Toys for chickens?

[MCarney]

Am I crazy? I feel like our little guys get a little bored. I know they're intelligent so I would imagine that they get bored. One spots a speck and pecks at it, then all 8 are pecking and digging and kicking. Are there any interactive items for them to investigate/play with? Anyone have any homemade things they've put together? Thinking of putting a little box in with them to jump around in...

 

[Wyorp Rock]

How big is your brooder?
You can put a perch in there, a pan of dirt with a plug of sod (dust bath! something to pick at!), a box for them to jump on is a good idea.

How old are the chicks?

 

[roheryn]

We put in a styrofoam ball wrapped in aluminum foil. They love the shiny texture and push it all around the brooder. Also, bird bells are a good toy. But definitely something for them to climb up on or run around like a box or a perch.

 

[MCarney]

How big is your brooder?
You can put a perch in there, a pan of dirt with a plug of sod (dust bath! something to pick at!), a box for them to jump on is a good idea.

How old are the chicks?

They are about 2 weeks old but very active. The brooder bow they're in now is one of those big long sterilite containers while we build a bigger brooder for their next big move.

 

[MCarney]

We put in a styrofoam ball wrapped in aluminum foil. They love the shiny texture and push it all around the brooder. Also, bird bells are a good toy. But definitely something for them to climb up on or run around like a box or a perch.

We'll have some perches for their next brooder box when they're a little bigger. But the aluminum ball sounds fun. They already love my rings and my hangnail!! haha

 

[aart]

for their next brooder box when they're a little bigger.

I'll bet they are well and ready for a bigger space.

The foil thing made me cringe,
make sure they can't peck off a piece and swallow it.

Some pieces of lumber, bricks for climbing on can work well to 'amuse' them.
Stack them up in various to get up on and/or under.

 

[rosemarythyme]

They really don't need toys. They'll amuse themselves just fine with ample space and some outdoorsy stuff like some branches to climb on or a dish of dirt to dig around in.

she's alot smaller than our other buffs, and she hasn't eaten today. I know that some do poorly and we lose them but I'm wondering if there's anything you could suggest? She doesn't have diarrhea, and as of yesterday was still picking at the food and drinking ( I added the electrolytes/probiotics - one had pasty butt already) I feel awful. I get attached to animals pretty easily. Their brooder is a solid 95 degrees.

Your brooder is set too hot, which might explain the pasty butt. Drop the warmer section of the brooder closer to 85-90 and the cooler section should be about 10 degrees cooler if not more. Also since you didn't mention it, you don't have the lid of the tub on correct, or if it's on, most of it has been replaced by wire for ventilation?

The chick that isn't as active could possibly a failure to thrive case though it's tough to tell. She has to eat, so try partitioning her from the others and offering her food that's been wetted so it's a soft, thick consistency. You could try hard boiling an egg as well and chopping it finely and offering that to her.

 

[roheryn]

The foil thing made me cringe,

You do have to watch them and make sure they aren't pulling it apart. I would change the ball every other day or so, and when they got aggressive with it, I removed it. But they love running into and pecking hanging bells and mirrors.

 

[MCarney]

I'll bet they are well and ready for a bigger space.

The foil thing made me cringe,
make sure they can't peck off a piece and swallow it.

Some pieces of lumber, bricks for climbing on can work well to 'amuse' them.
Stack them up in various to get up on and/or under.

Yes. I'm a vet tech of nearly 20 years and although I have limited avian experience, I know a lot about babies and foreign bodies.
Their coop has a lot of nice big branches we've smoothed down for them and placed all over. Can't wait to let em rip when the time comes.
I do have one little buff that seems to be doing poorly today. I'm concerned. You seem to know your stuff. She's about 2 weeks old and huddled off under their heater. Not as active as the rest (they're whipping around in there like maniacs), she's alot smaller than our other buffs, and she hasn't eaten today. I know that some do poorly and we lose them but I'm wondering if there's anything you could suggest? She doesn't have diarrhea, and as of yesterday was still picking at the food and drinking ( I added the electrolytes/probiotics - one had pasty butt already) I feel awful. I get attached to animals pretty easily. Their brooder is a solid 95 degrees. I'm at a loss here. ugh.

 

[aart]

Pics of brooder might would help here.
Agrees 95°F at 2 weeks is way too hot.

Here's my notes on chick heat, hope something in there might help:

They need to be pretty warm(~85-90F on the brooder floor right under the lamp and 10-20 degrees cooler at the other end of brooder) for the first day or two, especially if they have been shipped, until they get to eating, drinking and moving around well. But after that it's best to keep them as cool as possible for optimal feather growth and quicker acclimation to outside temps. A lot of chick illnesses are attributed to too warm of a brooder. I do think it's a good idea to use a thermometer on the floor of the brooder to check the temps, especially when new at brooding, later I still use it but more out of curiosity than need.

The best indicator of heat levels is to watch their behavior:
-If they are huddled/piled up right under the lamp and cheeping very loudly, they are too cold.
-If they are spread out on the absolute edges of the brooder as far from the lamp as possible, panting and/or cheeping very loudly, they are too hot.
-If they sleep around the edge of the lamp calmly just next to each other and spend time running all around the brooder they are juuuust right!

The lamp is best at one end of the brooder with food/water at the other cooler end of the brooder, so they can get away from the heat or be under it as needed. Wattage of 'heat' bulb depends on size of brooder and ambient temperature of room brooder is in. Regular incandescent bulbs can be used, you might not need a 'heat bulb'. If you do use a heat bulb make sure it's specifically for poultry, some heat bulbs for food have teflon coatings that can kill birds. You can get red colored incandescent bulbs at a reptile supply source. A dimmer extension cord is an excellent way to adjust the output of the bulb to change the heat without changing the height of the lamp.