Anybody have any ideas for chicken entertainment?

[Pretty Chickens]

Thank you, I will be very careful with the cilantro. I know that onions are bad for them and they give there eggs a bad taste.

 

[robphenix]

First of all, thanks for the many great ideas. Here are some that our girls seem to appreciate:

I skewer a cabbage with a shishkabob skewer from a barbecue set, then suspend it in the chicken run. They have a great time pecking over the next few days.

I also bought an automatic fish feeder designed for koi ponds. I fill it with scratch and set the timer so that it drops a small amount at intervals during the day. When they hear the motor start as the feeder kicks on, they come running like it's Christmas morning for chickens.

When they were chicks, I used to use a laser pointer with them too, and they would chase the dot just like little kittens. I haven't tried it in a long time -- but now that I've remembered it, I'm going to try it again.

 

[Americano Blue]

I don't know how much your dried mealworms cost you but they are too cost prohibitive in my budget to lose in a sandbox. They break apart easily and half the pieces scatter and waste. So we just feed the mealworms by hand over the patio cement so the broken and dropped pieces can be found easily by the eagle-eyed chickens. Other treats and maybe wild bird seed in the sand would be good as they aren't as expensive to lose as dried mealworms.

the meal worms here are about $12 for a 5 pound bag. which is a lot of worms since dried ones are so light

 

[KardashiHENS]

You can keep them busy for hours with new food. Get some live crickets and watch 'em chase them down!

 

[Sylvester017]

I grow mammoth sunflower and corn.....they get the corn stalks to eat...while they are still green, and the sunflower stalks. The past weekend has been storms, and it is causing the sunflower heads to break their stalks. So I put the heads up to cure..pulled off the leaves, and took the stalks and leaves to the pen. They love to peck at them all and find goodies. And it gives them greens to enjoy.

I save up the mammoth sunflower heads for their winter protein. Pull a cured head down, and toss it whole in the run. They need things to do..and pecking at sunflower heads is good fun for them.

Just an added note - sunflowers or heavy oil foods should be limited to winter/spring to protect chicken's livers from getting too fatty during warmer temps. They need the seeds and oils more in winter diets to build up their fat reserves

 

[DDRanch]

Hang an apple in the center of your run. Or more depending on how many birds you have. I have also used large zuchinni, too big to eat but soft enough skin for the chickens to pierce. An ear of corn is fun too.

I don't know if you use straw for bedding, but letting them dismantle a flake of anything provides lots of fun.

The best entertainment my girls get is free range when I am home. The ability to dig for bugs, dust bathe, and exercise is the best entertainment around. If you can provide that, even for a little while every day, your chickens will be happier and healthier.

 

[mamadawn]

Anything new you can introduce to their environment will spark their curiosity and give them something to do.  Are they outside? Are they confined in a coop/building or able to go out into a contained run or free range?  
You can do anything from hanging a head of cabbage for them to peck at, putting in new items for them to climb around on/under, creating "food puzzles" out of things they have to move or manipulate to get into a treat, etc.

My three year old enjoys watching the chickens. Here is a chicken puzzle idea she loves bringing to the girls. Below is the 1st time we introduced it. Now they know what it is and they come a running and bat it around and play more, enjoying the treats that fall out!

 

[So Cal Chic]

Our property is not yet fully fenced, so for safety reasons, our ladies are largely confined to their run and free range for a couple of hours a day in the chicken yard outside their run. I doubt there's a single grub, spider or pill bug still living in their yard and what little landscaping was has been torn to shreds. A month back I purchased a bag of Peaceful Valley Omega-3 Chicken Forage Blend from groworganic.com. I have three rotating flats growing. It takes them several hours to polish off a flat, but as you can see, they really dig it.

 

[So Cal Chic]

That looks yummy! You have beautiful girls. Did you grow it or sprout it?

Thank you. We are having so much fun with the ladies.

I grow them.

It was a bit of an experiment. I know grass is good for them to eat, but we don't have a blade of grass on our property (uses too much water) I had a couple of nursery flats lying around, so I lined one with coconut mat to retain soil and moisture, added a layer of fresh potting soil, sprinkled seeds, watered, then another thin layer of potting soil and another sprinkling of water. Set it out in the garden by the pool so it got full sun all day and watered it every morning. Takes 7-10 days to get that high. Sprouting would be faster by a long shot. I don't have that equipment, but I may try that as soon as the contractor finishes building the coop and I can install some raised beds in their yard.

 

[Noobie farmer]

My three year old enjoys watching the chickens. Here is a chicken puzzle idea she loves bringing to the girls. Below is the 1st time we introduced it. Now they know what it is and they come a running and bat it around and play more, enjoying the treats that fall out!

Aww. She's very cute and that's an awesome idea.