Texas

[Teri Metcalf]

Chickens need toys? I understand the concept. I've had these for my dogs. But do chickens need them?


Am I driving you nuts yet with all my questions?

In another thread MsChickenMomma posted that she often hangs lettuce, apple or other food from a string in the coop, and the chickens peck on it instead of pecking on one another. That seemed like a neat idea.

 

[hensfortherapy]

@Ms J
I have had my girls for almost 3 years. I have never given them toys just room to free range. When I first got them I did not have a fenced area so I let them out of their small run at dusk fir 30 minutes and watched them until they returned to the coop to roost all by themselves.

 

[Teri Metcalf]

In another thread MsChickenMomma posted that she often hangs lettuce, apple or other food from a string in the coop, and the chickens peck on it instead of pecking on one another. That seemed like a neat idea.

I need to clarify that she uses TWINE rather than string, as twine is less likely to break and cause problems if a chicken were to ingest it.

 

[bnjrob]

Chickens need toys? I understand the concept. I've had these for my dogs. But do chickens need them?


Am I driving you nuts yet with all my questions?


Edit: Is this worth getting? The price is very good.

Our chickens love those chicken toys! No they don't need them but they like them.

I have used them at times when there seems to be some bullying going on because they are bored - like in winter/summer when the grass is dead and not many bugs to chase, and it is too hot or too wet and they aren't wanting to do much. So the chicken treat balls give them something to do instead of pick on each other. Because we use scratch/grains for training and special stuff, and not an everyday thing, getting some scratch in a ball makes the chickens think they are in heaven.

Depends on what you're going to do as far as the pre-made chick sets go. They aren't bad the first time around if you are trying to figure out how you're gonna brood chicks and don't really know what to buy. But generally, it's cheaper to buy the individual pieces than it is to buy the kit.

 

[Ms Jellybean]

I haven't seen any brand names on the nipples. Because I use a lot of them, I get them from a farm supply store in larger quantities than what most people buy them. I've seen a lot of small, backyard flock owners here on BYC say they get theirs from Ebay since they can buy in small quantities with sometimes free shipping - usually I hear it mentioned that they get them in like a 5 pack. I get mine from QC Supply online - no minimum quantity has to be ordered but shipping isn't free. The nipples run about $1.29 each. Shipping is reasonable and pretty fast as well as they have good customer service. Since they are just a few states away, Nebraska I think, stuff from them usually gets here faster than stuff I order that comes from the western or eastern sides of the country. I think I also got my nest box pads from QC Supply as well. Been very happy with them and wish they carried more of the things that I have to special order.

There are also some differences in the nipples as to how they are put in. The kind that we use with the 360* nipple to get water from any direction also comes in a screw-in or a push in type. The screw in type is good for harder surfaces to put them into - like the bottom of a bucket or PVC pipe. But once you screw them in, if you try to unscrew them, it usually messes up the threads, so you can't reuse the nipple. The screw-ins are also good for places where you can't reach inside very well to help push the nipple in - like a pipe. The push in kind has a rubber o-ring that you fit into the hole and the nipple fits inside the o-ring. You can buy replacement O-rings so you can reuse the nipple.

We use both here. I put the screw in kind into the bottom of buckets and into PVC. The o-ring push in kind goes into bottle caps so we can take the nipples out if the bottle caps need replacing for any reason.

It takes an 11/32 sized drill bit to make the holes for either type of nipple. There some places that you can buy watering buckets with nipples installed or get pre-drilled holes in buckets - good for people that don't have a drill and don't really want to buy a drill if they are only going to use it to make a chicken waterer.

Occasionally we'll have birds perching on top of the watering buckets, but with the lid on, it's no big deal. Usually about the only time someone is perching on top of the bucket is when they are being chased and they freak out and get up there to get away from a bully.

The nipples are red plastic with silver metal so that helps attracts the birds. When first getting them used to it, after they have settled down from the fright of you putting this "scary" thing in the brooder/pen with them, you can go back and play with the nipple with your finger. They make a little noise as the metal piece moves around and you playing with it makes them think there is something special they need to check out. Generally after one figures it out, the rest follow. Very similar to teaching a chick to drink by dipping it's beak into the water trough.

LOL - working from home with chickens...I do the same and understand. After you have them a while they aren't quite as distracting. Unless you are hatching. It is difficult to tear yourself away from watching a chick hatch. Even when you've seen it before. There is just something fascinating about watching food turn into something that is alive.

If you want to buy pre-made buckets but not order them and have time to take a short road trip out to Greenville, there is a great feed/general store that has nipple watering buckets in different sizes. Atwoods is just north of I30 in Greenville right on Hwy 34 in town. Heck, going to Atwoods is just plain fun if you are into "country" stuff. They have stuff other places don't have and I enjoy driving up there just to look around at the cool inventory they have.

Thank you I am not all that far from Greenville. I haven't really spent any time there so I don't know the place. I did pick up a puppy there once. lol!

I need to clarify that she uses TWINE rather than string, as twine is less likely to break and cause problems if a chicken were to ingest it.

