Crushed Walnut Shells (Naturally Fresh Litter) for my Hens?

[Ruffled Feathers Studio]

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What chickens consider enrichment, and what people consider enrichment for them, can often be two very different things. Swings, xylophones and other gadgets popularly sold as chicken enrichment are rarely enjoyed by the actual chickens. They are foreign, human things to them. They may peck at them once or twice out of sheer curiosity, but that's it. What chickens do find enriching, is things that encourage their natural behaviors. So things that will make them peck, scratch, perch, forage. A bunch of thick tree limb perches added to the run will be enjoyed as they mimic the branches of a tree, where chickens would roost in the wild. They don't sway and move unsteadily under the chickens' feet, as a swing would. Providing a varied and rich substrate in the run that has particles of different size and type, perhaps with some scratch thrown in occasionally, encourages foraging behavior as the chickens churn the material in search of worms, bugs, or grains. Pecking through that is a lot more enriching than pecking metal slats that have no give, no taste, and no texture (the xylophone). Think about what a chicken would naturally do, and think of what kinds of enrichment would encourage that behavior.

Thank you!