Anybody have any ideas for chicken entertainment?

[Sylvester017]

I did state "for use in winter"..on the sunflower seeds.

The post wasn't intended specifically for you but for the general reading public. You'll notice I posted "As an added note:" - A lot of readers on these posts are new at chicken farming and I was just throwing in a bit more relevant trivia knowledge

 

[Sylvester017]

Well, I guess there is hope for the future then. I was resigned to getting some ducks next year, but I guess I better watch my chickens a little better. I haven't seen as many slugs around lately. I thought it was because I go slug hunting every night and squish them with by slug squisher. Maybe the chickens are eating them now.

Not only did our chickens go nuts for the adult slugs but they would dig in all the wet lawn dirt to dig out the grubs too. Winter is the best time for the chickens because the soil is perpetually damp and easy to dig deeply to get the grubs. I haven't had an adult slug or snail in the last two years! The chickens tear up the lawn a little doing this but in our SoCal climate the grasses and weeds regrow quickly. I don't even let the gardener in the backyard any more because the chickens are better gardeners than he is!

 

[RirMaster]

We were listing to some music by our chicken coop once they seemed to like that they started bobbing their heads and all. HaHa

 

[OKSmileSnap]

I read that hanging lettuce from a rope or thick twine is entertaining for them.

 

[tridentk9]

Well while everyone else has chicken tv- my chickens have dog tv.

As they were scratching around for bugs, one of the dogs came out the door, threw herself on her back and started rolling around. Everyone stopped the bug hunting and turned to stare at the silly dog. They watched her antics for several minutes, when she turned over and stopped rolling around, it was a switch flipping. In unison they turned from dog tv and went back to bug hunting.

I'm not sure though how to duplicate that program for others. You will have to do your own production.

 

[oesdog]

Football!





My girls loved to play football and to watch the dogs play it too! lol Now they are in the big coop with the adults as they are all grown up but I have good memories of them playing ball!

Oes

 

[GoldenChickLady]

My chickens are about 4 1/2 months old and I feel like they might be kinda bored, are there any cool ideas out there to keep them entertained & happy?

Mine love their swing and things to climb on and run through...

 

[OldMountainCur]

Good question..........but what did chickens do before we domesticated them? Being old school I do what nature intended......good feed, clean water and a place to "dust." Most other "toys" for chickens are more for the owner than the chicken...........kind of like a fisherman with 2 or 300 fishing lures and he/she fishes with worms........... If they are even partially free range I doubt boredom is a problem. I grew up on a farm where chickens were just chickens, no toys, no special treats and they produced as well (or better) than alot of the pampered poultry I see today... There is a difference in a pet and an egg producer. We all tend to pamper pets so think about it, anything that moves, is flashy or a treat will keep thier attention for at least a few minutes. Sadly chickens are on the opposite end of the intellectual chart than hook bills (Parrots and Cockatoos). Of course some are more friendly than your neighbor, some are funnier than your best friend and all of them probably give us a better sense of enjoyment than we do them.

 

[tridentk9]

Sadly chickens are on the opposite end of the intellectual chart than hook bills (Parrots and Cockatoos).  Of course some are more friendly than your neighbor, some are funnier than your best friend and all of them probably give us a better sense of enjoyment than we do them.

I ran across this today. I found this paragraph particularly funny.

The chickens were fed a standard poultry ration and were trained to peck the center key for immediate food reward. Complex patterns followed after a bird had learned to peck a key for a food reward. Each daily session lasted for 15 min. Since motivation for food reward depended upon hunger, the birds were kept without food for 12 h prior to their 15-min daily sessions. Following the 15-min session the birds were returned to the home cage where feed and water were available ad libitum. The birds quickly mastered this procedure, and so after several pecking sessions they completely stopped working for a food reward, knowing that they would receive ad libitum feed when they were returned to their home cage. Under indefinite or irregular presentation of feed in the home cage, the birds immediately returned to solving the visual discrimination problems presented in the research cages.

 

[jannakaye]

Mine enjoy pecking at one of those cat toy balls with the bell inside