Bored Chickens! Any Fun Ideas?

[DaisyBuff]

Quail seem to be more wild than chickens in my experience. They also won't roost normally. Give her a hide and a small morrow and she should be fine

Okay Thanks a lot!

 

[DaisyG2317]

Agree with people suggesting mirrors, mine are obsessed with theirs, particularly one of my girls named Gracie. She stares at herself all day. A superstar in her own mind.

 

[DaisyBuff]

Agree with people suggesting mirrors, mine are obsessed with theirs, particularly one of my girls named Gracie. She stares at herself all day. A superstar in her own mind.View attachment 2398731View attachment 2398733

Thanks for your feedback by the way you're chickens are pretty.

 

[DaisyG2317]

Thanks for your feedback by the way you're chickens are pretty.

Thanks!

 

[Ridgerunner]

How much room do they have? Everything you describe is a sign that they are over-crowded. Giving them more room is the best bored-buster I know. So how much room do you have? What do you have to work with so maybe we can give ideas.

 

[NatJ]

How much room do they have? Everything you describe is a sign that they are over-crowded. Giving them more room is the best bored-buster I know. So how much room do you have? What do you have to work with so maybe we can give ideas.

It's in the first post:

Chicken coop size( above run) is 5 by 10. Chicken run ( below coop) is 50 square ft. Quail coop is 3 square ft.

And the number of chickens is also in the first post:

I have 6 chickens. 5 Rhode Island Reds, and 1 golden fluffy buff Orpington named Daisy. I also have 1 Coturnix pet quail named Alice

The usual guidelines are:
4 square feet per chicken in the coop (6 chickens would need 24 square feet, they have 50 square feet)
10 square feet per chicken in the run (6 chickens would need 60 square feet, they have 50 square feet)

So if the quail continues to live separately, the run is a bit too small for that number of chickens but the coop should be fine.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't know how I missed that but I sure did. Thanks.

I personally don't believe in magic numbers for how much room chickens need. You can follow the link in my signature below to see why. Space in the coop or space in a run is a human concept, not a chicken concept. Chickens just know how much space is available when they need it, wherever it is. If the run is available when they need it then it's part of the equation. If it is not available it is not. It may not be available because you locked them in the coop only or you may have weather that keeps them out of the run.

In general you should have enough room, that's more than many people on this forum provide, at least for the chickens. (I don't have experience with quail.) So something else is going on. How old are the chickens? Is there an age (maturity) difference? Are they going through adolescence? What sex are they? Is there one troublemaker or are they all involved? When did this start and what was it like before. Chickens going through puberty can get violent, especially if one or more boys are involved. Even an all-girl flock has to set up a pecking order. Usually that is pretty calm but it can involve fighting. Even after it is set up it can change. I have had one chicken just develop a strong dislike for another chicken for no known reason.

You can try adding things for them to get under, behind, or over. That can help. You can try treats, that can distract them for a while but you want to keep treats to 10% maximum of their total diet. You never know what will help. But this sounds like something other than boredom.

 

[DaisyBuff]

It's in the first post:


And the number of chickens is also in the first post:



The usual guidelines are:
4 square feet per chicken in the coop (6 chickens would need 24 square feet, they have 50 square feet)
10 square feet per chicken in the run (6 chickens would need 60 square feet, they have 50 square feet)

So if the quail continues to live separately, the run is a bit too small for that number of chickens but the coop should be fine.

I can add 10 more feet on to the run so they can have more space, Thanks!

 

[aart]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/

 

[tripletfeb]

I rake leaves into my chicken's run. They spend hours scratching and pecking through the leaves to find bugs and yummy stuff