Non-food related ways to entertain chickens on ‘flockdown’ for avian flu

[HollyWoozle]

Hello BYC friends!

As you probably know we’re on ‘flockdown’ for avian flu here in the U.K. but since it happened the last few winters, we were fairly well-prepared in terms of run space. Our flock has a roomy shed overnight (it’s really very spacious thankfully) and instead of being let out into our orchard they get access to a polytunnel which has wire mesh for the walls and a sort of tarp for a roof to keep wild bird droppings out. We have wood chip on the floor and the set-up is working great, but I’d LOVE your ideas to keep things interesting for the girls! I feel sorry for them really.

I give them foodie things for entertainment but am keen not to dilute their primary feed too much and would love some non-food ideas (they sometimes have an alfalfa and grit pecking block and right now they have some greens in a mini net which last them a while). Does anybody have any tried and tested ideas for things to make life a bit more interesting please? I’ve read about swings and ladders for example but I’m never sure if they would actually get used or if they add much to the chooks’ lives? Let’s be honest, food is their main interest

A bale of straw perhaps? Some leaves?

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I think your ideas about straw and leaves are great but that depends on the source if you're worried about avian flu. Something less likely to have wild bird poo on it like a xylophone or a mirror might be good. My chickens have a mirror though I've never caught them preening in it lol.

 

[nuthatched]

Leaves likely have been around wild birds so maybe bales of straw with their normal feed thrown in.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Bale of hay would be fine. I continued to use dried leaves and dried grass because I store them for up to a year before they get used, which greatly lowers any risk of disease transmission.

General clutter would also be good, to give them things to play on. So that would include ladders, roosts, and anything else that's chicken safe that they can interact with in some manner. Lots of ideas in this thread https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/

 

[Perris]

Beware crop impaction with hay.
You didn't mention a dustbath. If they haven't already got one, a large tote with soil, bonfire ash and sand is popular with my flock.

 

[centrarchid]

With addition of hay include grit to reduce crop compaction

 

[3KillerBs]

A bale of straw perhaps? Some leaves?

A bale of straw with one tie cut (or not, depending on the integrity of the straw -- some are already loose), is a fabulous form of chicken entertainment.

Also, things to perch on, to get on top of or under, and other things to scratch through.

A pallet up on blocks is one of flock's favorites.

 

[HollyWoozle]

Thanks all for these great tips! My brain was not at all engaged when I suggested leaves and didn’t take the contamination risk into account, duh.

One end of one of the sheds (we have two joined together with a hole cut out in the wall for them to access it) has a floor like a giant dust bath so that is covered. They have free access to mixed grit but I confess I was a bit worried about giving straw due to the impaction risk, seems like that could be OK though. They have a couple of chairs and other things to climb on but it’s not very thrilling - I’ll definitely see what we can do with pallets and other bits as we have all sorts knocking around!

It has always made me happy to see our chooks strolling around enjoying the space and I just feel bad for them confined, but I know it’s for their own safety and I guess we can only do our best.

 

[RojoMarz]

Hopefully my chickens are thrilled more easily than I am . Add things for them to get on or under, and rearrange every so often. Stand the chairs upright for a while, then lay them down. I once had a xylophone and mirror in my chicken's run. Both seemed to be ignored by my girls.

 

[Eden83_haaretz]

Know it's not in the food category, but I've seen videos of chickens with xylophones, and they seem very entertained.
Food wise I always give them fruits as snacks, a bit of orange, papaya, cantaloupe; flour tortillas, cooked black beans; the occasional cooked fish fillet or cooked trout scraps from when I extract the fillet from the whole trout. They seem to love them all.