Winter treat/activity ideas

[The Welch Chickens]

I am looking for ideas for treats and activities for chickens in winter. This is our flock's first winter; and they are used to always being able to free range and forage. We don't want them to pick on each other if they get bored; they need something fun to do. We were thinking about making a sort of jungle gym for them like this one online:

Does anyone have any pictures of treat setups or "jungle gyms" they use? Or any treats that their chickens especially love that are good to feed in winter?
Thanks in advance!

 

[kcan2]

I have been skewering cucumber by threading it through the hardware cloth and mine seem to like it!

 

[Sally PB]

My neighbor raked up about 30 garbage bags of leaves last fall. She had them stacked as a wind break outside the run. About once a week, she cut one open and dumped it inside the run. Her chickens loved that.

I was gifted some straw bales recently. I have one in the run right now. I'll add another one or two in a couple months.

My chickens also love a warm mash in the afternoon. I use the small bits of their regular feed that fall to the bottom of the bowl (dump them into a metal container when I empty the bowls at night). This way, I use up the feed they won't eat, and they get a nice warm meal in the late afternoon. I do the same in the heat of summer, making it with cold water.

Pumpkins and gourds are plentiful this time of year. I carve the skin off in a few small spots to "get it started," and they take care of the rest. The eat the flesh, the stringy goop, and the seeds. I'll save a few for later in the season. I do the same with butternut squash: I get the neck to cook for dinner, they get the seeds cavity to eat.

 

[Brooks_]

We've fed out oatmeal before; they loved it! (They were sneezing and wiping their beaks all over my clothes because the texture was new lol)

Good idea to add those ingredients in!

I'd recommend doing it with their regular feed as opposed to oatmeal. It will maintain a proper nutritional intake and they'll love it just the same.

 

[Morrigan]

As others have mentioned, big heaps of fall leaves, hay bales and gourds can provide a lot of entertainment for chickens.

I also like to sprout fodder for them. Sometime in the winter I let it grow long and throw down a mat of it for them to peck through.

 

[Sally PB]

I also like to sprout fodder for them. Sometime in the winter I let it grow long and throw down a mat of it for them to peck through.

I've done this too. When my eyes are aching to see something green in mid January, I love growing sprouts of any kind.

I pull it into chunks and toss it around the run. One of them will grab a bit and take off, like they caught an interception and are taking it to the house for a pick 6.

Yeah, it's football season.

 

[Brooks_]

A hanging head of cabbage is a popular boredom buster as is a bale of alfalfa.

 

[Firsttimehens1234]

I am looking for ideas for treats and activities for chickens in winter. This is our flock's first winter; and they are used to always being able to free range and forage. We don't want them to pick on each other if they get bored; they need something fun to do. We were thinking about making a sort of jungle gym for them like this one online:
View attachment 3675328


Does anyone have any pictures of treat setups or "jungle gyms" they use? Or any treats that their chickens especially love that are good to feed in winter?
Thanks in advance!

My hens LOVE warm oatmeal when it gets cold, it’s more a treat than an activity. I usually make mine with garlic,chili flakes,oregano, thyme,raisins and other herbs that helps their system. I sometimes put a bit of cod liver oil in too as it has a lot of vitamins and helps with their immune system
All my hens go crazy for it

 

[The Welch Chickens]

A hanging head of cabbage is a popular boredom buster as is a bale of alfalfa.

I've hung a cabbage before and they weren't too into it. They were just a few weeks old though Maybe I'll try again!

 

[The Welch Chickens]

My hens LOVE warm oatmeal when it gets cold, it’s more a treat than an activity. I usually make mine with garlic,chili flakes,oregano, thyme,raisins and other herbs that helps their system. I sometimes put a bit of cod liver oil in too as it has a lot of vitamins and helps with their immune system
All my hens go crazy for it

We've fed out oatmeal before; they loved it! (They were sneezing and wiping their beaks all over my clothes because the texture was new lol)

Good idea to add those ingredients in!