Enrichment?

[Jrobinsonmtplus3]

My girls have a large coop and a small temporary run and I am wanting to find them some things to use for enrichment. So far I have found a suet feeder with some treat blocks, and a ball they peck around for food. I'd like to hear what others have used to entertain their flock while not free ranging?

 

[Honeybee22]

A pile of short grass clippings. Mine love scratching through it. Before i made their chicken tunnel to their grassy run I would mow a couple rows each day and dump it in their dirt run. BTW, Be careful with the suet blocks. I've heard that too much fat is not the greatest for chickens.

 

[Frazzemrat1]

I throw down scratch in the morning, collect chicken safe kitchen scraps and sometimes leftovers (my chickens love lasagna!!) and I've also given them a swing and a Parrot bird toy with a bell on it.

 

[barred2rock]

Try putting some broccoli and/or kale in your suet cage and watch them go to town. Or you can hand feed it to entertain yourself as well as the birds. Some people hang a whole cabbage.

 

[Jrobinsonmtplus3]

Well it sounds like I'm on the right track then... when my husband mows I have him throw the clippings in, and if I pull weeds I'll throw them in for em. Scraps and scratch too though I've been warned to not over do those as they are not as high in protein as their feed.
How big is your parrot toy? I was looking at them yesterday and thinking the chickens would distort them in a heartbeat.

 

[aart]

Don't overdo the fresh grass clippings either....they can cause an impacted/sour crop.

Enrichment can be non-edible too...logs, stumps, roosts, pallets leaned against wall or up on concrete blocks, old wood furniture like tables and chairs, bales of straw or hay.

 

[Jrobinsonmtplus3]

Will the just pick and pull at the hay? Wish I had room for the pallets that would be fun! And I'll switch out their stumps occasionally too. They like that.

 

[Frazzemrat1]

Well it sounds like I'm on the right track then... when my husband mows I have him throw the clippings in, and if I pull weeds I'll throw them in for em. Scraps and scratch too though I've been warned to not over do those as they are not as high in protein as their feed.
How big is your parrot toy? I was looking at them yesterday and thinking the chickens would distort them in a heartbeat.

The one I ended up with was smaller than I wanted....

 

[aart]

View attachment 1116004

The one I ended up with was smaller than I wanted....

Do they actually 'play' with that thing?

I put some kitty ball cages with bells in the run once.....
....they very quickly ignored them.....not edible.

 

[Frazzemrat1]

Do they actually 'play' with that thing?

I put some kitty ball cages with bells in the run once.....
....they very quickly ignored them.....not edible.

They peck at it occasionally. Not as often as a parrot would. I really want to get them a kiddy xylophone, as I've seen mine peck at the clean bottom of an over turned metal bowl for several min at a time.