Do chickens play with toys?

[cliffsdad]

Yeah, I think it would have to be all about the food for them to actually spend a lot of time doing it....but in a chicken(y) sort of way, the mad dashing and chasing does look pretty fun!

 

[Petej]

Quote:
As soon as mine get a little older I'm going to try that!

I'm headed to the store in a day or so, I will buy a head of cabbage then. I'll see if I can get a video of the Chooks in action! You should hear the noises they make!

 

[chkinut]

i'm gonna try the empty toilet paper roll! my chicks have a mirror about the size of a dinner plate (but oval)....and they LOVE it! i only have 2 chicks at the moment....but they sleep beside it, and peck around on it a lot. i also got an idea from another BYC'er about putting some sand in a container for them. at first they were scared of it, but now they peck around and scratch in there. they still haven't taken dust baths though, and that's the main reason why i put it in there!

 

[3chimama]

My girls chase after my feet when we are walking back to the house....this morning one lightly tapped at my heel just for fun.

 

[noodleroo]

Quote:
When I put sand in for my babies, I used a really shallow 'tupperware' kind of lid so it would be really low for them to get into. They caught on immediately, and its so cute when they use it! They'll kick most of the sand out, of course, and that's OK; just put more in and let them play!

 

[mlyon]

What is better for the chicken? Cabbage or lettuce?

 

[Petej]

Dunno, but my birds will peck at either one!

Too much of either one will give them Diarrhea, so be sparing with it.....(This has been my experience, YMMV)

 

[lainvest64]

Try taking the core (seeds) out of an apple. We just use a knife and cut the center out. Then tie it up about 4-6 inches from the ground. They will peck at it and actually one will get on each side so that the apple can't move as much. Then they eat a healthy treat.

 

[newchickgal]

After reading the posts here, we put a mirror in the brooder. The chicks were a bit leery at first but soon one ventured over to check it out. (Hey! there's another chick in here!) Soon another one of our chicks came to see about it and they started pecking at the mirror. That was just toooooo funny! Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[seann]

My chicks peck at a dot in cardboard with accurate precision. It's so cute and funny.