my chicks are bored...

[ChooksChick]

I always put the clear square plastic jars with the wide mouth that peanuts and salsa come in from Costco in there. they love those as little sleeping houses. I also give them small boxes on their sides near their heat to sleep in- they get a bit of dark that way.

 

[markandcindy]

I have 4 new babies in our brooder (a plastic bin) and put a 6" piece of 4x4 in there on its side and they jump on and off of it. Sometimes it looks like they're playing "king of the hill" and sometimes they just hang out.

 

[Sinfonian]

Great post. I did nothing and my chicks turned out fine. Whatever floats your boat.

Funny story now (in hindsight). At about 4 weeks I gave my chicks a small worm. Of course they went mad for it. My alpha got it of course and gulped it down. That done, I went to take a shower. Half way done my eldest comes in and tells me that bird is on it's side not moving. When I looked 1 minute later she was fine. Needless to say they didn't get any more worms until they moved outside.

Moral of the story, be careful what you give them to play with. Good luck and enjoy.

 

[merdock67]

I have just been putting my left hand in there and they try to peck my ring off.

 

[wingsofglory]

I sprinkle quinoa seeds and chick grit all over the chip bedding. Gives them something to find when they scratch the bedding up.

I put a pyrex baking dish full of clean sandy dirt in there for them to dust bathe in. They thought it was great to eat also. Didn't hurt them, in fact all the natural bacteria in the dirt made their poop be normal finally.

I also put them all in a 5 gallon bucket and take them outside to play on the lawn for awhile. They get cold and tired after awhile and all come try to climb in my shirt. Made friends with them this way - they had been running from me in the brooder, but all of a sudden in the big outdoors, they thought I was ok. And they take a big nap afterwards back inside.

 

[CupOJoe42]

When I stick my arm in the brooder, they all jump on it and try to walk sideways as high as they can go!! So cute! I feel like that pigeon lady in the movie Home Alone!

 

[Judy]

My broody raised chicks are out foraging from day 2 or 3, all day. If it's cold they repeatedly run under mama for a few minutes then are back at it; if it's much above 70 they only go under mama at night. To me the solution is to get them outdoors. JMO.

 

[polishchickens111]

My chicks get soooooo excited when I give them new cardboard. They spend the rest of the day playing little games, like destroy-the-cardboard-intruder-and-poop-on-him (done by taking an index-sized piece of cardboard, drawing dots on it w/ red sharpie, and standing it up in the shavings, so they can peck it down) and explore-the-cardboard-house (take cardboard and form it into something they can peck at, roost on, sit under, etc.). It is simple and inexpensive and they love it.

 

[tiny529]

Today I gave my chicks a whole head of slightly wilty green leaf lettuce. They seemed to enjoy pecking and pulling at it. After the initial "Ack! What is that?!?" anyway.