enrichment/enclosure for indoor setup (plants,toys, etc)

[Mother of Chaos]

Thanksgiving will be a mini trial run for my chickens being on their own. Just two nights, but I’ll fill the treadle feeder full, top off the two 10-gallon waterer and put a big bowl of wet mash and fruit out. I’m sure they won’t like the disruption in routine, but we live in a place that isn’t convenient for someone to stop by. The real finagling will come next fall when we take a long trip - I’m still working on he logistics of that! Fortunately, the coop is open to a secure run and deep bedding, so clean up is a non-issue.

My big concern with travel is that they want to be released from the run into the semi-protected chicken yard during the day, but we only do when we’re at home and can respond to problems or emergencies. We’re generally indoors from ~noon until 4:00, so we’re not Johnny-on-the-spot, but I’m uneasy with them being out alone from 7:00 am - 8:00 pm.

 

[Appalachickens]

My big concern with travel is that they want to be released from the run into the semi-protected chicken yard during the day, but we only do when we’re at home and can respond to problems or emergencies. We’re generally indoors from ~noon until 4:00, so we’re not Johnny-on-the-spot, but I’m uneasy with them being out alone from 7:00 am - 8:00 pm.

Yeah, I wouldn’t do that either. Mine free range only when I’m not working so I can check on them periodically. But they’ve got 168 SF of coop/run with lots of places to scratch and perch so they seem pretty content on days they can’t range.