Parakeets, parrots, cocatiels and common cage bird have all sorts of toys. I know I saw so many of them at Petsmart the past few times I was in there getting heat lamps for the brooder. So why aren't there chicken toys? Or are the chicken toys? How about some of the parrot type toys? Do chickens care about such things? After all they are just birds right?
Does anyone use chicken toys? Are there any?
If parakeets got to "free range" they probably wouldn't care about toys. Who wants a mirror when you have a dozen friends or a bell when there are grasshoppers to chase?
You have a good point there. But I am going to have to get more creative than just thinking they can all amuse themselves. There will be no free ranging here. Its just a suburban type yard and heavily (and I mean heavily) planted in gardenbeds with lots of shrubs and flowers. There is almost no grass left here. The yard is not fenced either so "just loose" is out of the question.
Newyorkrita, Ok so no free range, I do agree with that chickens need something both to amuse themselves and busy themselves. I have a swing made of closet rod inside of my largest coop, I also have a window that opens with a skywalk so they can come and go if they choose not to use the door. The skywalk is about sixteen feet and descends from five feet down to one foot in that sixteen ft long walk. Some use it and some don't. It's just another way in and out and the window closes at night. Some make fake trees for them to hang out on. I think you have a great idea and would like to see you further it. Give us some of your ideas, thats what this forum is all about...Hay
Humm, fake trees, I never thought of that. I do like the idea of the chicken skywalk. You have so much practical experience keeping and raising chickens. I have none. And I know from reading this forum that you are very helpful with real world advice for any chicken type problems.
Now I know nothing much about raising chickens. But I have been thinking about how to do things and wonder why not when it comes to ways of doing things. The toys for instance. There could be real reasons why not that I just don't know about for some reasons. But I am trying figgure out how to give some chickens a good life here in some challenging situations. One thing I mean by that is an excess of preditors that already know to come around each night. Another is that I can not see how there could possibly be any free range.
In winter the chickens are pretty much confined to their run. I hung a rope with a large head of cagge on it and they had fun pecking at it. I've also cut a pumpkin in half and pitched it in there and they had fun pecking on that as well. We fill the run with a foot or more of dried leaves and broadcast a scoop of corn around and let them hunt and peck and root around for that. We keep an old wood ladder with round rungs on it so they can climb up and roost. Today I plan on making another ladder out of trees from the woods. If you can catch some frogs and throw in there they love to chase and eat frogs more than anything.
Porkpal mentioned on another thread about how I have always used a clump of grass w/roots and dirt in the brooder.. it has almost always helped ward off pasty butt which can be deadly for chicks.
When you first put it in, they are absolutely scared to death.. but in time, they start playing "King of the mountain" and pecking at the dirt...
Well, I don't have any frogs for them to chase around but I could get some crickets. I like the leaves idea but maybe a variation on that idea? How about some alfala hay tossed in there and some crickets dumped for chicken fun. I know when I raised hamsters years ago they simply went nuts when I gave them crickets. They loved them.
mine love to play King of the Mountain with a stuffed dog toy I put in
wow Rita I didn't know Hamsters love crickets. I know my chickens and ducks sure do. When I have crickets that is the only time my Exotic Ducks will come up to me lol
My Hamsters ate live food plus their hamster pellets. They loved crickets and also superworms (a type of very large mealworm).
YCCK!
Why yuck? Chickens eat bugs, why not other annimals eat bugs? Most of the small animals kept as pets love live bugs. I mean hamsters, gerbils, mice, rats, hedhogs, sugar gliders and I am sure there are others. If you keep reptiles they must have live food. And pet snakes need live or frozen (thawed out) mice to eat.
Something about the image of a hamster eating a giant mealworm...
They scarfed them right down. And they were crazy for them.
One more reason for me not to be especially fond of hampsters. Now rats on the other hand, pet rats are cool! (Even if they would probably also love giant worms.)
