How to tell if chickens are happy and what do chickens like to play with

[45lk9p459gm-w]

Chickens will wag their tails to show they're happy.

Hey .... mine too. Throw out some scratch and the heads go down, the tails go up, and then they just wag, wag, wag .....

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

An active hen is a happy hen. If they're not squabbling with each other or pecking each other too much they're not bored. Mine will voice their opinion if they're bored but that's a personality thing-you know your chickens. If you think they're bored they probably are. Treat balls and mirrors and stuff to dig in, peck at or play with are all good fun

 

[rosemarythyme]

They really don't need stuff to play with in particular. Having some variety of stuff in the run should keep them plenty busy, from piles of dried leaves or hay to things to climb on or run around.

Not sure how you'd test chicken happiness though... too bad they can't fill out a tiny survey!

 

[3KillerBs]

Chickens don't play the way humans, dogs, or even parrots play.

They are happy when they have the space and facilities to engage in normal chicken behaviors such as:

Foraging,
Scratching,
Digging,
Dusting,
Sunbathing,
Perching,
Interacting with each other in a natural way in an uncrowded environment.

You can tell that they're happy because they are doing ordinary chicken things instead of bullying, feather-picking, screaming incessantly, etc.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The best "toy" you can give your chickens is to make sure they have enough room in the coop, on the roosts, and outside.

Happy is such a human concept. Think more about content. They will have spurts of activity but a lot of the time they are very content to just lay around. They are not going to eat all the time, actually a limited amount of time. The same with perching or anything else. Just laying around can be valuable downtime for them.

How can you tell they are content? Mainly they are not hurting each other. There is nothing wrong with giving them access to dirt so they can take dust baths, scratch, or just lay around in it. They will use places to perch if they want to, adding clutter helps improve the quality of what space you have. Certain treats or foods can keep them occupied a little bit of the time. Most of this stuff is more for your benefit than to fulfill any need of theirs. It makes you feel better that you are doing something for them. There is value in that too, you enjoy your chickens more. But I think there is more value in giving them enough room than any of this other stuff.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

If they're not squabbling, bullying, or wall pacing, I tend to see them more content. Mine don't really do a lot of the normal chicken stuff though like eating scraps or scratching the ground for treats. Honestly they seem to just enjoy being with each other