Not sure if this would go here, but seemed behavioral? What toys/items will help keep my chickens active?

[Chris Lesley]

Would they eat the paper? or just chew on it? It seems like a good idea but I"m worried that they'd actually eat the paper

Yes that might be a concern, although my flock seemed to be only interested in taking it apart and not eating it
However, a vegetable pinata might be a good option too or a shaker for their seeds perhaps? There are plenty of DIY instructions for those online, I believe

 

[Jazzychilli]

I'm personally not a fan of using food as entertainment. Things like a dust bath, run roosts, piles of dried leaves or clumps of weeds, or just "stuff" to climb up on, go around, go under, will give chickens a variety of things to do. Even just rearranging the stuff in their run makes them want to explore it all again.

 

[Jazzychilli]

Can you tell
Me how to set up a dust bath ? I like that idea too
Thank you

 

[rosemarythyme]

Can you tell
Me how to set up a dust bath ? I like that idea too
Thank you

Doesn't have to be anything fancy - assuming you don't have loose dirt in the run available to them, it can be as simple as a pile of dirt dumped in a corner (which is what I used to do), an enclosure for a pile of dirt (I used to use a raised garden bed, or some folks use tires), or if lots of rain in an uncovered run is an issue, then the "fanciest" option is an enclosed and lidded bin.

I currently use a kid's plastic sandbox with cover and it works great. I close it up when rain is in forecast, and open up when weather is nice. Best of all it was free, people toss these things on the curb all the time for pick up.

 

[gtaus]

My chickens will have to be in their coop/run most of the time, as we are in an area with lots of predators and we don't have a fenced yard. I want my chickens to be able to move around/have stuff to do, but I'm not sure what I could use. I'm planning on putting in sand for dustbathing, and a little swing for them. I wasn't sure if an old cat toy (ball with a bell in it) would work at all? I was also planning on the occasional 'piñata' of food on a string for some fun but didn't want to make those regular. Any ideas on what to do?

I was all interested in providing my chickens something interesting to play around with in their chicken run.

My Failures: I tried some of the toys you talked about. I put a mirror in their run and they could care less. I considered building a swing for them and sent a note to a guy on YouTube that showed his chicken swings in his run. I asked him why he had no videos of the chickens using the swings. He responded that none of chickens ever used the swings he built and he was going to just take them down because they only got in his way. I bought some cat toys with bells in them and the chickens wanted nothing to do with them.

My Successes: I put some large rounds of tree trunks in with the chickens and they would jump up on them and look around. I put a yard garden cart in the run and filled it with grass clippings and daily kitchen scraps, and they liked to jump into the cart to eat the treats or sneak under the cart to rest in the shade.

That inspired me to make a pallet compost bin in the run. 3 sides of the compost bin are full pallets, but in the front the pallet was cut in half. I took the cut off half and used that as a half roof on the backside of the compost bin. So my chickens will jump up to the front half section, or even to the top of the compost bin on that half pallet, as well as perching on the top sides of the compost bin. Lots of places to climb on and there have been times when all my 10 chickens are on the compost bin in different positions.

At first I used a small cement mixing tub filled with sand to provide them with a place to take a dust bath. But chickens will be chickens and they preferred to dig into the dirt or leaves I dumped into the chicken run. That was OK because once the chicken ate all the grass in the chicken run and dug up everything until there was only dirt, I switched over to making a deep litter chicken run. I dumped in wood chips, grass clippings, and leaves and currently have about 16 inches of deep litter. Now they are really happy digging deep holes in the chicken run litter. Sometimes they dig down just far enough for a dust bath, but at other times they will scratch and peck down through all that litter eating bugs in the litter all the way down to the ground level.

In my limited experience, my chickens only really liked things that brought out their natural chicken behaviors. The deep litter in the chicken run provides them all the distractions they need all day long - scratching and pecking non stop. The compost bin provides a place for them to jump up on different levels to look around and/or sun themselves, and also provides them a shady place under the half roof if the daytime sun is too hot. Mostly, anything they can eat will be a great distraction for them. I am really liking the deep litter in the chicken run and, at this point, have given up on other ideas of toys as distractions.

 

[gtaus]

Would they eat the paper? or just chew on it? It seems like a good idea but I"m worried that they'd actually eat the paper

I shred old newspapers, bills, thin cardboard boxes, etc... and will dump that stuff in my deep litter in both the chicken coop and the chicken run. I have not seen my chickens eating the shredded paper. They just scratch thorough the shredded paper and soon it is all mixed in with the deep litter. Outside in the chicken run, the paper can decompose and worms can eat it. Then the chickens can eat the worms. Good deal for everybody.

Chickens may not be very smart, but my girls are smart enough to know the difference between shredded paper and real food that is good for them to eat. I don't think you would have to worry. Having said that, I do keep both water and commercial feed available to them 24/7, so they probably would never be hungry enough to eat shredded paper.

 

[Aunt Angus]

My chickens love being up. My best investments have been:

1) A dead peach tree leaned up against the coop (secured, of course)

2) Tree stumps

3) Random roosts placed around and moved frequently

4) Old furniture

5) Their favorite - a 2 x 6 raised up on 4 x 4s, kinda like a long, skinny table, with a ramp leading up to it

6) Really large rocks

And piles of stuff like leaves or wood chips or sand. Anything they can scratch in.

 

[black_cat]

Yes that might be a concern, although my flock seemed to be only interested in taking it apart and not eating it
However, a vegetable pinata might be a good option too or a shaker for their seeds perhaps? There are plenty of DIY instructions for those online, I believe

I've seen them where you put your treats in a plastic bottle with some holes poked in it, so they have to figure out how to get it out. I'm planning on doing both the pinatas and the treat shaker bottle things every once in a while, but don't want to too often, because I don't want too much of their diet to be treats. I especially don't want to do that when I first get them, as I am planning on getting started pullets, and will be using scratch and treats to get them used to me and get them used to the boundaries in the yard, etc.

 

[black_cat]

My chickens love being up. My best investments have been:

1) A dead peach tree leaned up against the coop (secured, of course)

2) Tree stumps

3) Random roosts placed around and moved frequently

4) Old furniture

5) Their favorite - a 2 x 6 raised up on 4 x 4s, kinda like a long, skinny table, with a ramp leading up to it

6) Really large rocks

And piles of stuff like leaves or wood chips or sand. Anything they can scratch in.

I wasn't sure about putting large rocks in because of them possibly hurting their feet on them? But I have an old wood step stool to put in, and plan on some sturdy branches for them to hop around on, and a swing and leaf piles.

 

[Aunt Angus]

The big rocks in my run are smoothish. Think like giant river rock. All of these fun things will make a run more enjoyable for your birds and help you maximize space.