Solitary chicken - need advice

[knittingmama]

Hello. So we got our hens on Sunday. Love them! We ended up with two.

 

A couple of questions:

 

I'm at work from 9 - 5 during the week, and they're in the standard Go run on woodchip/bark mix. They seem to love the woodchip, digging it up and flinging it around until they get to the soil underneath. Like messy toddlers! Should I give them a tray for a dustbath or will flinging woodchip around until they get to the soil suffice? They do such a job with the woodchip that they'd probably destroy the dustbath in a couple of hours anyway...

 

Also it seems boring to be in there all day, any ideas for things to keep them amused? Have put some carrots in a hanging feeder in there and chucked a handful of food and a bit of grit onto the woodchip but I'm sure they found all of that before 10am.

 

Thanks! Back to work. (All I can think about are Daisy and Rosie!)

[paulad]

They are ace arent they and completely take over your thoughts !

 

Not sure about the dustbath - i work till 3 and as soon as im home they free range and dustbath for the rest of the day/evening.

Some one will come along and tell you - i have only had chucks since june so not very experienced yet

 

You can hang up cabbage/corn etc - they love to peck at that. Also old CDs...An old log or branches are good too if there is room for them to hop on and off

 

Good luck with them xx

[gavclojak]

Mine love a yellow treat ball,you should be able to get it from omlet, i fill it with corn and they spend ages pecking it and knocking it with their feet, hanging corn on the cob is a real treat too. mine also have a dust bath in the corner of the run made of a mix of compost, children's sand and a massive handful of diatom they love that.

[Lulabellx1]

We have a big flower pot that the girls use for a dust bath... and a vantage point! I would recommend, if you have room. We also have a small chunk of railway sleeper for them to hop on and off of, a log would do the same thing.

 

We have a treat hook and I hang various things on there. Corn on the cob is good as it takes them a while. I also sometimes cut a little gem lettuce in half and hang it from the hook, just out of their reach so they have to jump up to it. I keep hanging courgettes cut in half from it at the moment, as we have a glut of them growing in the garden!

 

Despite all this, they would much rather free range so out they come... when we are home

 

You can buy live mealworms... I have never tried this on my girls but I keep meaning too!

 

And a cat treat ball, with raisins in is fun, as they have to knock it about to get the raisins out. You can buy these in the supermarket x

[good_egg]

When I went away I built a small bench/table to put a gravity feeder and drinker on so that it would stay out of the woodchip. Left the bench in after holiday and they now hop up and down on it all the time - best addition to the run ever! It was built out of a half railway sleeper. They also like their shallow, large trug which I fill with easibed as a dust bath.

[chuckmum6]

You will have limited space in the run, but if you can squeeze a dust bath in it has health benefits and is very amusing to watch, you could use a small trug. Add a perch through the bars if you can or a log as suggested earlier.

[knittingmama]

Thanks for the replies. Have purchased a hanging treat feeder that you can stuff with veggies, so they're at home with a bit of lettuce and carrots today. I let them out when I'm home so I suppose it's not so bad but as the days get shorter that time will be limited. : ( What do you use for a dustbath that's cheap and easy? I'd imagine with my two (who are like messy toddlers!), they'll fill up the dustbath with woodchip every day.

[gavclojak]

Hi there

Some people use a cat little tray, I just had some bits of wood, made a square in the ground and filled it with a compost/sand/Diatom mix. If you get a chance have a look at my photos on the thread titled introducing my ex batt girls at last. There are so r other things we did you might want to try like a tyre half buried, x

[paulad]

I use an old belfast sink ! Lots use the cat litter trays, old flower pots, anything really, they all make a messs but they love it so much. I sweep the paths again and again after the mud has been flung everywhere !,

[gavclojak]

A Belfast sink! Now they are lucky girls:)) I have a gravel area around my patio and I cannot tell you what fun they have digging for worms in there, and the mess, really! Come on

girls xx

[paulad]

haha its not that grand - was an old one that we used for flowers, massive crack down the middle - perfect for the chucks though - they love it....off to see a holiday home tomoz, they are booked into it for xmas and even being wormed while they are there !!bonus !!

[Lavenders_Blue]

My girls have a dust bath in the run, but still prefer to use the woodchips... Perverse creatures

Perches, logs to hop on and off, hanging treats will keep the hens occupied. Sometimes I rake seeds into the woodchips so the hens have to dig around and find them.

[knittingmama]

Ha ha, I did that today- bit like hiding Easter eggs for the kids to find. Still came home to find an egg had been rolled out into the run, though... Not so sure I like the Go for the simple reason that they can kick out all the bedding and eggs into the run! Have installed 2 planks of wood for them to hop on, hung up some CDs, and will keep giving them stuff to peck at in their hanging feeder. Hoping for no shenanigans tomorrow!