Chicken Boredom Busters: How to Keep Your Flock Entertained in the Winter

Have you ever been stuck inside for days, bored out of your mind? Well, that’s how your chickens feel in the winter. It’s normal for chickens to get bored during the winter, especially if they’re stuck inside the coop due to bad weather. However, if they get too bored for too long, they’ll start to get up to mischievous.

Below, we’ve listed our top chicken boredom busters to help keep your chickens entertained in the winter months:

Dust baths

Chicken dust baths help chickens keep themselves clean. It’s also a great way to entertain your chickens. In the winter, fill a wheelbarrow with diatomaceous earth and let your chickens go to town.

Build roosts, ladders, and/or perches

Chickens enjoy getting a bird’s eye view (literally) on their surroundings. Even if it’s snowing outside, you’ll see your chickens perching on a roost or ladder to inspect the area around them. This won’t keep them entertained all day, but it’s certainly a boredom buster you should take advantage of.

Have a chicken swing

A chicken swing is exactly as it sounds—a swing for your chickens to perch on. Chickens love this toy and can be a great investment when trying to combat boredom in your flock. You can build your own or buy one.

Create a log gym

A log gym can give your chickens some exercise without getting their feet cold and wet. And don’t worry fi the wood is a little old. Old wood is the perfect home for bugs and worms which your chickens will look for and eat. As such, a log gym kills your chickens’ boredom in two different ways!

Give them plenty of treats

Chickens love treats, so they’ll certainly be entertained by them. But don’t just sprinkle some treats around the coop and call it day—make a game out of it! Here are a few ideas that will keep your chickens occupied and satisfied:

• Swinging Vegetable: Hang a vegetable from some rope and let your chickens try to peck at it. This works best with lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, corn on the cob, and cauliflower florets, but you can also use apples as well.
• Vegetable Football: If you don’t have any string, simply buy a rolling container filled with veggies and let your chickens chase it around.
• Seed blocks: These are blocks of frozen seeds that will take your chickens some time to peck through.
• Scavenger hunt: Scatter and hide your seeds in the coop and let your chickens sniff them out.

With these chicken boredom busters, you should have no problem keeping your flock entertained this winter. For more information on how to care for your flock, read through our blog or contact Chickens for Backyards today.