Bored Chickens...how to entertain them?

[goldensunriseranch]

When I feed the goats and horses and always toss some of the hay into the chicken pens. They love scratching through it and picking out bits. And bunches of fox grapes that grow wild here seem to be a hit also. The free rangers jump for them too. Mine seem to be waaaaay more interested in edible items.

 

[Opa]

You might want to be careful about putting string where chickens can get to it. Twice I have had chicken ingest several feet of string. I didn't dare try to remove it so I cut it close to their beaks and hoped for the best. Evidently they digested it because its been several weeks.

 

[LynneP]

I poke stalks of ryegrass and alfalfa in the mesh of the hardware cloth so they can pull them in and play. As they get older I'll offer cabbage, squash, pumpkin and other foods. They're only 9 weeks old and I find they still spend a lot of time in group naps, jumping up when 'someone' decides it's time to play. They also have a sandbox treated with DE, which they adore, hay bales for jumping around and a platform outside the pop doors.

 

[fluffandpuffchicks]

my 3 Rhode Island Reds and California White like to pick apart the inside of a pumpkin and they eat the whole thing. They are still playing with the stump!

 

[mkhenderson17]

My chickens get flock blocks from tractor supply. they peck at them and keep them busy. Also they get bird toys. During the fall I buy a bunch of pumpkins and freeze them in a seperate freezer so they have something to peck at in the winter. they also get fresh pumpkins too THEY ABSOLUTELY LOVE PUMPKINS!!!! It keeps them busy for a long long time.