101 ways to keep your confined chickens happy

[Millymollymandy]

1. Dig up one of last year's spinach beet plants so they can pick out all the soil and worms from the large root system and then peck at the greens.

2. Spend all your day picking grass for them (in the rain) whilst they shriek at you for 'MORE'.

3. Give them snowballs to peck at.

[ina]

4. Read them good-night-stories?

[Andy Hamilton]

not sure about posting this in fact I deleted it once.

4. Eat them

Not really keeping them happy but certainly would keep me happy, wish I had not chosen to give up meat for lent.

[Shirley]

nothing wrong with eating them!!

Chuck all those slugs that you found on your garden into their pen - they'll love you forever.

[Wombat]

Put a wire cage on the side of their pen and fill with grass and weeds - provides nutrition as well as entertainment as they peck out the stuff though the wire!

Nev

[ina]

Put up a mirror on one side of their cage - makes them think they have twice as much space. And they might enjoy "talking" to their opposites, too (have seen that before!). Nothing better to keep them amused than a sensible conversation...

[Millymollymandy]

No pens or cages, guys, these are shut inside a shed to comply with the bird flu regs! Yes it's getting closer to my neck of the woods.....

[Millymollymandy]

not sure about posting this in fact I deleted it once.

4. Eat them

Not really keeping them happy but certainly would keep me happy, wish I had not chosen to give up meat for lent.

You're just horrible. My hens are pets!

[Shirley]

M

Do they have light in the shed and plenty of ventilation???

Did you see Jimmy's Farm? They put their new hens in an old caravan. Talk about luxury living!!! Lots of straw on the floor to scratch around in.

[Kfish]

7. Chuck in (live) grasshoppers from suffering garden nearby and watch them run!

8. Grow pumpkin & melon vines over the cage - self served greens.

Kfish.

[nick]

a 'biscuit' of hay with a bit of wheat or grain sprinkled over top for them to have a good scratch.

[Millymollymandy]

M

Do they have light in the shed and plenty of ventilation???

Did you see Jimmy's Farm? They put their new hens in an old caravan. Talk about luxury living!!! Lots of straw on the floor to scratch around in.

Yes plenty of natural light and ventilation no probs - we tried to block off the worst of that as my chook shed (made by previous owners and you'd all love it ) is a recycled marvel of cobbled together single doors, garage doors, old bits of corrugated iron, chicken wire etc etc!!! All painted a lovely navy blue by me.

They have about 10m2 so it's pretty luxurious for 3 hens! I just thought I had better really shut them in now as there is a sign up at our local agri shop saying all poultry to be kept indoors and some places nearby are being told to register their poultry with the town hall.

So that's why I am trying to find ways to keep the poor hens amused!

[Shirley]

Provide them with greens such as cabbage leaves, lettuce, spinach and/or green vegetables hung up so that they can peck at them when they want to.

Also provide some poultry grit to help grain digestion in the gizzard, and crushed oystershell for strong eggshells. .

Have you got a tray of earth or something that they can dust bathe in??

[Shirley]

the shed sounds fab - we want piccies

[Millymollymandy]

Provide them with greens such as cabbage leaves, lettuce, spinach and/or green vegetables hung up so that they can peck at them when they want to.

Also provide some poultry grit to help grain digestion in the gizzard, and crushed oystershell for strong eggshells. .

Have you got a tray of earth or something that they can dust bathe in??

Yes all of that, plus the floor is beaten earth so they already dug themselves a dust bath when I first got them!!

I have a photo of the outside but not of the inside!