Chicken Toys?

[nolotus]

I raised chickens a long time ago so I am having to relearn most everything. When I had them before I just let them out to free range and chase grasshoppers - we have tons of grasshoppers arrive every summer. It never occurred to me that they could get bored. I never heard of bored chickens or providing entertainment for them before. (Actually, since joining BYC I've found there are a LOT of things I never thought of before.) So what's the deal with chicken toys??

 

[deidreg]

Welcome back to raising chickens. Search "chicken toys" or " boredom busters" in this forum to find some recent threads on this topic. For people who don't free range, the idea is to keep chickens busy so they don't get on each others nerves. I make the different "toys" with household stuff. No need to spend money on toys.

 

[nolotus]

Thanks!

 

[aart]

So what's the deal with chicken toys??

Mostly it's about the keepers....and the 'pet' chicken craze that has them playing musical instruments.
Many 'toys' are food based....not a good idea, IMO.
But it is good to have things in the run that they can climb on and under and behind.
Here's some good ideas:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/

 

[nolotus]

Thanks for the perfect explanation and I'll stay away from food based toys. Wish someone would keep those away from me! I'll check out the link. Thanks.

 

[kelzey]

there’s a bunch of threads about keeping your run cluttered- they are really useful! you could repurpose old items and turn them into things your chickens can get in, on and such. i took a large old stump that i found (basically rotting, bugs seem to like it which is a plus) and put it in their run and they love it. having a roost or platform type thing outside in the run is also really good- i just took a long sheet of scrap plywood and attached it right onto the end of my run like 4 feet up and it’s honestly my girls favourite thing. they jump up on it and back down so much during the day! chickens are quite simple when it comes to that. also adding organic matter (wood chips, leaf litter or spent shavings from their coop) onto the floor of the run provides them something to scratch through and look for bugs in

 

[3KillerBs]

You might like some of the ideas here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-“chickens-101”-articles-don’t-mention.76003/

 

[nolotus]

there’s a bunch of threads about keeping your run cluttered- they are really useful! you could repurpose old items and turn them into things your chickens can get in, on and such. i took a large old stump that i found (basically rotting, bugs seem to like it which is a plus) and put it in their run and they love it. having a roost or platform type thing outside in the run is also really good- i just took a long sheet of scrap plywood and attached it right onto the end of my run like 4 feet up and it’s honestly my girls favourite thing. they jump up on it and back down so much during the day! chickens are quite simple when it comes to that. also adding organic matter (wood chips, leaf litter or spent shavings from their coop) onto the floor of the run provides them something to scratch through and look for bugs in

Thanks Kelzey. I have a hard time throwing anything away so it will make me happy to be able to repurpose some things. And looking for stuff to use will help pass the time until I can order my chicks!

 

[nolotus]

You might like some of the ideas here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/blocks-bricks-and-pavers-the-critical-chicken-keeping-equipment-the-“chickens-101”-articles-don’t-mention.76003/

Thanks for the link. I'll go check it out. This cluttering instead of the decluttering I'm trying to do in the people house sounds like fun!