Chicken Things

[Urban Chickens]

What kind of chicken related things does every have? Or even want?

Also what times do your chooks go to bed? My RIR are like school kids and wait for the last bit of light!

[its hilly]

LOL. Your rhodies should live with my sablepoots. They actually have to be shoved in tried bribery etc, they only go to bed when its throwing it down, and have even tried to sleep outside in the snow. They love their coop to sit out of the sun though..must have been bred in deepest scotland

Ive got the usual plastic drinkers feeders etc, but just recycle tree branches and old bowls upside down for toys. And cat litter trays surrounded by bricks (so they cant tip them up) for dustbaths. I keep marg tubs and meat trays for treats containers, and cut down milk cartons for feed and water scoops.

Is thet the sort of stuff you mean?

[Suechooks]

Tyres,logs, old chairs, defunct wheelbarrow, unwanted plastic dog beds (for dust bath or upside down resting on a tyre makes a good hidey hole/shade from sun), hanging CDs,mirror,hanging baskets for greens, old washing up bowls with salad leaves/seedlings or just soil.

[its hilly]

Wow Sue, will definately use some of those ideas when I get to the farm. Dont they attack the mirrors though?

[CoraxAurata]

My teenage brahmas will not go to bed... they are perched on the fence everynight great soft idiots... even worse this means I have to pick them up and put them to bed everynight, hard not to get attached and they are 2 boys (I already have my big brahma boy so can't keep more (well maybe one ) and I have these 2 big teens and 3 smaller teens do not cuddle dinner!

But the ducks wait until its almost totally dark (11.15 ish) before they go to bed... they are all taking the micheal - chooks on the fence in trees and a small roo who crows from15ft up when I shut up the youngsters pen!

[Suechooks]

Wow Sue, will definately use some of those ideas when I get to the farm. Dont they attack the mirrors though?

They don't seem to bother too much - its a cheap plastic one so won't cause any damage. I got it from the £ shop I think when I had some new ex-batts to help distract them from pecking at each other. The other thing I have specially for new ex-batts when in quarantine is some lengths of white cord hanging down with knots in. They get endless amusement from those!
Cheap and cheerful and recycling is my motto on the allotment!

[Urban Chickens]

They waitn untill the last night to go to bed, i lock them up around 9:45pm!

[jessmorris]

My old elnglish game and dutch banties are in bed very early, the others scratch about for a bit before ambling off. Last year they roosted in the cherry tree each night til I cleared their house of red mite................The new Maranses 'chicks' (the biggest hens in the garden) lie side by side in the wood chips in their run, but they are truly bonkers so hardly count in rational discussion!
For toys I've heard of a hen swing, don't laugh, but what IS it? I have happy visions of swinging hens in the sunshine...mine have water in bowls, old dry compost and diatomaceous earth in gravel trays for dust baths, I turn over a paving stone now and then for them to scratch about in, they endlessly scratch about the flower beds and investigate anything new in the garden....a basket for greens, now there's a good idea.............

[sheena]

me and hubby keep coming upw ith new ideas now and then, but so far they have a rope bridge to clamber about on (it's a bamboo mini fence from the £ shop) and anchored from perch to edge of run.

Hubby thought it would be funny to hang the green's cage at the other end and watch them attempt the assault course... they did, one by one. Only a couple have ever been brave enough to go the whole stretch. It still remains, but acts more of a perch since we moved the green's cage to a better location.

Not fair if you have to literally fight the rope bridge for your food in my books.

They also have a cd hanging up... this works as a mirror until they make it dirty. Then I just replace it with another of the hubby techno cd's (shhh don't tell him).

Also they have a drop down perch/bench for us to sit in with them too (with the aid of some kneeling pad's). This was made out of a pallet and is hinged on the shed to raise up so I can clean the floor properly.

Last year they had some cat balls to play with, the kind with bells in - they were ok until it rained and well I dug them out when we put their new sunbathing patio in.

I think they have a better life than I do to be honest

[Suechooks]

Sometimes I put sweetcorn cobs in the drinking water bucket also those coloured plastic balls too!