Chick Enrichment: Keeping your chicks entertained

Chick Enrichment: Keeping your chicks entertained

(Or should I say, chicken-richment? Get it?! Chick enrichment! … No, I’m not sitting here giggling at my own cleverness, why do you ask?)

It has bothered me for a few days that maybe the chicks aren’t being entertained enough. As they get bigger their brooder gets smaller, and there just isn’t much to do during the many hours that I’m not down there with them. Chickens are very intelligent animals, and they need some activities and challenges. Enter: Operation Chick Enrichment!

I did a quick Google search and learned that chickens actually see color better than humans do. Who knew? Like other pet birds, they enjoy some toys like mirrors, balls, and rattles. (Maybe I should break out the old baby toys!) I wanted to do something sooner rather than later though, and with items I had on hand. My youngest and I armed ourselves with tape, a rubber ball, an old CD, string, and a box cutter (me not him), and went to work. We tied string around the CD and hung it from the brooder lid – boom, instant mirror and toy, and in theory it should cast some colorful rainbows on the walls! We refilled their dust bath box and put a small bouncy ball in it for them to kick around and peck at.

CD hanging in brooder for chick enrichment
CD hanging from brooder lid works as a mirror, tetherball, and disco ball!

Brooder Expansion

The biggest thing I did, however, was create a chicken playroom! I wanted to make an addition to the brooder to give them more room to roam. Placing our original brooder box next to the current one, I discovered that they were the exact same width and height, which made it very easy to line up an addition. I cut a rectangular hole in the bottom corner of the smaller box, and then using the cutout piece as a stencil, cut a matching hole in the current brooder (my son watched the chicks and make sure none of them came close to investigate as I was cutting). Then I lined up the holes and used a healthy amount of duct tape to tape around all four edges, bringing the boxes together and covering the cracks for safety and cleanliness. 

Chick brooder expansion
First hole cut into “playroom” box
Adding on to chick brooder
Matching hole cut into brooder box
 Chick playroom brooder addition for more space
Both boxes taped together to create a larger brooder

I forgot to cut chicken wire for the lid before I started, so I ran outside (in the dark and rain) to snip off the end of the chicken wire around the trampoline. Those two $3 rolls have really served us well! I added another perching branch inside the “playroom”, and placed the chicks’ treat bowl just inside the doorway to entice them.

Brooder expansion for bigger chicks
The finished product, with pine shavings, treats, and a roosting bar.

[Pausing here to add: the treat bowl has sand grit in it, and also whatever treat they may get that day – sometimes oats, spaghetti, or shredded veggies like cucumber and zucchini. Most recently I introduced a store-bought mix called Treats for Chickens – Pullet Together that is soy-free and includes healthy seeds and grains and dried mealworms. I know, ew. I’m using it to try to teach them to forage, and also to eat insects, because I definitely want them to do that once they get outside.]

Back to the playroom. Surprisingly, Bijou was the first to go through to the new box, intrigued by the treats. Joy and Pepper pecked the CD back and forth for several minutes (I think just because they thought the yellow string was spaghetti, their most favorite thing in the whole world!), and Gypsy very cautiously made her way into the playroom, too.

Easter egger chick in brooder
Bijou the Brave checks it out

Bijou

I say surprisingly because, being the smallest, Bijou is by far still the most timid. She still wants to stay close to me when they’re outside, and spends less time perching on the sides of the box when I’m down there. I’ve noticed that one of her feet seems to be lame; it bends off to the side rather than staying straight, which makes perching harder for her. She also has some eyesight issues; she sees small things well, but always pecks about an inch lower than whatever she’s trying to grab. This is almost certainly why, at the store, she would strain her neck and turn her head to the side to look at us. Her sweet curiosity made her irresistible! She is usually quick to defer to the others in most matters, but she takes food pretty seriously.

Tiny Easter egger chick 3 weeks
Bijou is tiny but soooo cute

Concerns about Joy

My early predictions about Joy being the “head chick” are proving correct; when the chicks are outside, for some reason Joy will chase and peck at the others. Inside however, she is perfectly pleasant. I couldn’t figure it out until my kids brought our dog down to see the chicks in the basement for the first time tonight. Joy suddenly started running and pecking at her sisters again! It appears that she is trying to keep them in line whenever there is possible danger.

I do have a small concern that “she” might be a “he”, mostly based on her dominance and the fact that her comb is so much bigger than the other girls’ at this point. She does not carry herself upright like a male though, and she is very docile. She will happily sit in my hand for long periods of time, crouching low like a hen does and drifting off to sleep. Hardly rooster behavior! Her feet are no bigger or darker than the others’, she preens often (maybe boys do that too?), and she does not have dark coloring on her tail or belly. I am watching her closely, however. It would be awful if we had to give her up.

Production Red Pullet or cockerel?
Joy showcasing her large comb (the bumpy part on top of her beak). They are also all starting to grow wattles (the dangly bits on their necks). She looks cranky here, but actually she was falling asleep as I sang to them. I mean, I never sing to chickens.

Some extra chick pics just for fun:

Wyandotte chick
Gypsy will finally sit on my hand for a long time now, and let me stroke her back.
Barred rock, wyandotte, and production red chicks
Sometimes I feel like the bird lady from Mary Poppins.
Chicken selfie
Did I mention that chickens are curious? And enjoy taking selfies?

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