[bashful_badger]

Dizzylizzie, what's in the small log-roll corner section?  Is that like a dust bath type thing?  We have a spare bit of log roll.

Great photos!

[AmandaH]

If you really want to spoil them, have a look here  :

http://www.becksbirdbarn.co.uk/index.php?p0=cat&id=72

Apparently, their best-seller for chickens is the first one - the bell carousel.

I'm still not entirely convinced that these are safe but the lady I spoke to was adamant that if they are safe for parrots then they are safe for chickens (in that parrots have more powerful beaks).

[dizzylizzie]

hi, in the log roll thing is a mixture of soil and sand, the love to bathe and scrat in it! i just had another look at the photos and the run looks awful....its not the mud bath it looks , honest! it has a layer of bark, but the grass is from the lawn mower yesterday . they had a fab time kicking it around! but like i say, they are mainly in the garden, i use the run in the morning to make sure they eat their pellets before stuffing their faces on goodies from the garden, and i use the run if we are going out!

[dizzylizzie]

hi amanda, i have tried some parrot toys and mine were not interested...but love the budgie mirror! i suppose they are like people in that they all o for different things. one of mine spent nearly an hour rolling a pepsi bottle around the garden yesterday ....little things eh?

[AmandaH]

Hi Lizzie.

It's like small children, isn't it?  You can buy them all the expensive stuff but they prefer the boxes the toys come in half the time...

I liked the idea of the budgie mirror - which made me think of parrot toys I had seen, hence I posted the link.  

We have endless empty plastic bottles (I am a fizzy water addict) - perhaps I'll give mine a go with one.  They do like the little coloured balls that escape from my daughter's ballpit/paddling pool but Annie gets most upset (being only just three, she is not good at sharing) and shouts at them to "Get off my toys, chickens!"  

[SarahJC]

Wow dizzylizzie! Even I want to play in that run 

I seriously need to give my girls some more 'stuff'. Although they are out of their run and in their part of the garden by 2pm.

I'd love some logs to put in their part of the garden for them to clamber over. Haven't a clue where you'd get them though.

Mine like their long branch to sit on. The Happy Egg Company have swings for their free range hens! Kind of like a perch that swings. If you go to their site and click your way through theres a video of one of them on one. I'm not sure if the hen in question would prefer it to be stationary though  :blink:

[dizzylizzie]

thankyou . when we go to the local parks to walk the dog etc, we take bags for anything interesting...acorns, pine cones, interesting sticks, etc. also look around where you live, most garages have to pay for tyres to be taken away, so will quite happily give you as many as you want.i have just visited the centre for alternative technology with my children and they use tyres for compost bins, so im using them for my chicken poo! if your neighbours are prunning trees, particulary fruit trees, offer to take any logs away, your girls will love logs, they are like a drive through, they can perch on them and eat all the little bugs that think they have safe lodgings...have fun collecting

[IMOmimey]

mine love the old dvd's i have hanging up. and i had a long piece of wood used to prop open the coop lid whilst clening, and it was on the floor over their log, and they used it like a see-saw!! enjoying the movement I guess.
Mostly they just like something different going in the pen for a few days - including the middle from kitchen roll, empty tub of diatom, broken off branch from tree/shrubs..especially if it has bark on, which they love to strip off.  I try and use only stuff that I can throw away when it gets poopy

[Ice]

I've loved reading this thread.  I'm going to go to the local woods and see what I can find for my girls. 

[Sue33]

i had a long piece of wood used to prop open the coop lid whilst clening, and it was on the floor over their log, and they used it like a see-saw!!

love the idea of them on the see-saw, I imagine mine get up to all sorts while we're all at work  

[dizzylizzie]

love the idea of a see-saw...going to have a look now what i can use- thanks for that! 2 of mine love the c.d i have hanging...one is really spooked by it and the rest just ignore it he he he

[kitkat]

It's good to move the logs every few days or so as theres always lovely bugs underneath,yum

[dizzylizzie]

mmm tasty

[jackieb]

I had a branch in my run and was warned off on another forum as they said it was a host for red mite to get into the run.  Has anyone any comment on this as you can imagine it really limits what we can put in for them to play on if we can't bring wood in from the garden.

[dizzylizzie]

mine go in the garden anyway....so what ever is there they are gonna get!