what do you all do to keep your birds from being too bored all winter?what do you feed for treats?

[chicknmania]

We use an apple or an ear of corn on a tether so it hangs at beak height. To make it not TOO frustrating, (since it swings a lot) we hang it so
it's possible to trap it against a wall or other object, thereby at least getting a chance to get a bite. I cut a slice out of the apple too, so they don't have to peck through the swinging apple's peel,
as well as trap it. We don't do this all the time, just once in a while. They do seem to enjoy it. And we get a lot of entertainment from watching them.

The feed stores sell "flock blocks" too, we usually get one in winter, for them to mess with.

By the way, you don't need a heat light, the birds keep each other warm. Although it's tempting to in the kind of temperatures we've been having lately....

 

[smccuen]

I scoop some compost from the bin and pile it in their pen and they go at it. I stuff spinach leaves into a wire spiral and hang that in the pen. And they get mealworms or raisins most days.

 

[lolasflowers]

Ours not only like cabbage but they enjoy pumpkins as well. The frozen pumpkins (or any kind of squash) get smashed with a hammer. They love it!!!!

 

[kaybats]

I can't keep mine in green cabbage. I hang them on the fencing and it keeps them occupied for hours. I have 20 chickens at the moment and some days it only takes one day for the cabbages to be down to the nubs !!

gosh...lucky you....i tried the cabbage ball thing and it hung there for a week...untouched. took it down, cooked it, and offered it again. it was gone in minutes....spoiled chickens

 

[Triplell]

Wells it has been 0f during the day with -20f at night plus - windchills. In the morning I give all 61 of them whole oats to start their day. In the afternoon I do a 2nd egg collection and they get their pens mixed up so they look for lost treats. At night they get scratch mixed in with some layer/meatmaker mash with warm water. I do rotate treats from carrots, cabbage, pasta, bread, Apple's, to banana. When I make their mash they get some powdered milk plus a vitamin pack as well. I used to add heat lamps but had many problems with them plus a barn fire. Right now I have two hens that are in an extreme molt. So they are in my insulated room with a 60 watt light bulb and seem to be.comfortable. When you add heat you Must remember ventilation as the humidity will increase.
I am in north central Minnesota.

 

[chicknmania]

- 20 is pretty darned cold, that's true. Not that cold here, but it is in the low teens to 20's with a serious windchill during the day, and single digits at night. I should amend to say that when it's THIS cold, we have two heatlights in the barn that we do turn on the morning for them to warm up under after the cold night, when we are home and can go out several times to monitor them. Even then it's risky though, and heatlights can give off toxic vapors sometimes. Good insulation, with a regular lightbulb, is better. But lots of people don't use heatlights at all and their flocks are fine.

 

[Isschade]

Entertaining chickens in the winter ? Good grief, I've heard it all. I have enough trouble keeping ME from being bored in the winter. My chickens have bugs and seeds to find in the bale of straw I use for their winter bedding and if that's not enough then there are 7 acres of leaves to search under ... that's why they are free range. The day I have to "Entertain" my animals out in nature is the day I need therapy. I wish I could be outside in the winter .. I guarantee I would never be bored.

 

[Chickencame1st]

These posts are all great. We started our own worm bin in the garage to raise red worms in clean soil. They love going for the worms in a tray of potting soil or mixed in a scoop of nearly composted leaves. I found a local worm farmer and bought a pound(1200) worms for $28. So here we go! Maybe meal worms are next. Our girls are blessed by two local grocery stores that freely give me their produce culls and daily scraps. Also one has a salad bar and they pitch what is.not eaten every night. Wonderful everything. The ladies do not like cukes, zukes, peppers of any kind, corn husks, celery, and were less than impressed by melons. Pumpkins have to be mostly rotten or i slice in half bake face down seeds and all then dump cooled face side up in the run. The skin will be literally lucked clean. Minimal prep and time. House smells good while it bakes too! Apples have to be at least cut in half. The skin seems to be a deterrent. Also same with sweet potatoes as the pumpkin. Just microwave or bake until mush. Freezing can work too. Makes mushy hard fiber veggies. The darker the leafy greens the better. Collards and the outer cabbage leaves are a huge hit. In the enclosed part of the run we have with no cover I am going to the woods and cut evergreens mostly cedar. It's like a jungle gym playground. Maybe use live discarded trees if I can make sure there are no hazards with leftover hooks. I like to try to think chicken . . . .smile.

 

[castvania]

I give mine treats like blueberries, sunflower kernels, corn, oats from time to time

Also in the winter, my veggie patch is empty, so i get the pick axe out and fluff up the dirt. The chickens go crazy when they see i have the pick axe in hand. On a good day they will spend hours digging around there looking for worms, or having dirt baths if weather is ok

 

[Tomtommom]

Entertaining chickens in the winter ? Good grief, I've heard it all. I have enough trouble keeping ME from being bored in the winter. My chickens have bugs and seeds to find in the bale of straw I use for their winter bedding and if that's not enough then there are 7 acres of leaves to search under ... that's why they are free range. The day I have to "Entertain" my animals out in nature is the day I need therapy. I wish I could be outside in the winter .. I guarantee I would never be bored.

A lot of folks sadly don't have the luxury of free-ranging birds (hence 'backyard chickens'). Once they're in a small space you have to do *something*. Mine would be perfectly happy if they could roam the yard all day, but alas, two hawk attacks in half a year of sporadic free-ranging has cured us of that. They really miss nibbling grass and weeds and digging for bugs.