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The cold, gloomy days of winter are here and everyone can get bored, even chickens! Boredom leads to mischief such as feather picking, egg eating, squabbling and a miserable disposition.
We have put together some ideas for helping to relieve boredom for your flock and to help them to live together harmoniously throughout the winter months.
The number one cause of mischief is lack of space for everyone. We all need personal space, some need more than others.
The more timid members of your flock would certainly appreciate some quiet, darkened space to escape the more pushy members of your flock!
I have the luxury of coops within a barn, so there is plenty of space for everyone, but for those of you not so fortunate, here’s some easy tips to keep your ladies happy and busy during winter.
Food and Water Boredom Busters
The first thing you can do to keep your hens active during the day is to make sure they always have access to feeders and drinkers- the more dominant hens will ‘guard’ the feeders if they are feeling particularly crabby that day.
Here are some great ways you can use feed to keep your hens busy:
Help Break Boredom with a home made Flock Block
In addition to food you can also encourage them to exercise as a way to keep active.
They need to get some exercise over the colder months.
Although they are very reluctant to walk on snow and ice, if you shovel a path and throw down straw, leaves, pine needles, etc. they will not only walk on it, but check it out for tasty morsels too!
The girls inspecting freshly laid straw
Here are some great ways to get them to exercise:
If you can provide different levels on which they can roost, it helps tremendously.
When the big girls start to pick at my bantams, the bantams simply fly up out of reach!
By providing this you are ensuring that the smaller ones can get out of the way- it also gives them some much needed exercise.
If you can set up some sort of quiet, dark areas for the more timid members, that would be beneficial.
Some chickens like a bit of ‘alone’ time and a peaceful place to do it in.
A ‘quick and dirty’ quiet spot could be a pallet angled against the side of a coop or a small tarp arranged similarly.
You also need to provide variety in bedding or scratching areas- this is why I collect the pine needles and leaves in the fall. I will dump a bag into the run and let them pick through it- it keeps them busy for ages.
If you can spend extra time with them, it’s beneficial- to them and you. My chickens are unpaid psychotherapists- I know they will keep all my secrets!
An often overlooked activity that chickens love to participate in is dust bathing. Consider it the spa treatment of the chicken world.
Chickens take dust baths to keep themselves parasite free, to control their natural oils, and well, and to relax.
If you’ve ever seen a chicken take a dust bath, you know what I mean. They roll and flap around, and at times, they look as though they are ready to fall asleep.
Giving your girls a dust bath is like therapy for your chickens, so make some room for the new spa in your coop.
Winter can be a terribly boring time for chickens… but it doesn’t have to be!
Your birds need space and variety to keep them from picking at each other. Quiet, darkened areas away from the rest of the flock are ideal for the quieter flock members.
Scratch grains or cracked corn sprinkled on the floor is always a reliable attention grabber. Please remember when giving treats- everything in moderation. Fat hens are not healthy hens.
By providing your hens with activities and mental stimulation, you are ensuring that everyone gets through the winter whilst staying healthy- this is important if you want your girls to lay eggs in the spring/summer.
If you have a trick or two for keeping them occupied, please share them with us! We would love to hear from you!
Read Should I Free Range My Chickens? Learn What’s Best for Your Hens
