I think I found the problem!

[Chickie-chan]

This is my first year with chickens. So, lately my chickens (3) have been acting really strange. They would always be rushing to the door of the run and be jumping or pacing around to get out when I go out to see them and they have been pecking at me. For the longest time, I couldn't find out what they weren't happy with until I had an idea (while roaming around the website). I came up that the reason why they might not be happy was because they were bored. They wanted something to do and since they were bored inside the run they want to get out of it.
Now that I got that straightened out, I need help coming up with ideas with how to keep them busy. Every once in a while we will give them leftovers and scraps but what can I keep out there all day long and still have them entertained?

 

[Rhoise]

I have put in a flake of hay, grass clippings, leaves, a pumpkin, squash of various types, watermelon..........or last summer drilled holes all over and in a small gatorade type plastic bottle with a 1/4" drill bit and put scratch inside it, that keeps em busy for hours. One or two figure out how to roll it and the others stand weighting to pounce on what comes out....Search this site there is alot of ideas like putting logs/stumps, perches, and rocks to climb on, hanging things like a cabbage to peck at, I have a wild bird suet cage i use for a treat dispenser but they can empty that in twenty mins lol! mirrors can be funny but the novelty doesn't last long with my girls. Their favorite thing is to scratch around in stuff(leaves hay dirt etc) and do what chickens do......

 

[gibsterl]

Mine love to peck at hanging cabbages or pumpkins...it takes several days for my flock of 6 to eat a head of cabbage.

 

[1muttsfan]

A flake of hay or straw will also keep then busy.

 

[Ullie]

A flake of hay or straw will also keep then busy.

I'm not sure if we should be concerned with feeding the chickens hay or alfalfa. I was until I seen photos on this site of chickens that had surgery on their impacted crops. They were filled with hay??

 

[1muttsfan]

My birds have hay and/or straw in the run from fall to spring

 

[Chickie-chan]

These are great. Thanks guys!