I learned how to play Chess recently. More specifically I learned how to stare at a board and move little men until someone said "Yeah. You're allowed to do that".
You can't beat a good game for killin' time and havin fun. Solitaire, Hide and Seek, Pictionary, Uno, Keep-away, Pin the Bandaid on the Fella.
Think humans are unique to the love of games like keep-away?
Think again.
Today on a special episode of, Will They Eat It? ... The chickens play a rousing game of Keep-away.
Chicken Treats Keep Away Game
Cuddles, Cheez Whiz, Norma and Walnut play keep away.
I realize I'm teaching my chickens incredibly poor manners by encouraging them to play with their food. I do not care. Mind your own business. You'd be completely mortified if I told you what I let them get away with during last week's game of Pictionary.
I saw this and thought of your chickens
How to Make a DIY Hanging Cabbage to Keep Your Chickens Entertained
Low-impact exercise + a healthy snack = happy chickens.
By Lauren Matthews
Jun 21, 2017
Do you have a bunch of bored, out-of-shape chickens on your hands? Then this could be the DIY solution you've been looking for. Chicken owners have been making their own hanging cabbages to place in their chicken coops or runs, which are designed to stimulate chickens' natural foraging instincts and help them get a workout by offering a challenging feeding source. They're especially useful during the winter when your chickens are all cooped up, so to speak.
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COURTESY OF CITY GIRL FARMING
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It's actually super easy to make your own hanging cabbage; you just need to gather up a cabbage, a drill, and a piece of rope, according to this tutorial from the blog City Girl Farming, which calls the set-up a "low tech chicken gym."
Additionally, this forum on BackyardChickens.com has some alternative DIY ideas, including using an apple corer, a metal coat hanger, and a landscape nail.
This DIY comes with an important warning, though: You may want to supervise your chickens when they're using a hanging cabbage, as some commenters have reported that they've seen chickens eat twine used to hang cabbages, or become tangled in the rope. One commenter on BackyardChickens.com wrote:
"I went to a chicken chat at the local grange & the avian vet shared a story about a chicken w/ a dislocated wing. The owner left the chicken unsupervised & found the bird tangled in the string & hanging by a wing, unable to touch the ground (possibly all day). Unfortunately by the time they got the poor thing to the vet, it died on the table. I'm not saying don't do it, just be nearby & keep an eye on them."
Or, if you want to avoid using rope or are simply not into the DIY route, you can buy a treat ball, like this one from Precision Pet, available on Amazon.
Just fill with cabbage and clip to the top of the coop — the bell even provides some extra entertainment for your chickens!
From: Country Living US
These videos are so cute especially set to the twangy music. My chickens are way too darn picky for my taste. I thought they ate everything too. Not so. Mine won't touch lettuce or bread. Go figure, but ain't it fun?
Thanks Beth! Interesting. My chickens LOVE bread and lettuce. They will NOT eat anything with meat though. (I've never fed them meat but tried it when I was desperate to get some protein into them during an especially long moult. And yes. It is a great deal of fun. :) ~ karen
OMG, love these "Will They Eat It" videos...so funny! Must have more, lol! Yeah, I know-I'm easily entertained! ;)
So cute! I have taught our flock to play with grapes. The younger chickens just run, clucking in a panic, but the older ones will jump quite high for grapes. That's how we prefer to introduce them to new visitors, so they can see how hilarious chickens are. Your flock is lovely :)
You can always make me laugh. liked the music too.
AND...I officially just became a vegetarian. Cute video Karen! Looks like your summer tomato crop was gorgeous too.
I have to say the chickens are better behaved with this game than me and my brothers when we were younger.
I wondered if you had to insert the pause in the middle of the video because you'd run out of banjo music. I'm so glad you didn't! Also? Watching chickens running is just about the best thing I've seen all week. All month, even!
Congratulations! Yours is the only place that I could be convinced to sit and watch chickens for longer than 3 seconds... Somehow, it is entertaining!
Jodie - I know. They're curiously entertaining. ~ karen!
You should try cooked spaghetti noodles. Who know chickens could be so entertaining?? We've thought about chicken saddles with barbies. Can't figure out the logistics on that one. I'll leave it to you. They remind me of TomToms when they run.
Sadly, I do know the use of a chicken saddle. Er, ahem....say you have a rooster in your flock. The randy rooster stories are true and often they will have a favorite lady or two or three or...well you understand. The saddle is to protect the ladies back feather from coming out and exposing her delicate skin from the talons of the aforementioned randy rooster.
OMG. I'm sitting in the dark in bed, reading this frrom my iPad, andu my poor hubbo. can't sleep because i kept laughing. Maybe your blog Karen, has to be limited to dytime...
and that would clearly improve my patience to spell correctly too.
"WILL THEY EAT IT"? Had to do that, I missed it so much!
Not only are your posts hilarious, but your readers/commenters are too.
Molly's "Do chickens really like banjo music or is that just one more stereotype?" made me laugh as much as the video!
Can the "fella" object to this object d'art?
....I wanna play toooooo!
That's hilarious! I actually laughed out loud in my cube when the chicken came to the fence to "beg" for a tomato. I think they should show video of fluffy running chicken butts in the psych ward to cheer up the depressed folks!
Until I can get my own chickens, I will have to do with three chihuahua dogs doing much the same thing with who has the chicken jerky. No time to eat it just run and hide from the others.
My neighbors just got their chickens right after I said I was going to get some. Copy Cats! All though it has softened up the Fella here, so it may not be so bad..................