Entertaining the girls...

[SuzetteWV]

What do some of you put in your coops/pens to give the girls something to do to keep from boredom and hen pecking. With winter coming, I foresee them in the coop more often. I put a couple swings in my pen, but theMy coop is large. 12 x 6 ft. with 7 birds. Thanks for any tips that have been successful.

 

[HappyClucker7]

Put lots of roosts and perches in there for them. You can hang vegetables for them to peck at. You can also throw some dirt and leaves in the coop for them to scratch through.

 

[AltonaAcres]

Mine never seem bored, even in the winter months. I do scatter scratch in the coop and sometimes the run, as well as laying down straw and shavings over the snow so that they can still get outside. Usually when it's cold they aren't in the mood for doing anything, they just hunker down and huddle up. You could also try a treat block so they could peck at it throughout the day.

 

[sourland]

Hanging heads of cabbage, hanging flock block, anything that they can peck at.

 

[CluckerFamily]

In the run I have roosts, an old wringer washer stand, and cedar stumps. Sometimes I add new things like a lawn chair, a ladder, or a unused side table.
In the winter, I add empty water bottles that I drilled holes into and filled with feed or treats, I make my own flock blocks but you can buy these, I put in vegetables that I have in the basement: cabbage, pumpkins, squash, apples, etc., my chickens also love snow and the way I winterize the run a lot of snow can't come in so I shovel snow into the run for them to eat.

 

[3KillerBs]

Give them a big pile of fall leaves to dig through.

Give them a couple intact straw bales to tear up.

Give them things to sit on and things to hide under and things to walk around -- anything to break up the space and offer both vantage points and hiding spots.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Roosts. Piles of dried grass, leave, weeds. Any sort of clutter including stumps, sawhorses, old patio furniture, etc: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/