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

[claracluck11]

I hve a few things going on with my two girls and am stuck for what to do for them for the best.

 

A quick bit of background. They are 18mths-2yrs old and have always been together. They were originally in a group of 4 and I took these two girls on in July so have had them for 3-4 months. They are in an Eglu cube and are on a base of woodchip and have been for quite some time now probably about 2months (they were on the lawn originally but it was getting destroyed the little devils).

 

Now, here are my problems. I'll try and keep it short and clear but I do have a tendency to waffle

 

Confined to Eglu: the girls have always been let out every day for free play (even if only a few hours) but unfortunately at the moment they are confined to their Eglu, and will be for the winter unless I'm out there cleaning their headquarters!. I absolutely hate that I can't let them out like I used to be able to

 

I guess its not really the space factor I'm that worried about (the cube is designed for ten chooks afterall) but more the boredom factor. I need some ideas for toys/activites to keep them entertained.

 

 

Pecking: One of my girls, Sue, seems to be constantly pecking at her mate, Peggy She has always done this to a certain degree but it seems to be picking up a bit. I guess with their lack of free play it could be boredom so maybe help with the above will solve it, but I've also noticed that she has started doing it when Peggy goes to the food. Sue just appears to be very dominant over Peggy and my poor Peg does appear to have lost a little weight. Any advice for how to overcome this?

 

Soft eggs: One of the girls, I'm pretty sure its Peggy but not 100%, is laying soft eggs now daily. I thought it was down to their food, I ran out of the organic stuff so had to feed them pet shop pellets for a week until the delivery came and once they were back on their usual stuff it got better ... for three days! Now its every single day. One of them is laying perfect yummy eggs every day, and the other softies constantly. Any ideas? If its Peggy could it be down to boredom and/or distress from being pecked at all the time and not eating as much food?

 

Grit: i give the girls mixed grit and oyster shell as part of their normal diet, i put a handful in with their food every week and throw a handful on their woodchip to give them something to forage for, but I don't thing they are eating as much as they need to as their is always a nice collection at the bottom of their food bowl. Any ideas for getting them to eat more grit?

 

Any help or advice on any of the above would be gratefully received xx

[C&T]

Hmmm..

 

With boredom, try:

 

Mash instead of pellets - they spend more time eating, as takes longer to eat the same amount of food.

Hang greens up in bird feeders, or directly with a piece of string from the top of their run so they have to work at getting the cabbage or whatever

Pecker Blocks (or something). Some people swear by them, at keeping the birds entertained. Others don't have much luck...

Hanging CD's/mirrors or similar

Putting bits of branches/logs/wood in the run, so got different levels to jump up and down on.

 

With the grit, we have a seperate pot of grit on the side of the run, that I just keep topped up. Chooks will take it as and when they want, and it seems to work. Sometimes it seems to just disappear, other times it sits there for ages!

 

 

Good luck!

[poachedegg]

For activities:

Perches - we have an IKEA shoe rack, log, Stepping stool and broom handles (across the run to give extra height).

 

Food treats - we have a pek a block, fat ball holders stuffed with cauliflower leaves, cucumber, celery (basically any bits n bobs in fridge), whole corn on the cobs and cabbages. Pellet porridge (pellets mixed with warm water and any extras such as bokashi bran, crushed egg shells, garlic powder) which is a good way to give them their supplements and takes them longer to eat.

 

I alternate the food treats rather than giving all the time (apart from pek a block which is there all the time).

 

Regarding softies, try adding some limstone flour to their pellet porridge as softies can be a sign of lack of calcium.

 

Our grit is in a separate galley pot attached to the run and chickens take it as and when required, so as long are you are offering it should be fine.

 

[Plum]

Hi, lots of ideas for boredom busters there.

 

The feather pecking may be boredom or dominance but it can be a dietery deficiency so may be worth adding poultry spice or similar supplement to the feed.

 

Peggy you say has lost weight and is getting soft eggs. Have you wormed them, best seems to be flubenvet and you don't need to withdraw eggs. You can add limestone flour and a dash of cod liver oil to pellets to boost the calcium.

 

I would check her for other things as well if she is losing weight. Are her poos ok, crop going down, is her chest sounding clear, breathing ok, vent clean etc, etc.,

 

If Sue is keeping her away from the food it may be worth putting another food pot out to make sure she gets what she needs.

 

The grit issue, they may be taking it or not in food but I would put a pot tied to run as well and make sure it contains oystershell as well as grit which they need for the eggs. I crush up their shells as well and add it to treats - well warm pellets, they think it is a treat

[Olly]

If the grit is there, then they'll eat it if they want it - if they're not eating it, I wouldn't worry as long as it's available to them.

 

Limestone flour is a good idea to try and counteract the softies, however I'm afraid that if they are 2 years old then it may be that one of them is just reaching retirement age and softies are sometimes a sign of this.

 

As far as the pecking goes, it may be boredom. If not you could try anti-peck spray or bumper bits, but I'd try some toys and perches etc first - maybe if there are some perches, Peggy could get away from Sue occasionally too.