deacons
Songster
Not a whole lot of new ideas to add. My husband built me this fun contraption for cabbage tetherball: http://www.communitychickens.com/2011/05/boredom-buster.html#.UmaZ0FMenNo. They do love it (hated the Halloween pumpkins I gave them though, which chickens are supposed to love, so who knows).
I also have two suet cages that I have attached in separate parts of their run, and most mornings I fill those up with some kind of leafy green, typically whichever green is cheapest at the grocery store that week. They seem to love all lettuces and really like kale or chard, though won't eat the thickest part of the stems. They have also picked all the leaves off my brussels sprout plants in the garden, and when we eat brussels sprouts for dinner, I save them the trimmings.
We've had really raw days lately, so I've been spoiling them with a little hot mash in the late afternoon: warm apple, oatmeal, a splash of molasses, layer pellets soaked in warm water, and some rice or orzo pasta. They go nuts for this stuff. It does take them some time to eat up the mash though, so I like that it gives them something to do and gets a good amount of pellets into them.
I always split any feedings- whether treats or pellets- into at least 2-3 separate eating areas. This primarily keeps them from bothering each other too much, but also encourages them to move around from bowl to bowl.
They have a huge pile of leaves in their run, as well as a few straw bales that they loaf around on. Only part of their run is covered, and even though the ground is frozen solid in the uncovered part, I have managed to keep a nice, deep dust bath area stirred up for them under cover- it's a mix of sand and peat moss. It's still light and fluffy, so gives them something to get off the really frozen ground.
I also dragged a few 2-3 foot long, extra thick, craggy branches up out of the woods and built them into a little pile (think bonfire pile). Because the logs have deep, pitted bark, I can throw scratch right on the logs, and they will have the benefit of perching on something up off the cold ground while also still getting some treats. Then as things fall down off the logs under the pile, they scrounge around under the logs looking for every last piece of corn or sunflower seed.
All this said- I do think they are pretty bored already, and it's only December. They free range for about an hour in the mornings while I do chores, and lately I've been trying to let them out from about 3:30 until they go to roost at 4:30. Since there is now snow covering the ground, they seem to be hanging out in my garage. I shoveled a little area for them to get to grass through the snow, and they will go to that spot too, but they are used to much more space to cover.
I also have two suet cages that I have attached in separate parts of their run, and most mornings I fill those up with some kind of leafy green, typically whichever green is cheapest at the grocery store that week. They seem to love all lettuces and really like kale or chard, though won't eat the thickest part of the stems. They have also picked all the leaves off my brussels sprout plants in the garden, and when we eat brussels sprouts for dinner, I save them the trimmings.
We've had really raw days lately, so I've been spoiling them with a little hot mash in the late afternoon: warm apple, oatmeal, a splash of molasses, layer pellets soaked in warm water, and some rice or orzo pasta. They go nuts for this stuff. It does take them some time to eat up the mash though, so I like that it gives them something to do and gets a good amount of pellets into them.
I always split any feedings- whether treats or pellets- into at least 2-3 separate eating areas. This primarily keeps them from bothering each other too much, but also encourages them to move around from bowl to bowl.
They have a huge pile of leaves in their run, as well as a few straw bales that they loaf around on. Only part of their run is covered, and even though the ground is frozen solid in the uncovered part, I have managed to keep a nice, deep dust bath area stirred up for them under cover- it's a mix of sand and peat moss. It's still light and fluffy, so gives them something to get off the really frozen ground.
I also dragged a few 2-3 foot long, extra thick, craggy branches up out of the woods and built them into a little pile (think bonfire pile). Because the logs have deep, pitted bark, I can throw scratch right on the logs, and they will have the benefit of perching on something up off the cold ground while also still getting some treats. Then as things fall down off the logs under the pile, they scrounge around under the logs looking for every last piece of corn or sunflower seed.
All this said- I do think they are pretty bored already, and it's only December. They free range for about an hour in the mornings while I do chores, and lately I've been trying to let them out from about 3:30 until they go to roost at 4:30. Since there is now snow covering the ground, they seem to be hanging out in my garage. I shoveled a little area for them to get to grass through the snow, and they will go to that spot too, but they are used to much more space to cover.
