bits fall out. Although, I have been told that some chickens can get a bit possessive

 

I also have hanging balls I stuff which veg and fruit (tried salad leaves, but apparently, that is only acceptable from a bowl on the ground... ) A Pecka block is also a good idea - expensive, but last ages. Apparently corn-on-the-cob is a great hit too - I haven't tried this yet, so not sure whether it should be cooked first or not.

 

 

I regularly give mine corn on the cob, raw... they absolutely adore it and it rolls away when they peck it! Soft round fruit like plums and apricots also roll and my laies carry them around in their beaks like a dog would with a ball.

 

I hang long cylindrical bird feeders (the ones you put small fat balls in) and fill with cooked or raw veg/salad/fruit etc which they love pecking.

 

Also try a k"Ooops, word censored!"bly, twisted branch on the ground (about 3cm diameter) - they can climb and perch then but they can't use it to escape.

 

Hope this helps? Have fun!

 

Gini x

[lisaroo2]

Thanks for all the ideas. We've got an old tyre somewhere so I'll root that out. I never thought about filling bird feeders, we've got loads of those!! We're going to plant some shrubs in the run so they can 'hide' behind too!

 

Keep the ideas coming.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

We've got an old tyre somewhere so I'll root that out. :

Be careful .

[lisaroo2]

Hi ANH

 

The link that you posted got me wondering, when I read it I thought about our girls and the fact that if you so much as rearrange a stone they bok-bok their annoyance at it!!

[dancing cloud]

Mine have peckablocks and greens in string bags tied to the run mesh and the lid of one of the dustbins. I also used two shoe racks as a base for the old wooden roosting bars to give them an elevated perch, which they love, especially as they can go through the "tunnel" underneath or walk across the racks and out of the sides - seems to keep them amused for hours! It only gets them about a foot off the ground, so doesn't assist the escape efforts

[Mazzarina]

On the subject of peckablocks, how long do other people's last? My chooks demolished the whole thing in about 3 days, which considering the cost is quite an expensive treat! They are a greedy lot...

I've been thinking about using the metal and plastic bit that's left to make my own - would be really interested to hear if anyone else has tried this, and if so what they used.

[dancing cloud]

My lot are still eating their way through their first two peckablocks six months on - but then they free-range all day, so only really look at them on their way to bed .

[eggstravagant]

Mine free range all day too but they still devoured the peckablock - they're just pigs with feathers!