Entertaining my ladies

[Rhondaroostey]

Hello I am having trouble keeping my hens entertained and have only been successful with hanging lettuce and perches I have already tried apples on a stick chicken crack in a water bottle and a few others but they just don't seem entertained at all!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Chickens long to forage, scratch and peck. Letting them free range is the best way to fulfill them. If that isn't possible than bringing stuff for them to forage through can help. Things like sod clumps, pulled weeds from the garden, hay, sand, compost, things like that can keep them busy. Turn your run into a deep litter run, toss in some scratch and they should happily forage. You also can lay down boards or stones in the run and occasionally turn them over for some fresh bug foraging.

 

[NotSoChickenLove]

Mine like plain, air popped popcorn, and it takes them all day to manage to eat it. They pick up each popcorn and whack it on the ground to break off tiny pieces. Mine LOVE a cob of corn hung up. It did take awhile to get them to realise what corn was. I also have an old plastic parrot mirror that I hang in their run every so often. They're very vain creatures! Every time I check on them they're preening in front of the mirror. I think what they like most is a huge pile of greenery dumped in a corner. It's thoroughly pecked through and spread all over when I come back. Mine have a sand floor, so I also sometimes dump a big pile of new sand in, with dried mealworms mixed through the top layers. They'll spend hours spreading it around looking for mealworms, and more hours rolling in it.