Play toys in brooder

[Yard full o' rocks]

Anybody ever put anything in their brooder for the chicks to mess around with? They have soooo much energy I thought it might be neat to put something in there....an empty paper towel tube, a small cereal box....just thinking they might be bored. i have plenty of space.... Any ideas?

 

[prov31gal]

we put a plastic little tykes noahs ark in there, they love to sit on the roof and go in and out the windows. the ark is the most coveted of all baby chicken hangouts in our experience!

 

[LuLuBelle]

We just have two little ramps and some sticks... but maybe they would be happier with something more exciting in there, like a paper towel tube or something..

 

[mediazeal]

I brought in a stick/limb to be a perch and they basically freaked out. I decided to take it out til they had more room in their next size brooder since they don't have enojught space for 'hiding' and for the perch.

 

[backpack09]

We have a few of the toys left from our love bird that we threw in there, a ladder and some dangly things. But they don't seem to interested.

 

[aidenbaby]

My kids wanted to build ours a lego chicken house. I nixed that idea because I couldn't imagine myself cleaning out all those dang holes. I have, however, thought about building them a few things for their run. If anyone has ideas, I'd appreciate it.

 

[Appaloosa Hill Farm]

My 2yo DD put a candy necklace in with our 3 week olds. *sigh* They LOVED carrying it around and played tug-of-war with each other. Needless to say, I took it away and threw it in the garbage.... BUT we did buy them some of those little cat balls with the bells in them. They're super sparkly in bright colors and the chicks do like them. You can hear tinkling coming from the brooder all the time!

 

[Backyard Hencam]

My chicks' favorite thing was the 5" mirror that I attached to the side of the brooder at ground level. They would sit next to it for hours. I couldn't figure out whether they liked looking at themselves or they thought the brooder had somehow become larger.

Another thing they liked was a couple of knotted raffia cords (like straw ribbon) that I hung from the wire at the top of the brooder. Everytime they walked by it they pecked at the knots. Go figure.

 

[Davaroo]

Mirror, sure. But toys? In my experience (edit) I personally suggest you dont waste your time. I've tried toys, too. Doesn't seem to be worth the bother.

Now if you want to give them something, give them a slanted perching ladder, sort of like a jungle gym they can climb on.
This gets them ready for roosting and will make the transistion easier. It also seems to calm them, somewhat.

 

[Puff]

Mine have a little turtle toy that they love, a pine cone, a toilet roll, the cardboard cup holders from a fast food place and one of those cat balls. I only put 2 in at once and like to change things around every day. The stuffed turtle toy is by far their favorite.