Making Chicken Toys - January 9, 2020 @goldenoakfarm
On Thursday when my helper friend was here, I decided to clean up and decorate the mirror wreaths for the hens.
I also had 2 new toys to prepare for them: a xylophone and a small mirror.
I’d brought the wreaths up from the coop months ago and they’d lain on the kitchen floor since. First thing was to give them a good vacuuming. The basket one’s mirror had come loose and needed repaired. The little mirror had come off the frame and the needed repaired too.
While my helper friend vacuumed them and cleaned the mirrors, I repaired the basket one with the hot glue gun. I also fixed the small mirror and got the xylophone ready to hang up. Then he chopped the vegs and we started tying them on.
The grapevine wreath
I find the brightest root vegetables in the farmers market as attractants.
The basket wreath
The vegs are cut horizontally, and the hole made through the stem ends. The vegs survive the pecking better this way. I also use thick string as it doesn’t cut into the vegs as easily.
I put 2 of the brightest vegetables on the xylophone. The idea is they will hit the bars and make sounds as they go for the vegs.
I’d found hooks for the 2 new toys and they were ready to go to the barn.
This flock had never seen the mirrors. The spelt grain in the lip if the basket mirror was a big hit.
The Barred Rocks are the minority in the flock, but they had no problem pushing the Australorps out from the basket.
Miss Rosecomb, who I suspect might not be all Barred Rock but maybe Dominique, made a real pig of herself on the grain.
A Dominique hen on Cackle’s website
This wreath got scant attention until the grain was gone. The Australorps were the first to peck at the vegs.
The xylophone by the feeder
The small mirror behind the waterer
We’ve got a lot of rain coming and then cold. I like to provide things to keep them occupied in the coop in an effort to prevent boredom behaviors when they won’t go outside due to weather.
Creating the wreaths: here
More about decorating them: here
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I like to provide things to keep them occupied in the coop in an effort to prevent boredom behaviors when they won’t go outside due to weather. I had no idea that chickens would need stimulation, but if I think about it, this makes perfect sense! They are intelligent creatures and if cooped up, could cause chaos! Toys are an excellent, and very pretty, idea 🌱
For the umpteenth time, where do you find the time for all that you do?! Toys for your chickens? I think about doing this for them often, but have never once actually gotten around to it. I love these ideas. One of these days.
Well, we only work here on the homestead, no 40 hour week to work around. And I do have my helper friend.
But in the case of chicken toys, it was a case of "must needs". The hens were locked in for a very long time due to snow that could come off the barn roof and flatten them. (Problem since resolved.) I HAD to try to find anything to occupy them. Once made, it's simple to redecorate them as needed.
Orr eat them 🙃
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Those are some healthy looking chickens. Do they actually know what to do with the toys?
They figure it out over time. There's not much to the mirrors. Some of the chickens like looking at the "other" chicken in the mirror. They have started on the root vegs. As far as the xylophone, it just makes noise when they peck at the vegs. I doubt they'd mess with it without food there.
Please make a video of them playing with it. Chickens playing vegetable xylophone will break the internet
I wish doing videos was easy for me, but it is not. That's why there are never videos on my posts.
Sorry about that. What stops you from doing videos?
I can't seem to load them or make them play properly. I don't know why. I gave up long ago.
Even with YouTube?
Yes, both YouTube and DTube.
Hi, What glue have you used. I am going to repair some windows at my country house and I need to find a good glue that will be resistant to water and temperature changes. I have found this one https://chemicalwiki.com/permatex-heavy-duty-headliner-aerosol-can/ but it iwll be good to hear other ideas. Thanks in advance.