[ali31fos]

Hi,

I am worried my chickens are soon going to get bored. They have cleard their run and I feel I need to liven it up for them. I have hidden a bucket full of worms inside a pile of stones and they have really enjoyed scratching them out but it took me ages to collect the worms, so doing it again may take some time!

I was wondering if anyone had a receipe for something like a chickens version of a fat ball? Or for that matter, any other ideas to stop them getting bored!

Any help would be wonderful. Thanks.

[compostqueen]

they like a cabbage or half a one which they can peck at. They like things to stand on, sounds daft but it's true. I put mine a straw bale in their run but they used it as a ladder to scale the fence    You can string them a load of dandelion leaves up (make into a tied bunch) and if you put them just out of reach so they have to stretch for them

I assume you've supplied them with a dust bath or an area where they can dust bathe

[wadz81]

We try to keep ours entertained with something new all the time, we made them a ladder at the weekend and put some cups of corn at the top( budgie cage ones that hook onto wire) we also throw seed into lots of straw and they scrat round in that for ages, hang greens up to give them something to jump for, a big dirt bath filled with bird sand and two rolls of new turf! Happy girls this week end even with the rain and thunder

[compostqueen]

I've got some soil filled containers from which I'd removed the spent bedding plants but they've got all weedy so I put those in with the chickens so they could get all the weeds and bugs out.

It kept them occupied for ages and once they'd sorted them out they hollowed out the soil and sat in them. They looked ever so funny 

[andreadon]

wooden tablwes are good - we made one out of a shed door.
and shelves.
and if you can make them ladders,that'll be good too - not a see-through one, but a plank of wood with bits of wood nailed to it!

and ours have a tyre and some old concrete ballustrades to stand on.

(as well as the tied-up cabbage already mentioned)

[princesspoultry]

 For a treat I give my hens lettice,tomatos,bread,noodles,melon,and many other things. It keeps them busy and it makes the eggs taste great!

[ali31fos]

thanks everyone for your help and ideas. I have started hanging treats from the top of the run and along with the big perch i have added a few other bits for them.