Help with my coop

[kajetanwycz]

My chickens are inside their run all day long because everyone in the house is gone during the day. I would like to know ideas on how to make it more fun for them. Btw I read the article for it on the home page and it didn’t help much.

 

[Ryguy3684]

I have several perches, at different levels for them to hop around on. They also really like their cabbage ball. It's a round little cage on a rope that I can pack veggies, like cabbage, in. Pecking at it gives hours of entertainment. A dust bathing bin will provide a distraction.

 

[kajetanwycz]

I have several perches, at different levels for them to hop around on. They also really like their cabbage ball. It's a round little cage on a rope that I can pack veggies, like cabbage, in. Pecking at it gives hours of entertainment. A dust bathing bin will provide a distraction.

How long does a cabbage ball last and how do you make it?

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

How big is the run in feet by feet? How many chickens do you have?

 

[kajetanwycz]

How big is the run in feet by feet? How many chickens do you have?

I don’t know the exact measurements, but it’s pretty small. It’s as long as a small room in a house and probably like 14 feet wide.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I don't know what article you read, but things like outside perches, dust bath areas (if they haven't already dug one themselves), and piled up bedding/litter like dried leaves or straw all help keep chickens busy. Tjos article on clutter applies to keeping chickens busy as well, by giving them other things to interact with and climb on: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/

I don't do food as busy work as I don't want the chickens mindlessly eating all the time. An occasional treat is fine but a lot of people equate food to entertainment.

 

[3KillerBs]

Make sure their run has plenty of space -- a minimum of 10 square feet per bird -- and make sure their run has plenty of "clutter" to give them the opportunity to do chicken things.

This thread has loads of information on that: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/

Here are a few specific suggestions: https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-“chickens-101”-articles-don’t-mention.76003/

Other good chicken entertainment options include a straw bale with one tie cut for them to tear apart, a big pile of leaves raked out of your yard, or all the non-toxic weeds from your garden.

This is my run:

I don't do food as busy work as I don't want the chickens mindlessly eating all the time. An occasional treat is fine but a lot of people equate food to entertainment.

I agree.

And when I do food as entertainment I make them work for it -- putting into a pile of pine straw or throwing greenery into different piles in different parts of the pen.

 

[RoyalChick]

Mine can be entertained for hours by a couple of those lawn bags full of leaves. I tip them in a big heap and then watch all the fun they have.

 

[Ryguy3684]

How long does a cabbage ball last and how do you make it?

Here's a link to the one I have, but there are others out there. https://www.amazon.com/Ware-Manufac...s&qid=1631105010&sprefix=cabbage+ball+&sr=8-4.

I have 15 chickens right now, and a head of cabbage lasts them 2 days. I don't use it all the time, only because I don't want them only eating cabbage. On hot summer days, I'll freeze the cabbage to give them a cold treat.

 

[Sally PB]

It's hard to "think like a chicken," but that's what we need to do at times.

I stay away from treats as entertainment, with one exception, and that's snack time in the afternoon. But their "snack" is their regular food wetted into a mash, so it's really just a separate meal. They think it's special, they look forward to it, it's "entertainment" to them. They come running when I say, "Chickie snack!"

@3KillerBs has a great example of run clutter. To Aunt Tillie, it might look like an eyesore, a mess, a bunch of junk. To the chickens, it's their playground. Stuff to climb on! Stuff to run around/behind/under! And, best of all, stuff to scratch through!

The more I sit and watch my chickens, the more I see them scratch at the dirt. So I try to make the dirt interesting to the chickens.

Just like bored kids have behavioral issues, bored chickens have (chicken) behavioral issues.