Submit your ideas on helping beat winter boredom in the coop/run

[skand]

Quote:
My DD has a cricket habitat and they hatch their own babies....they are HER pets....but I sneak some out for a snack for the chickens.

hahaha If I suggested that, Jim would get way overboard on it. We already have a 'pet room'

 

[spook]

We take food quality wheat, oat and barley seed and toss that into the litter, also they do get scratch in the afternoon for bed time. Also they get bread, veg and meat scaps, plus the extra rice, cereal etc. I also give them hot mash in the mornings, its like with us, we like to have warm coffee or cereal in winter, so do they!
All your ideas are super interesting and that recipe sounds like something I'll need to try!

Oh Steve, dunno about that clown suit, production will go down- and the neighbors would have to laugh...

 

[BJ]

Great ideas. I will give the crickets a try...sounds like fun to watch! I think I'll try the cabbage on a string too.

Does anyone have chicken run "playground" equipment?!

 

[cheeptrick]

Quote:
I've got a handmade tree branch ladder... They seem to like it when they are not free ranging...when they are free ranging they all have this tree that my daughter climbs with them...they roost up there together (dd's and chickens together it is a funny sight)!!

 

[danamillette]

Quote:
Chicken woman, sounds like a great idea! How much milk do you put in, enough to get a certain consistency?

 

[ranchhand]

I started making suet blocks for the wild birds years ago. Finally hit me one day, gee, I bet the chickens would like them. Duh!

I get beef fat scraps from the local butcher, (cut all the lean off, it will rot), melt as far as they will melt and add birdseed, oats, dry cat chow, cornmeal, stale bread, scratch feed, just whatever leftovers are around the kitchen. Chill in an old cake pan and cut into blocks. An old piece of chicken wire or hardware cloth makes a cheap holder. I hang it a bit high, so they get some exercise while pigging out. They love it and they get exercise as well as some extra fat during the winter. Don't do this in the summer, or you'll be raising flies and roaches. The suet mix freezes fine, so I do big batches. The fat stinks while melting, so don't do this when company is coming. A crockpot type cooker works well for the melting, if you do it stovetop you need to be their every minute- major fire hazard!

Sometimes I make popcorn balls, rolled in birdseed, and they LOVE those. (So do the squirrels- we are a certified wildlife habitat, too. )

We have some old lumber and brush piles around here. I sometimes "direct" the chickens over there, then knock the pile around. They LOVE the bugs, and will fight for a roach!

The whole idea is to figure free or cheap ways to keep the chickens busy and warm. Just look around you, you probably have tons of potential toys, food, etc, then make it safe for them. Gotta think like a chicken !

 

[waynesgarden]

Just about every thing a chicken engages in is directly related to a few main activities, such as eating and sex and egg laying. I'm not sure that chickens are actually capable of being bored. It's not like they're teenage boys. (OK, forget the egg-laying and they are, but still....)

I think all the ideas we have to keep the birds from being bored are to keep us entertained.

Not a bad thing, really.

Wayne

 

[ranchhand]

Good point waynesgarden!

But if I get slack about entertaining mine, they start pecking at each other. Or me. I learned many years ago to NEVER let them see bare feet or earrings, rings, etc. I had one that got a diamond earring out of my ear- I got it back before she ate it! Wouldn't that have been a few interesting days........

I really like cheeptrick's idea of ladder or tree- I'm thinking on it now. Got lots of dead trees and branches here.

As an aside to your comment, a very dear little old lady once told me "Never trust a man who doesn't carry a pocketknife". After moving out to the sticks, I say never trust anyone without a pocketknife!

 

[cheeptrick]

I have a mixed flock of bantam and standard sizes....I think it is important to provide a place for the smaller chickens to HIDE...I have a nest box that the opening is very small and my bigger hens and rooster cannot fit in this nest box...my bantams are in there all the time laying and keeping warm. It is nice if anyone starts bullying the little ones!

 

[LynneP]

What great ideas! Keeping the layout of the coop 'interesting' helps too. By designing carefully and partitioning, the birds don;t often meet in a confrontational stance. They will dig around more for treats in the bedding and are more vigilant about what's happening around them. I often see one peeking over a bale at me, or clucking back from a nest box. They like to run around object, climb their ramp, play on platforms and run in and out of the pop door from the inside to the outside platform. They're *busy*, in other words. The flock of only 12 birds has more than double the minimum recommended floor space, a reason to exercise, and interesting treats to retrieve. They have a window for natural light and an early-morning light to begin their laying day. It's Dec. 11 and we get 11-12 eggs daily. They're excited to see me or my husband, love to be held or carried on shoulders and their feathering is adequate for the cold. Water is always liquid, hopper feeder is always full.

Some of you are doing an amazing job, it shows what thought and intelligence you're put into raising your birds, and that makes it so easy to care for them. What motivation! I'm convinced it makes them healthier too.