Bored Chicks- 5 weeks old

[CluckyInKY]

We have 6 "girls" that are quickly outgrowing their makeshift brooder. Approx 5 weeks old. Their run has been built- an 8x12- but the wire has not been buried around the perimeter yet. We let them out for "recess" for 2 or 3 hours twice a day (morning and late afternoon). The coop is under construction and will be done in the next week or so. As you can see in this picture, my girls are bored! I would let them out in the run more often but my husband and I both work full time (he's a farmer, and I have an insurance business). Any advice on how to keep them entertained during the day would be greatly appreciated!

 

[CluckyInKY]

Note: we live on a farm with predators lurking everywhere- as soon as the coop is done, the wire will be buried and I will feel much better leaving them outside. Just a slow building process with it being planting season for my hubby.

 

[junebuggena]

Leave them out in the run during the day, bring them in at night. They will be fine in the run. Buried wire is for long term predator proofing against animals that know where your chickens are. A week or two probably won't be long enough for the local predators to be attracted to the coop/run. They are too big for those tiny tubs. And they don't need to be kept sheltered anymore since they are almost completely feathered.

 

[lazy gardener]

Unless that run is covered, those chicks will be easy pickins for hawks, and even for a couple of aggressive crows. However, it wouldn't take much work to section off a corner and cover the top of that for them to be able to spend the day out. I'd even just lay some chicken wire down around that corner on the ground and weight it down with rocks or logs until you get time to bury the skirt. I have hawks patrolling my yard all day long every day. My chicks are almost 7 weeks old, and within 1/2 hour of me letting them out for supervised forage, the hawks are circling.

 

[CluckyInKY]

Hubby is bringing a larger box home today. He said its 5.5x6 and is 3' tall. I figure that will hold them over a little longer... But I still think they are just bored!

 

[junebuggena]

Hubby is bringing a larger box home today. He said its 5.5x6 and is 3' tall. I figure that will hold them over a little longer... But I still think they are just bored!

Still not going to be enough space for them to spend all day in.

 

[CluckyInKY]

Still not going to be enough space for them to spend all day in.

I was just looking for constructive suggestions, not to get bashed for my brooder. I'm a first time chicken owner and I'm still learning. They do get 5-6 hours of outside time & are free to roam the enclosed garage. I realize this isn't enough space for them, but there's not much I can do until the coop is finished. I'm not going to put them out unsupervised until I feel that they are as safe as possible out there. We have grown very attached to these silly birds and I know my daughter, my husband, and myself would be devastated if something got to them.

 

[junebuggena]

If you absolutely refuse to put them out in the run all day long, then you will need to turn your garage into a 'chicken land.' A big pile of grass clippings, straw, or hay can keep them entertained for days. Fill one of those brooder tubs with some dirt or sand for dustbathing. Set a few 2x4s on top of cement blocks for perches/roosts. It might be messy, but they will be very happy.

 

[TLWR]

Give them some fun things in their new brooder box. Some roosting things, sand to dig around in. Not ideal, but they will be fine until you get the run finished.

 

[CluckyInKY]

Give them some fun things in their new brooder box. Some roosting things, sand to dig around in. Not ideal, but they will be fine until you get the run finished.

We put a hand mirror in there (not glass), a scrap 4x4 that's about 8" tall, and a cat toy (plastic ball w a bell)... They pick the ball up with their beak & play keep away- pretty funny. They are liking the new box/crate!