Toys to keep chickens entertained?

[SteveMort]

My girls have a couple of small footballs.
Cds hang from the roof.
A straw bale for them to jump up onto seems to work very well.
A couple of logs.
I like to sit in the run and they come to investigate.

[mellya]

hi
picked you up on here
i am on as mellya
joined in june in anticipation of hen keeping
thanks for advice re pecking
am going to food suppliers wed and i think he carries some of the things you mentioned
thanks again

[derksenhannah]

Ideas

I just gto chickens and i to like to kinda spoil them. they are young and will start laying any time now.but the lady we got them from played the radio for them when she was gone

i thought of taking string and we have some left over small tomatoes and string them on the string and hang it up.

and cds

and a ping-pong ball rolled in the grit so its fun for them and they get the grit that they need (still put grit in as usual though)

all very good ideas.thx!

[mr darcy]

We kept our birds outdoors for three years before we had the series of attacks and they were fine until then. We had 35 layers and 15 meat birds on the go the whole of that time, the fat chickens of course were cycled into the freezer and new ones brought on from day old chicks. It was a great system with the eaters out and about until five months old along with the layers.

However, after six attacks which left us with mauled, stamped on, crushed and still alive birds, all done at night by nocturnal maniacs, we had two choices: keep no birds and give up on a really nice and productive part of the allotment, or keep a small number in a large airy and bright shed which is situated in a part of the garden that can't be overlooked and seems from the outside to be abandoned. That's what we did and they are very contented.

And - they don't actually want to go outside and don't take any opportunity they are given to go outside. I leave the door open when I am feeding, watering, collecting eggs and cleaning out. The experience is that only two of them ever go outside at these times and they don't venture more than two feet from the door, rushing in at any strange happening like noise, or wind, or if they think something is happening inside to do with titbits or insects being dug up in the litter.

I'm satisfied that their welfare is excellent: from the six hens (now a year old) we have half a dozen eggs a day on four days out of the seven in a week and five on the other three. Some weeks, we only drop to five eggs on two days. It will be interesting to see how the very short days affect their productivity, but so far so good. They are in prime condition, never fight or pick on each other and are manifestly friendly to us and contented.

I think i'd have done the same if still wanted to keep hens, but there again would probably be in prison for having stamped on and mauled the chicken murderers which i would probably have lain in wait for!!!!! grrrrr!! it makes my blood boil!
my cats live out, but are barn cats (barn next to house) and fat furry and well fed and tended, my ponies are next to the house, my dogs sleep in the house at night next to my bed,my hens are shut up at night and in a run in the day, free range four hours approx per day when the dog that munches hens is tethered,i thankgoodness that for now i can live with my animals and would worry terribly if they were not near me
i'm sure your hens are wonderfully happy lucky girls!

[jessmorris]

I had the same leaf pile idea - my Pekes are on grass so I chucked in half a big bucketful of leafmould and dry leaves under cover. They had a fine old time scratching about in it looking for crawly things. They still use their swing but not as much as when they were myoung. They like anything they can perch up on and look about from, or sunbathe on!

[mr darcy]

[QUOTE=jessmorris; They still use their swing but not as much as when they were myoung. They like anything they can perch up on and look about from, or sunbathe on![/QUOTE]

sounds like my daughter!!!