Do you think chickens would like a playhouse?

[DobieLover]

I will be out of town for a week but if I rember I will try and video it when I come back

I would like to see that. Thank you.
Also, what else is in your run for enrichment?

 

[Lenny loves chickens]

I would like to see that. Thank you.
Also, what else is in your run for enrichment?

Swings,bug and a whole lot of tables and or kid playsets.....that are theres but they like them lol....they free range mostly

 

[HeartacheSweetheart]

It would be fun to see the chickens playing in it

 

[Sheepheart]

They would probably enjoy the play house. I have two small ones, a plastic doll house one and a smaller wooden doll house. They both are two story and open in the back. The plastic one I used do so many things with my ducks and geese. From an entry for a temporary run to nesting boxes.
Last year I Just had it out in the pasture they were spending most of their time in, and I would often time find the ducks jumping up into the second story, just because they could.
Right now I’m using the small wooden one as a nesting box for those ducks, and they have been enjoying it before they even started laying this spring. I would find one on each story and sometimes I’d find one on the roof. Now that they’ve started laying they have been climbing and jumping on it a lot less, pretty much it’s only for their eggs now.


On the comment of chickens are not kids, I unintentionally made my chickens a swing. I was attaching a new roosting bar in their coop and had one end tied up with twine while I made sure it was level and worked on attaching the other end. It’s now a permanent swing as my rooster loves rocking it back and forth.
Birds are also attracting to colors and things that do things, especially geese. I have a small collection of baby and toddler toys just for my geese. Their favorite are the stacking ring toys and one loves the toys that you clip up and when pulled on it shakes and vibrates back up. She will grab it, shake it and fully extend it, watching it retract and then do it again.
The pool ring sinkers are popular to. They like fishing them out. They run around with them. One goose will try to get all of them around her neck(so now it’s a supervised toy)
I do have a xylophone for them, you arnt big into it after they figured it out but the ducks like to walk on it and kit the keys with their bills. My ducks and chickens also love the little plastic cat balls with the bell or rattler inside. The ducklings especially. It’s like a fluffy soccer match

 

[MadGardener]

A shelter for food/water/supplements sounds great to me. A roost would be a nice addition.

DH built me a "mobile chicken spa" that has a roost plus supplements, the girls love it.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

A shelter for food/water/supplements sounds great to me. A roost would be a nice addition.

DH built me a "mobile chicken spa" that has a roost plus supplements, the girls love it.

That has a lot of potential, actually - TY for the picture. I think I'd extend it with a flat roof in the front, then wait for the goats to hog all the space underneath it.

and now I can imagine having to build four or five of those.

Maybe I should not have been so quick to thank you.

 

[MadGardener]

That has a lot of potential, actually - TY for the picture. I think I'd extend it with a flat roof in the front, then wait for the goats to hog all the space underneath it.

and now I can imagine having to build four or five of those.

Maybe I should not have been so quick to thank you.

I asked for a 45 degree roof to keep chickens off. A shallower angle would be no issue if rooftop hangouts are not a concern. DH cut 1 roof panel in half to do this, so it's just 1 piece from Lowe's. We'll swap it out for solid in a month or so. Light enough for me to carry braced against my thighs.

I do not recommend the rabbit feeders I'm using. Too much scooped oyster shell.

 

[Hermits Garden]

My daughter's pygmy goats love theirs, along with some lil' tyke playground equipment. The chickens play there, too, right along with the goats.

 

[3KillerBs]

I asked for a 45 degree roof to keep chickens off. A shallower angle would be no issue if rooftop hangouts are not a concern.

Mine love to sit on their feeder shelter. The boys, especially, use it as an overlook.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Mine love to sit on their feeder shelter. The boys, especially, use it as an overlook.

MadGardener said:
I asked for a 45 degree roof to keep chickens off. A shallower angle would be no issue if rooftop hangouts are not a concern.

During more seasonable months, my chickens will roost on the ridge of one of the hen houses, while the goats use their own house's roof as a look out. Yes, FL lets me use shallow roof designs - I like 3/12 and 5/12 pitch for my area.