Now is a great time to unwind your homestead and declutter everything.
However, as winters are over, your chickens might not be in the mood to stay bound in their coop anymore. If you notice that your little feathered friends aren’t happy and active as the spring season continues, understand they need some fun.
To have your chickens remain healthy and lay plenty of eggs, they need appropriate stimulation. Don’t worry if you aren’t aware of how to do so. In this article, I will share all the tried and tested things to entertain your chickens during spring.
Reasons To Entertain Your Chickens
Having your chickens confined to their coops, especially during winter, frustrates them. Stimulating your chickens can help them to:
- Get Rid of Aggressive Behaviors – Chickens are social animals. They may engage in aggressive behavior like pecking and bullying without adequate stimulation.
- Prevent Feather-Pecking Behavior – A frustrated chicken will show feather-pecking behavior when frustrated, which is an obvious sign that he needs entertainment.
- Lay Consistent and Improved Eggs – Happy and stress-free Chickens tend to lay better quality eggs. Their eggs have stronger shells and nutrition-rich yolks.
- Stay In Their Best Health – To remain healthy; chickens need a regular dose of entertainment. Activities like scratching or perching can help them stay active and happy.
How To Entertain Your Chickens
There are hundreds of fun ways to keep your chickens entertained and happy. In the next section, I have shared some tried and tested ways that helped me amuse my chickens for a long time.
- Make A Healthy Pinata
No, I am not talking about an actual pinata having candies and chocolates. Instead, you can make a healthy pinata from vegetables like lettuce, cabbage, kale, or broccoli.
Using twine or rope, attach the vegetable to a height where your chickens can easily peck it. This activity mentally stimulated my chickens and compelled them to take their essential nutrients.
Related: The Best Chicken Breeds for Your Homestead
- Place Swings And Perches
Another fun way to entertain your chickens is by installing swings and perches in your homestead or inside the chicken coop. Honestly, the joy of watching my chickens swing was a treat to the eyes and a great way to make them happy.
I used a branch to make a cutesy chicken swing; however, you can also use a plank of the appropriate length. Using a drilling machine, drill two small holes on each side of the plank. Now thread a rope into these holes and hang it inside your chicken’s coop.
- Arrange Stump Games
Chickens love to jump around on stumps and logs. All you need to have is some stumps and wood logs to arrange this playful setup. Place them in various patterns and watch your chickens running and jumping over them.
Note: Avoid placing the stumps or logs at an elevated height. Spring is the time when chickens are known to lay eggs in abundance, so it is better to take precautionary measures beforehand.
- Set Up A Dust Bath
Setting up a dust bath in your homestead is a fun yet mentally stimulating activity to entertain your chickens. Plus, I loved how this process was much easier than any other activities mentioned here.
All you have to do is collect dirt or wooden ash from your backyard and place it in a container or use an old tire, just like I did. Hide several treats along the dust to amuse the chickens. It will allow your chickens to dig up the dust to find their favorite treats.
- Seed Pecking
Take cardboard or a plastic container that chickens can easily peck. I suggest using Easter egg plastic boxes that are fairly easy to pick. Add birdseed, fine poultry, and cracked corn to this container.
Using a drill or screwdriver, poke several holes through this container. Now the chickens will look through the container, and when they know it has seeds, they will peck it. This will ensure that your chickens remain entertained for a long time.
- Make a Chicken Garden
I am talking about a real garden in a mini version exclusively for your chickens. This is a great way to entertain your chickens and keep them healthy at the same time.
Start with selecting a spot in your homestead that receives plenty of sunshine. Next, plant the seeds using a rake or shovel. Make sure to water these plants until they grow completely. Also, plant only those vegetables that are safe to consume for chickens, like cabbage, kale, or broccoli.
- Placing Dense Cakes
Placing dense feed cakes in your homestead or even in a chicken coop is also an amazing idea to have your chickens stay motivated. You can make these cakes at home using poultry fees, nuts, and other dried fruits.
To give your chicken a punch of curiosity, try moving these feed cakes to different locations every now and then. Let them peck various sites and find the treat they are looking for.
Related: These 9 Common Garden Plants Are Toxic To Chickens
- Arrange Fun Running Activities
Chickens love to run from here to there, which is also the easiest way to entertain them. However, sometimes these tiny creatures might not be in the mood to run. In that case, you need to motivate them by using fun props.
Installing mirrors in your chicken run was one effective way that worked well for me. Chickens find it fascinating to spot themselves in mirrors and like to peck them while running.
- Ladder Drills
Chickens find it impossible to resist ladders.
Because they love to jump and run, ladders provide them with a lot of entertainment. You can arrange a small ladder for them in your homestead using straws or tiny wooden planks.
You can also look for these toy ladders in your local pet shop. I am sure they will have plenty of them. Again make sure the ladder is manageable so your chickens can avoid injuring themselves while climbing.
Bottom Line
Getting ready for a healthy season means stocking up on ways to prepare your chickens for outdoor adventures.
Hopefully, I have provided enough ways to entertain your chickens after they step out of their coop into the spring sunshine. However, with all that, make sure you supervise your chickens when they are out of their den.
Wishing your chickens a happy and entertaining season!
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