Snowy, cold winter weather can present challenges for chicken keepers and their flocks. Whenever chickens are confined to spaces smaller than they ordinarily enjoy, boredom and behavioral problems such as feather picking and egg-eating can result. Today, we’re going to share our favorite winter boredom busters and fun and creative ways to make the most of winter with your flock.

What Happens When Your Chickens Are Cooped Up:

Winter is the season that your birds will spend the most time in their coop, sometimes up to 14 hours a day. All that extra time inside can definitely lead to boredom in your flock and may require some extra management and creative ideas to keep your birds stimulated and healthy.  

Feather pecking is a common problem for many backyard poultry keepers. You may have read that feather pecking has to do with nutrition. That can be true in extreme cases or when birds do not have consistent access to a quality complete feed. However, the vast majority of feather-pecking issues are most likely due to boredom and dominance. When birds are cooped up for extended periods of time, the less dominant birds and any slow-to-recover molters may be subject to bullying by your dominant birds.

Egg-eating can occur if your chickens have a calcium deficiency, but it most likely occurs because they're bored and made an accidental discovery. Let’s say, the chicken coop is crowded or they’ve been cooped up for too many hours, maybe your chicken broke an egg. Or they’re just so bored that instead of pecking each other, they pecked an egg and broke it. Once the egg is broken, the chicken may begin to eat the yolk and develop a taste for eggs. Therefore, even if the initial egg breaking was an accident, it may gradually become a behavior in your chicken. And, if left in the coop with the rest of the chickens, the hen’s behavior may rub off on the others further reducing the number of eggs you can collect.

Here Are a Few Tools to Prevent These Occurrences and Keep Them Occupied:

Poultry Blocks 

Poultry blocks are an excellent tool if you have any of these problems. Poultry Blocks give your birds something else to peck on besides each other and their eggs. You can keep blocks inside the coop or outside, just remember to bring them inside at night because rodents and predators may be attracted to the blocks. Nonetheless, they really are wonderful tools to keep your birds pecking and active without causing damage to their coop mates.

Snack Ropes

Another creative way to help your birds break winter boredom is by providing snack ropes. For example, maybe you remember stringing popcorn around Christmas time to use as decorations. Backyard poultry LOVE these types of treats and they’re super easy to make. Any scraps or treats that you would normally throw out for your birds can be strung on rope and hung in the run for your birds to enjoy. Vegetables, leafy greens, fruits, small gourds, and leftover popcorn from your Christmas tins all make adorable and charming snack ropes. The birds love the extra treats and have a great time picking them off of the ropes. Just remember to not overdo it. Treats and snacks should comprise no more than 10-15% of total feed consumption. Using complete poultry feed should be your primary source of food and nutrients for your chickens, especially in the winter. 

Free Range Time

Lastly, it’s a good idea to allow your birds to go outside and/or free-range as much as possible in the winter, too. Even if you only have 30 minutes to an hour between the time you get home and the time the sun goes down, your birds will enjoy the chance to get outside. Chickens are natural foragers and love doing so. This is guaranteed to get rid of any winter boredom and keep them busy for as long as you let them.

We know many poultry owners worry about the colder temperatures in winter and may be tempted to keep their birds cooped up at all times to conserve heat, but doing so may result in more bad than good. Chickens are amazing and adaptable animals and can handle the winter season very well. Allowing them to go outside, get fresh air, and exercise has many of the same positive health benefits that humans enjoy when staying active all year. 

Here at Martin’s Feed Mill, we’re happy to help you combat your chicken's winter boredom blues. Throughout the month of February 2023, stop by and receive 25% off poultry blocks with the purchase of any layer feed. Hurry in while supplies last!

Information received from Jefferson, Nancy. “Winter Boredom Busters.” Kalmbach Feeds, https://www.kalmbachfeeds.com/blog/winter-boredom-busters/?fbclid=IwAR3W-5wI6rCF5uikLSQzSE0h3dlOOE_RX90MuKRFbM1Ew8USuil0PwMfulM&vgo_ee=gsOIc8am6KIGNFG0pwIEEg%3D%3D. Accessed 19 Jan. 2023.