Anybody have any ideas for chicken entertainment?

[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.

 

[mamadawn]

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

 

[klyn]

These are some great ideas! I love this thread!

 

[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.

 

[Noobie farmer]

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.

Excellent idea.

 

[Jean48]

Hi Jeannie 48 I posted a question a while back asking dose each hen need to have there own nesting box of there own, when laying there eggs

 

[kubotafoot]

NO, they can share, but I find about one box per 5 hens is enough. Some times I have a "waiting line" and the hens get a little huffy, and some times there are 2 to a box, but they eventually work it out and all is well. I use old milk crates where I have cut down and sanded the edge of one side to it isn't sharp from the saw. In the winter, I put cardboard on the 3 open sides for draft protection and encouraged darkness (mine like to lay in secluded, dark spots) and in the summer I open it up for breezes to pass. Have fun!

 

[kubotafoot]

You might find it necessary to put some hardware cloth on top of those raised beds to keep the hens from scratching everything out. The winter rye I plant for their "grass appetite" then grows through the hardware cloth when it gets taller and the hens peck and mow it down. It grows more and they mow more, sometimes picking the whole piece out by the roots, but a lot stay in place to grow another day. After a time, I remove the hardware cloth and let them "have at it." It is great fun for them.On another note, for those of us who do have the luxury of lawns and mowing them, as long as you don't use chemicals on your lawn, catch the grass and distribute it in different areas in their hutch/coop/run. They will spread it out in no time flat and then eat it up like candy. I always dry a garbage bag full of it for use in the winter, when they have no outside access. I mist the bag and shake it about 4-5 times and then pile it in the coop. They go bonkers, especially in the winter got those greens and what they do not eat, mixes with the deep littler method I use for winter and keeps the ammonia smell that used to arrive about mid March away. I am not scientist, but something about the grass and nitrogen making all well in the coop. Just a thought for us lawn folks.

All the best-

 

[kubotafoot]

By the way Jean48....Where are you located, and welcome to the simple and fun world of raising chickens.