Duck and Chicken Play Areas in Run - Looking for Ideas

[redrascalsranch]

I just built my ducks and chickens their coop and covered run (separate living areas in the coop, shared run but currently separated because the ducks were being mean) and I want to start adding enrichment areas for each of them. I'm not sure if they'll be permanently split up but for now I'd like to add fun things to both sides of the run. The chicken side has sand as the base and the duck side has pea gravel and a small pond. That's about it right now, aside from their food and water.

What are some things I can add that are easy to build/find for them? Most importantly, how do I make them?

Side note - if anyone has tips on getting the ducks and chickens to get along, I'm all ears haha. They will soon be free ranging in the orchard that their coop is in, just waiting on gates. Hoping that a 1/4 acre of space is enough for them not to fight in.

 

[thecatumbrella]

I can't help with the ducks, but for the chickens, I would add a dig box and fill with something that's forage-able and easy to clean out, like pine shavings. Toss some pellets or scratch in the dig box each day, and the chickens will spend lots of time trying to find all the goodies. Sand is nice from a cleaning standpoint, but it's fairly boring for chickens.