[chickychick2409]

Hi 

I am concerned about my hens being bored. They are healthy, but lying around alot, not really sunbathing   , especially young Penny who lost her best friend!

Any tips?

[orchardlady]

I put up a recipe for chicken cake this evening, give it a go my girls spent most of the afternoon pecking away at it. Look at the thread for Baking for Chickens.

[Lindeggs]

Yum!  Chicken cake!  I would spend my day pecking at that if I had the chance...

You don't say how your hens are housed - to they have some pasture to graze on, or do they live in a run?

Try picking a big bunch of weeds, flowers, grasses, herbs etc and throwing it in their pen.  They will sift through it looking for the tastiest bits and kicking the rest around the place.  If you live in a place where plants have stopped growing for the winter, perhaps some trimmings off an evergreen tree would add interest to their lives?

Also I have seen it suggested that you can hang fruit or vegetables from a string just above head-height.  The hens will have to jump if they want their treat!

Do you have access to any rotten old wood?  A rotten branch split open will be full of burrowing bugs & larvae.  The hens will use their beaks and claws to pull the wood apart and reach the tasty morsels inside.

Also, how hard do your hens have to work for their daily food ration?  You could try concealing their food under something or burying it in a dish full of sand or compost.  How about putting it in a sealed container with holes punched in it?  The container would need to be knocked around to make the food fall out through the holes.  How long will it take your chickens to work that out?

[Lindeggs]

Hi 

I am concerned about my hens being bored. They are healthy, but lying around alot, not really sunbathing   , especially young Penny who lost her best friend!

Any tips?

Hmmm... just a thought here.

A few weeks ago I came across a woman who was offering some hens "free to a good home" as she could no longer look after them.  When I spoke to her on the phone I asked about the hens' temperaments and she said "three of them are very active and follow me around, but the fourth one is very sleepy and just stands there."

When I went to see the hens, it turned out that the "sleepy" one was actually quite ill.

So just to double-check, is this "lying around a lot" just a recent thing, or have they always done it?  And are you sure they are in the best of health?

Sorry, just need to check for my own peace of mind...

[Flowerpower136]

Hope they are OK?  Hens are normally quite active during daylight hours.

I hang veg from strings - bit like bobbing for apples!
They have a tyre with sand for digging.
Perches in the run.
Different levels, eg steps, for hopping up and down.
Bare earth floor for digging and worm hunting and dustbathing.
Open garden compost bins in the run (girls spent a lot of time in them )

My hens are very busy and really only stop for 40 winks in the shade when it's very hot.  Otherwise, non stop.

[daisy1990]

ours love logs (to climb on and to peck at) we get logs from our neighbour who has an open fire.  The hens and chickens strip off the bark, then we give them back!

[chickychick2409]

Thanks for the tips all   I will try all of those  

Some answers -

They are not housed- they have a big wide garden to run in

They are all healthy I think, there combes ( forgot how to spell it ) are all upright and a healthy red colour- I will get them checked though

Thank you for all the tips!