chickens acting up probably kinda bored

[snow5164]

How about throwing their food all on the ground ? Then place tree branches or stumps around for them to climb on, someone told me once their space should be like a jungle gym so I started adding stuff..... buy the square holder for bird suet and fill it up with romaine lettuce, cabbage etc.

I wouldn’t give them foil or cardboard but I have to admit I’ve put a hole newspaper in my chicken run and they’ve shredded it to a million pieces ... try it they don’t eat it .

Have fun with your babies

 

[50-45-1]

Well maybe that container idea is not a bad one.
How about 5 gallon buckets. Alot of time they are found free along the road or discarded by people.
You could almost fill them with dirt and grow sweet grass or alfalfa or something.
If you can lift them, i would have a couple dozen or so and this would be a good source of greens every week. They demolish it and you take it back out and fluff it up and reseed. You already have a source of fertelizer alavialable free!
That is if you like gardening.

 

[snow5164]

And you know what? They love to dig in fresh dirt ....you could give them a scoop of dirt with weeds and bugs in it , it’s actually good for them to eat some to build up their immunity .

 

[Sobek]

Well maybe that container idea is not a bad one.
How about 5 gallon buckets. Alot of time they are found free along the road or discarded by people.
You could almost fill them with dirt and grow sweet grass or alfalfa or something.
If you can lift them, i would have a couple dozen or so and this would be a good source of greens every week. They demolish it and you take it back out and fluff it up and reseed. You already have a source of fertelizer alavialable free!
That is if you like gardening.

I used to let them run in the yard.... and I would check on them every 30 minutes or hour... But I've been terrified of hawks and I absolutely can't live without my chickens.... I cry anytime one gets sick I love them to death... But I still want them to be as happy as they can be.... I'll make a design plan and show you what idea I had in a day or two

 

[snow5164]

Sounds good I look forward to your ideas!!

 

[New2Chicks97]

The cages I can move.. are still kind of small so I was thinking I could attach some kind of "run" into their window..... and put some type of grass in trays down... just so they can get outside but even that probably wouldn't have much direct sunlight... They have room but... I need some creative ideas to solve my issue you know... I don't think there is only one way to do everything.. I've accomplished things with my chickens that no one said I would be able to do as far as training them and their social behavior with me. so I don't believe things have to be so traditionally built. most people give me textbook answers... It's a strange situation and it requires strange solutions I guess.... I'm not complaining about anything you said just fyi I'm just saying when I ask for help I get people giving me stupid textbook answers and it can ONLY be done a certain way and they know everything kind of stuff

I don’t believe anyone is trying to give you “stupid textbook” answers. They are giving you the advice of experienced chicken keepers.

Now if you choose to come and ask for advice then you can take or leave any advice as you so choose. But I don’t believe there is a reason to be rude and suggest that other members advice is “stupid” or “textbook”.

Most people are likely not raising chickens the way you are choosing to as it sounds very unusual. So the advice you will get will most likely be based on THEIR experiences and my not suit your needs.

I guess I don’t understand what more anyone could do to help you aside from making suggestions. Maybe you could do a little Google research for caged bird raising?

 

[50-45-1]

Hi, i just wanted to say i am sorry if anything we said was insulting or know-it-alish. I think like everyone here when we dont have all the facts and our imaginations have to kick in, we jump to the wrong conclusions or mistake a situation that as you say is pretty unique.
Everyone that responds here is a lover of chickens in some way and when you proclaim your love of your birds , i understand it in my heart.
Now about those containers. I dont know your location or what your seasons are like but here in northern michigan in the spring early, i start these buckets. I plant flowers and sorry they dont look to good right now, but i use them to hold down my tarp. I have no time for weeding so i plant thru a tarp.
i had to rush out with my camera after your last post and show you what i do with the buckets.

 

[Kale Chips]

Maybe you could try posting some pictures? I think it would help us visualize and be able to come up with more creative ideas that apply to your situation! I am so glad you are trying your best to keep them happy, I love my chickens too and they are just such sweet gentle birds!

 

[townchicks]

Pictures would be extremely helpful. It sounds as though what you are calling a cage is what most of us would call a run. One thing I do for my birds that doesn't cost a thing, is to rake up the leaves on my patio and dump them in a big pile in the run. They spend all day scratching and digging in the pile and spreading it around.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Pictures would be extremely helpful. It sounds as though what you are calling a cage is what most of us would call a run. One thing I do for my birds that doesn't cost a thing, is to rake up the leaves on my patio and dump them in a big pile in the run. They spend all day scratching and digging in the pile and spreading it around.

Yes photos would help a lot. Without details or pictures I was assuming you were using very small cages, barely enough room for them to move around, and so most people on here were giving advice with that assumption. Whereas if you show a photo or two of the setup, and say, "This is their 500 sq ft pen, they get to use it all day but what else can I add that's fun?" we can get a much better idea of what you have, what you might've added already, and what someone with a similar setup might have tried.