I hate rodents of any kind, gerbils, hampsters, pet mice, any of them. On the other hand I love them for target practice. Newyork, believe it or not much of what I know has come from ZZ's, Catsy, and others on this forum. Many of my ideas came about from things they have shared as well as others on here. I'm only fortunate enough to have the space to try things that others can't sometimes due to space. Green also even though she has only been here two years has had many great ideas. Just explore and have fun. I love your enthusiasim and the challenge to be creative...Hay
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/797665/?hl=chicken+toys
I remembered this from several years ago. Hope it helps.
Our barn holds a room which is the main indoor coop. We had a window put in there this weekend to allow more light in. It has a low roof inside to keep the heat in as well. THere is a doggy-door with ramp leading out to a fenced in lean-to area which is where everyone is fed. We have filled the whole area with about a foot or more of leaves. They love to root around in the leaves. We have one old wooden ladder with round rungs set on a diagonal they love to roost on. Yesterday we made another ladder from trees in our woods. We have mostly ash trees which are a very hard wood. We made the ladder 20 feet long and it has the steps about two feet apart. When we got done making it we had a hard time lifting it. It was so heavy. :) Somehow we managed to get it into the chicken run and put it on a slant from the top of the run down to the ground. Now the chickens will have more places to roost and not be crowded. Since mama bird hatched out 9 babies we have a total now of 21 birds. Some are sure to be roosters and they will be gone as soon as I figure out which are males.
When winter hits and there is lots of snow and ice we don't let them out to free range so they are confined to the indoor coop and the outdoor leanto run. We try to pitch in there some heads of cabbage for them to peck at or leftover veggies etc. We even broadcast cracked corn around and let them look for it. A chickens life is all about hunting for food.
The old link is great, I am reading it now. And we do have winters here too although sometimes temps are mild for winder with 50s and so but other times lots of snow on the ground. I never know what we are going to get.
I make boredom cookies for my chickens here when the weather gets cold..and sometimes make them like a hard square poultry block..
I use: eggs,powder milk,grains,grits,rolled oats,sunflower seeds, etc..lol...and warm oatmeal..man..they go for warm oatmeal in a heart beat..lol
Right now my three older chicks have a roll from the middle of the paper towels that they use as a kick toy around their house. They peck it lots too and just push it around all over the place.
I usually give mine forked branch to perch on; they seem to like to play king of the mountain.
I saw a recipe for wild bird seed and was wondering if it would work for chickens. It had 1 cup each of melted suet, peanutbutter and seeds, mix together, press in a pan till cool, then put in a suet feeder. Do you think that would be ok for the chickens on snowy days when they're inside? Substitute the seed for BOSS or crumbles? Would it be too greasy and make them sick? I worry about them getting cold in the winter.
I just took these out of the freezer for my hens to snack on. This is basically scratch grains,whole oats,corn grits,powder milk and water. Baked them in oven for about 20 mins..lol..I use small to large loaf bread pans for the block style. I just dropped 2 large spoonful of the dough on parchpaper cuz I don't want anything sticking period...lol..
On these snacks have powdered red pepper for my hens and jump starting the egg dept..lol.. I also freeze cucumbers for them too...all summer long, I just put cucumbers and squash that I missed cuz they got too hard and full of seeds in the freezer so that I could feed them to my birds..cabbage doesnt work for them,got grass here for them to eat since I hardly and rarely get that white fluffy stuff here..lol..
Forgot pic..it is below
This message was edited Nov 20, 2010 11:50 AM
here is a pic of my poultry blocks and cookies...The blocks are about 6 inches long and 2 1/2 inches wide..Cookies are about 5 inches round..
That looks like a fabulous idea. I bet your chickens really enjoy those treats :-))
Yes they do..lol
Annie scratch is very good for the birds during winter months as it creates heat for their body. Plus they love it...Hay
What is scratch?
Its a mixture of grains and corn,its like desert for chickens so you would not want to use it as there basic food,but its great for a treat especially in the winter,I buy a bag of scratch and a bag of cracked corn and a bag of black oil sunflower seeds and mix it all togather and they get some twice a day in the winter,they say the corn keeps them warm,I through it in their coop and they scratch around and mix up the pine shavings good as I use the deep littler method,they are great little composters.