A contained flock can have it's own set of challenges. Flock "politics" are more prevalent and boredom sets in and just like "cooped up" kids -the picking and pecking begins. Free range flocks are able to get their own daily dose of goodness from all that nature has to offer at their own pace. Bugs, worms, seeds, flowers, weeds - it is an endless buffet. Contained flocks do not have that option and need to be compensated accordingly.
There are many commercial products for this very purpose.
The issue I personally found with many commercial products was it seemed like candy for chickens. The amount of non-healthy ingredients and preservatives, that I cannot pronounce, was staggering. When reading an ingredient list, usually the amount of that ingredient is indicative of it's position on the list -so whatever comes first it the main ingredient and so on. I found that all the vitamins and minerals were low on the list on many options I was looking at. Another concern for me is the amount of Soybean product involved - Soybean is basically all GMO in the US. This is one of them many reasons prompting us to mix our own feed.
So here it is: Cackleberry Cottage's "Boredom Brick". It is full of goodness for overall flock well being helping to fill the gap for those that cannot free range. We special order whole grains and mill them as needed. Whole Wheat, Field Peas, Flax Seed, BOSS, Cracked Corn, Rolled Oats, Fresh Farm Eggs and Crushed Shell, Omega Booster and Poultry Vitamins and Mineral Supplements are all included. No preservatives. We make to order in small batches but you can freeze them until you want to use them.
We would love to hear from you on how you keep your contained flock healthy and entertained!
For the most part, our chickens free range, but when we are gone for most of the day, or away on trips, they are contained to their run. One way I have been keeping them entertained lately is with ears of corn and over grown cukes! Good food for them, plus it gives them something different to peck at!
ReplyDeleteI'm with Kelly on this one. Our flock can free range most of the time but they stay in when the weather is bad or harvest is on. The best thing I've found to keep them out of trouble is waste from the garden and watermelon rinds. The new (to us, he's about a 18 months old) rooster also seems to have done wonders for the boredom pecking. Any of the hens gets out of line and he lets them know he's only one allowed to do any pecking of hens.
ReplyDeleteMy flock doesn't get to free range as often as I would like for them to. I sometimes make a cabbage tether ball for them. Drill a hole in cabbage and string it up on one of the roosts in the run. They love it. Also.. Fun tip: Purple cabbage will make the chickens poop blue. I was so worried the first time it happened lol.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the boredom bricks!! I cut them in to smaller pieces and freeze them. I put multiple pieces out so that the chickens lower on the pecking order get to have some too. They are lasting a very long time and the chickens love them. Our chickens were free range, but we lost 3 to a fox. We haven't been able to solve the fox problem yet, so our chickens have to be penned. The boredom bricks are really helping! Thanks Tricia! You're awesome!
ReplyDeleteWe are grinding our own also. May I ask what receipt you are using? We are located within a reasonable drive of Lancaster, PA. They are the only good source of NON-GMO grains including roasted soy.
ReplyDeleteOur chickens have a large pen, but we have a select few who are very curious and will explore outside of those confines. We keep our garden directly next to the pen, so they often will poke around in there. it is a mutualistic relationship as they work on grub and bug control for us, and they get some tasty treats to fill their plump little bellies. Our girls and one guy get all the bug eaten produce from our garden to keep them busy as well. They enjoyed loads of yellow squash today which we somehow missed and grew to a very large size. They worked on that for a few hours. Plan on keeping lots of extra produce in our greenhouse for them so that they can stay busy during these quickly approaching frozen days and nights. They also have an apple tree in their pen so they feast on fallen apples most of the day. We have not tried any type of boredom brick yet.
ReplyDeleteMy chickens get to free range only when I am at home. The poor girls are stuck in their run at night for protection and for at least eight hours a day. I usually give them Flock brinks that are commercially made. I also put hay in the run and coop and through in meal worms for them to scratch and search through for the worms. Once my girls are let out in the afternoon they stay out all night, sometimes until 11:30 when I put them up. So I think they are party animals and they must sleep in.
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