That is a neat idea (hanging food). I always have twine on had for the garden. I can hang my herbs for them and when my pear tree bears in July I can hang pears too. I got 3 bushels of pears this year. Not sure what it will do next year. We have only lived here for a year now.


I found out the feed store near me sells organic chicken food.

Is there a brand of food (organic or not) that is better than another? I want to stay away from GMO stuff.

 

[bnjrob]

Thank you I am not all that far from Greenville. I haven't really spent any time there so I don't know the place. I did pick up a puppy there once. lol!

That is a neat idea (hanging food). I always have twine on had for the garden. I can hang my herbs for them and when my pear tree bears in July I can hang pears too. I got 3 bushels of pears this year. Not sure what it will do next year. We have only lived here for a year now.


I found out the feed store near me sells organic chicken food.

Is there a brand of food (organic or not) that is better than another? I want to stay away from GMO stuff.

If you want to go to Atwoods, if you take I30 E and get off on 34, head north across the Interstate, Atwoods is not too far into town. It's on the left hand side and they have a big sign out front of their large parking lot.

Hanging stuff is good also. I had some old suet feeders - those wire cage things - from when we lived at our old house, so I use those to put stuff in. Especially in summer when they really want green grass and there is none. I get kale and other greens and stick the stalks through the big wire holes.

Chicken feed is one of those things that you have to see what works for you and gives the results you are looking for.

We do serious breeding of large fowl, dual purpose birds, so we are looking for other things in our chickens than many people. We have done some switching around and I anticipate that we will do more changes in the future depending on the needs of the birds and whether or not the feed is giving us the results we are looking for.

Just find what you think you want and try it out. If you have problems with picking, feather eating, or outright cannibalism (yes chickens can kill and eat each other), if you are using feed that does not have an animal protein source, then I would recommend you switch to an animal protein sourced feed. Chickens are not vegetarians and there are times that if they aren't getting the right TYPE of protein, it can cause problems and they will start pecking on each other. That can happen if they are bored or too crowded, but if they are not too crowded, then look at the protein source in your feed and see if that may be the issue.

Are you drowning in information yet? It's a lot to take in. I'm still learning every day and a lot is trial and error to see what works. And just when you think you have things figured out, one of the variables will change and you are back to square one again.

 

[NickyPick]

Chickens don't need toys. They don't "play." They're whole day is devoted to food scavenging, dust bathing and just hanging out. I agree with the above - if you really want distractions or things for them to do, hang some food. Add some roosts. I'll hang a head of cabbage every so often and my girls will spend a lot of time jumping up to eat it all.

 

[Ms Jellybean]

If you want to go to Atwoods, if you take I30 E and get off on 34, head north across the Interstate, Atwoods is not too far into town. It's on the left hand side and they have a big sign out front of their large parking lot.

I am north of Dallas. I would take Hwy 380 to get there. I almost rode my bike there one Saturday when we were out exploring. We ended up north of Greenville in Leonard. There are some real interesting city names around here, like Frog Not. lol!

Just find what you think you want and try it out. If you have problems with picking, feather eating, or outright cannibalism (yes chickens can kill and eat each other), if you are using feed that does not have an animal protein source, then I would recommend you switch to an animal protein sourced feed. Chickens are not vegetarians and there are times that if they aren't getting the right TYPE of protein, it can cause problems and they will start pecking on each other. That can happen if they are bored or too crowded, but if they are not too crowded, then look at the protein source in your feed and see if that may be the issue.

I know chickens have a pecking order and can kill other chickens. Did not know they would eat them though! I know you can feed a chicken chicken and it will eat it,,,,not about cannibalism though. I will be sure to get a good type of protein that is also not too high. Read too high was bad to ferment.

Are you drowning in information yet? It's a lot to take in. I'm still learning every day and a lot is trial and error to see what works. And just when you think you have things figured out, one of the variables will change and you are back to square one again.

Drowning? Not quite, but a bit overwhelmed. I think I need to let things stew for a bit before tackling more. Right now keeping seahorses seems like a breeze compared to keeping chickens.... Yes, I have kept seahorses. Gave up the saltwater tank after we downsized last year.

 

[Ms Jellybean]

Chickens don't need toys. They don't "play." They're whole day is devoted to food scavenging, dust bathing and just hanging out. I agree with the above - if you really want distractions or things for them to do, hang some food. Add some roosts. I'll hang a head of cabbage every so often and my girls will spend a lot of time jumping up to eat it all.

I was thinking of getting a large branch/tree limb to put in the run for them to hang out on and jump around and whatever their littles brains think they can do with a big branch.

When I kept parrots I always made sure I had real branch perches in the cage to exercise their feet and give them different sizes of perch to grasp so they wouldn't get cramped feet. Does the same hold true for the roosts in a coop or doesn't it matter since they are on the ground so much?

 

[NickyPick]

Chickens are a walking bird more than a perching bird. That said, they do like to get up on things. I have a couple of chairs and an upside down water trough as well as some large branches scattered throughout the area they range on. When not eating, they'll be congregating on those perches. Just make sure if you use chairs, it's the kind with a lot of holes, otherwise, you won't have a place to sit with them. <g>