A big pile of grass clippings can keep them occupied for days. I think of them as the border collies of the chicken world. They are very smart, very active, very assertive birds. While those traits make them a very fun pet, it can make them a challenge for keepers with space limitations. They do need their room, or they get very grouchy and irritable.
A compost pile in the run, that you can give them access to when it needs turning over is a good idea. Stumps that can be turned over once a week to reveal all sorts of bugs adds interest as well. If you've got a tree dropping a ton of leaves, rake them up and dump in the run. A flake of hay is a good option, too. When my flock needs confining, I give them opportunities to forage in the run as much as possible by tossing scratch grains in a pile of litter or oyster shell scatter throughout.
They are fantastic foragers. If allowed to free range in a varied environment, they consume very little feed.
they seem to have almost shunned her from the flock? But then she does sometimes hang out with the lower pecking order girls especially when I let them free range, which I haven't done like at all lately, so it's not entirely. I added another branch a little while back which she now uses a lot but they are relentless. I feel AWFUL. But the weird thing is sometimes, like now, they are fine? And I don't want to get rid of them because I love all my girls and the brown layers are the best layers but I feel really bad. They've been sleeping on the roof lately and she manages but I feel terrible. Although, that said, just a few days ago I watched May (Barred Rock) be chased and have a feather pulled and I thought she was top hen, bully, so maybe it's the Australorps? They're pecky with me too but everyone is and if I chase they remember respect. I also feel like even if I get rid of them, May would just take over as top bully cause she's just as bad to her. I definitely need to finish the coop ASAP, or, I just realized last night, maybe get some more kennel panels and expand the run NOW while we work on coop? But besides that, what can I do? Should I eliminate corners or no? Here's some more pics and vid and I'll try to get new pics of the whole run so you/anyone else can see and suggest something. I also realized I probably need boredom reducers too but I also want to try to make the run itself as safe as possible for her. I thought maybe places for her to get away but I don't know how to do that without them being able to get up there too? She is light and can fly high so maybe something a little higher? They just got a pumpkin the other day or day before and had it for 2 days. That seemed to help
