Enriching a Large Flock of Chickens

[Sadness Child]

I have 15 chickens, 1 cockerel and 14 pullets, all are Buckeyes. I just want to know the best ways to enrich them without putting them in harms way.

I have a 17' by 50' run, that is completely barren, aside from sticks, poop, and a hastily thrown together "playground". I already have plans for a 4x4 compost pile inside of the run, and a better playground around that pile of compost.

Really I am just asking what I can do to make them happier, because I am always afraid that they are to bored with their dirt.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Mine in the summer will walk in a shallow (like an inch or 2 max) pan with water

 

[Ridgerunner]

To me the biggest enrichment you can give a chicken is plenty of room. That's so important to me that I'll leave it in a paragraph by itself. With your run that size you are starting from a good spot.

Mine like to perch. It doesn't have to be very high or very fancy. Your compost pile may help with that, depending on how you build it. Something to scratch in like that compost pile is a great idea. In New Mexico shade will be very important. That doesn't just mean a cover. The sun shines in from the side too, especially late in the day, so some kind of sun block on the west may help. Which side of the run is your coop on?

This may not be very practical for you but I have fruit trees in my run, plum, peach, and mulberry. Those provide some shade but they really like to eat any fruit that drops. Another possibility is a grazing frame. Maybe make a frame out of 2x6's and cover it with wire too small for them to get their heads in it. Plant grass or other things they like to eat in there and keep it watered. The idea is that they cannot get to the roots to scratch them out and the roots get well enough established that they can't pull them out, but they can eat the bits that grow through the wire.

 

[theoldchick]

https://the-chicken-chick.com/20-winter-boredom-busters-for-backyard/

 

[Sadness Child]

To me the biggest enrichment you can give a chicken is plenty of room. That's so important to me that I'll leave it in a paragraph by itself. With your run that size you are starting from a good spot.

Mine like to perch. It doesn't have to be very high or very fancy. Your compost pile may help with that, depending on how you build it. Something to scratch in like that compost pile is a great idea. In New Mexico shade will be very important. That doesn't just mean a cover. The sun shines in from the side too, especially late in the day, so some kind of sun block on the west may help. Which side of the run is your coop on?

This may not be very practical for you but I have fruit trees in my run, plum, peach, and mulberry. Those provide some shade but they really like to eat any fruit that drops. Another possibility is a grazing frame. Maybe make a frame out of 2x6's and cover it with wire too small for them to get their heads in it. Plant grass or other things they like to eat in there and keep it watered. The idea is that they cannot get to the roots to scratch them out and the roots get well enough established that they can't pull them out, but they can eat the bits that grow through the wire.

My coop is in the corner of the run, I do not know the direction.

I have a huge Cottonwood tree over the run, but not inside the run.

I was thinking about something like that, but the soil in the run is not the best, but I was planning on possibly growing chicken safe vining plants along the fence.

 

[3KillerBs]

A good, thick layer of bedding -- whatever dry, organic material comes to hand -- will give them endless entertainment as they dig through it looking for goodies.

Give them some structure to sit on, hide behind, get under, etc. Have a look at this article for idea: https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-“chickens-101”-articles-don’t-mention.76003/

 

[aart]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/

 

[Sadness Child]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/

The only thing wrong with this is that I do not have a covered run, so I do not want my chickens flying out because my dog would eat them.