Boredom Eating for Hens

[Roux]

Have you considered growing sprouts for them? I'm in the process of sprouting wheatgrass & clover for my kiddos so they can get some good fresh stuff in the dead of winter.

 

[hensdeliverthegoods]

These are all great ideas, I think I'll look up some information online on what zoos use for "enrichment" activities for their birds. That is, if I can wrestle the keyboard away from the hen...she's building her "MyCoopSpace" page....

 

[bjcoop]

Thanks so much for the great ideas! I'll run out there and take the cabbage out. When I put them to bed last night they hadn't touched the cabbage other than running fast under it to get to the other side. LOL Maybe I'll go get an old sawhorse to put by the window. Didn't think of adding more stuff to jump on. Thanks! Plus growing something now is a great idea too. Have to look around....
--bjcoop (brrrrrrrr) we're supposed to get between 1-2 ft of lake effect snow this weekend--beginning tonight. Guess they will be not going out in the pen anytime soon....

 

[hooligan]

I know of many rescues that feed cabbage to their flocks. They don't hang it but they do but it on a stick in the middle of the yard and let them at it. It helps to cut out a chunk first though, so they get the idea

Piles of leaves are good too but I made the mistake a few times of raking up all the leaves and then going back out later to bag them up just to find no leaf pile anymore!
Also tied up bunches of greens like, collard/turnip etc. These my birds liked hung from the ceiling and hanging down just a few inches off the ground.

 

[Kaneke]

for what it's worth, I got one of those "wild bird seed bells" and hung it at beak height; the girls have been having a wonderful time pecking at it and getting it to swing a bit ... they especially love the sunflower seeds in it

 

[CovenantCreek]

Quote:
I bet they'd go bonkers over one that's all sunflower seeds!

 

[hcammack]

some enrichment I would use would be like mealworms and minnows for them to forage for. hiding things they like to eat places and chagning up their enviroment.

Henry

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
There you go, THAT's what our chickens do when they get bored in the wintertime --

They go online and hang out on chicken forums posing as herpetologists with yards full o' crocodiles and komodo dragons and xylophones and stray borzois.

The secret is revealed! Those sneaky chickens.


Pat

 

[Churkenduse]

Have you considered growing sprouts for them? I'm in the process of sprouting wheatgrass & clover for my kiddos so they can get some good fresh stuff in the dead of winter.

Thank you, I thought i was the only one that sprouted.

I like lentils, among other things. .85 cents worth of a good seed or bean, sprouts enough to last the week for me. I have 5 hungry hens.

Besides i take a nip or two now and again it is good for us, that is why I llike lentils.

I put that in atopic and was ignored.

 

[SandraChick]

I dont give them sprouted seeds...but I have grown wheat grass for them in flats. Now that they fully freerange, I don't worry about them getting enough greens....but when they didn't have access to so much greenery, I just grew the wheat seeds.

In a flat....line with newspaper if holes are too big to hold dirt
fill with dirt
cover with seeds (lots of them..you should hardly see any dirt)
water
within a few days you'll see them sprout
within 2weeks...you can put it in the run...they'll go nuts!


I also took the lid off my compost...they love to pick the worms and other treats out of there,

Sandra