Boring Bored Bore (-ETC.)

[SulkyBantam]

My chickens are in lockdown, it's inevitable they'll get bored especially in winter...
any ideas to keep them entertained? Bullying is not something I want to deal with right now...

• @ButtonHoarder
• @ChickForLife
• @Corbdee
• @EmmaRainboe
• @JadeFarms
• @KaLe dA QuAiL
• @CHlCKEN
• @TwoCrows
• @EVERYONE

 

[CluckerFamily]

A quick toy is a plastic water bottle, drill holes in the side, put in feed or treats. As the chickens kick it around, the food will pop out.

 

[SulkyBantam]

Good idea!

 

[JadeFarms]

Here’s what I like to do, I hang fruits and vegetables on strings and they love to peck at it. I hung carrots up this morning. I also have a swing for them, some use it and some don’t. I also like to put tires, smaller cages to run in and out of, and different perches. It keeps them really busy.

 

[SulkyBantam]

thanks Jade! I do hang veg but there isn't much to spare at the moment. I had a swing up for a long time but they ignored it. I'll look for boxes and tires!

 

[CHlCKEN]

A quick toy is a plastic water bottle, drill holes in the side, put in feed or treats. As the chickens kick it around, the food will pop out.

I was gonna say that! Try a harder-plastic one so it lasts longer. Drill holes and fill it with scratch. I hang mine from the chicken’s run roof using a thin rope so they can peck it and treats fall out. Mine have no interest in it when it’s on the ground, so hanging it is much more fun. It’s one of the most entertaining things and they really enjoy it.

Another fun hame is to get a wooden dowel, and core an apple. Put the apple on the dowel and stick the dowel in the ground. The chickens can jump up and peck the Apple! It’s lots of fun, and chickens enjoy a challenge.

 

[SulkyBantam]

All lovely ideas! THanks!

 

[CHlCKEN]

All lovely ideas! THanks!

What are they in lockdown for?

 

[SulkyBantam]

Avian flu.

 

[NightingaleJen]

We have a long dowel hanging from the ceiling, attached with a strong carabiner, with a disc about 3-4" across at the bottom. When we get really nasty weather and the girls won't go out (and the time the run roof collapsed due to ice and snow), I core a cabbage and put the dowel through the core. The birds happily peck away at it, and no worries about anyone accidentally ingesting string. I've also used zip ties and attached a bunch of carrots all around the dowel, with similar happy flock results.

I don't know if playing gentle music actually helps boredom, too, but I have taken my old radio out the few times they've been trapped indoors and played the classical station softly. It can't hurt, anyhow.