my chicks are bored...

[lilchicklover]

My chicks are 8 days old in a large brooder but they need some fun in there. they have a couple roosts but i have heard of some fun things but when i see them i can never get back to them on BYC. If anyone has any fun things to put in the brooder for the chicks please tell me my 7 chicks and sooo bored.

 

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

Do you have a thermometer in there? When my chicks were little they LOVED pecking the thermometer, knocking it over, standing on it and then of course pooping on it

.

 

[jason180sx]

give them some treats

 

[Miyashi]

I've seen people hang cd's in the brooder. Chickens love "the shiny!"

 

[Chick15]

I put a log in the brooder and sprinkled feed over it and they really liked pecking at it... maybe it is kind of like foraging? in a way?

 

[CupOJoe42]

Put a small tinfoil pie plate in there. They can peck at it and jump on it.

 

[lbartsch]

I take mine out to the yard to free range in a penned in area in the grass and they love it. After about an hour they're all tuckered out and they take a long nap. When I see them getting tired, I bring them back in.

 

[SIMPleChick]

Big rocks that they can climb on, handfulls of grass and weeds they can peck at and scratch around, dixie cup, cat balls with bells in them, big sticks and I had a milk crate upside down that they LOVED to go in and out of. I had tree limbs stuck through some of the holes of the crate and they would climb on them to get to the top or through! They loved that!

 

[tiny529]

What a great post! I was just going to post a similar thing. I'm sitting here at my computer with 5 nearly 3 weeks old chicks peeping at me like crazy. They all seem to want to come out, but once they are out, they want to go back in. Going to try some toys now!!

Edited to add... They are all staring at the cd I tossed in there as if it's something from outer space that might eat them.

 

[ChooksChick]

Get a BabyCake from ForageCakes. Soak it in a little bit of water for two minutes and then give it to them- that'll make them go nuts!

Give them a pine cone or an old piece of a stump or bark off the ground.

Give them thawed corn.

Give them a half cucumber or banana.

Give them half a yellow squash or zucchini or melon...leave the seed in!

Sprinkle feed on any of these things and stand back.