Toys for chickens?

[JenBreese]

I was wonding if we should have perches and jungle gyms in the run for the chickens. Do they play like parrots? Ours were hatched on June 10th and are headed to the run tomorrow night. Yay! No more laundry room chickens.

 

[DavidKerk]

They might like some perches. Also, hanging corn and things like lettuce on the fence is a great way of keeping them entertained. Throwing scratch on the ground is another great way to entertain.

 

[ChickenManTN]

Gail Damerow (my hero) suggests giving them a sandbox for dustbathing, and simply digging a small fresh hole in the ground once in a while so they can scratch around for grubs, etc. Her book "Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens" has really helped me a lot.

 

[chynasparks]

I have read that if you put a small ball in the run they will entertain themselves by pecking at it and chase it around. Mine didn't but give it a try. My 4 do play chase from time to time. One will pick something up someone else begins a chase to get it. They need a dust bath. They love that. It's good for them. Mostly I have a basket, one of those wire basket that had moss it it, and put veggies like cabbage and greens in it. I hang it in the run and they peck away at it. They eat up the veggies. TSC sells this toy, it's a ball you fill with seed like scratch. As they peck at it the treat comes out. Supposed to be fun. I haven't tried it but just letting you know it's there.

 

[DavidKerk]

Gail Damerow (my hero) suggests giving them a sandbox for dustbathing, and simply digging a small fresh hole in the ground once in a while so they can scratch around for grubs, etc. Her book "Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens" has really helped me a lot.

Yea, the dust bath is a must. I forgot about that! Gail Damerow is extremely smart!

 

[ChickyMomm]

Something that I do at least twice a week is put a good pile of leaves in their run. They jump on to it, roll on it, dig in it and flap their wings making the leaves fly. During the fall is a perfect time to collect big piles!

 

[ChickenManTN]

Cool idea! I know how much chickens love scratching around in the woods; never thought about giving them leaves. I wouldn't want to kill the grass in the run, but they have been in there for 3 months now and the nitrogen buildup is taking its toll. 70 square feet per chicken is not enough to save the grass, apparently. When the grass finally goes I'll start chucking in the leaves.

 

[ChickyMomm]

I know! Bugs eventually get settled into the leaves, then the chickens scan through the pile and send it all over the place! When they're done, I rake the pile back together and sprinkle a little bit of feed into it! When the leaves eventually get gross and muddy (maybe every week or so, depending on the weather) I clean up the run and plop in a fresh pile! They love it! It's like watching little kids playing in the leaves.

 

[jetdog]

I fill a suet feeder with cabbage and lettuce and hang it in the run because it spins when they try to get the greens out it keeps them busy for hours.

 

[fosterson]

Not so much a toy, but I went around to my neighbors who grew sunflowers this summer and hadn't cut them down yet. Most folks weren't interested in keeping them, so I took the dry heads. I tie the stem to some bailing twine and hang it inside from the coop roof. The hens go INSANE trying to get the seeds out...or to pull the head down so they don't have to work so hard