Take a look for logs, pallets, old ladders, boards - anything lying around. Old wood also makes an ideal home for bugs and worms, so it's a double boredom buster: your chickens will love hunting them out! A pile of logs helps provide entertainment.
Pet the chicken with your free hand.
Once the chicken is calm and held securely under 1 arm, you should be able use your other hand to pet its head, neck, back, or chest. The chicken may try to peck at your hand if it doesn't want to be held or petted.
During a session with a chicken, he'll likely peck at you, peep, and purr until you give him a treat. Besides being very smart, chickens are also incredibly affectionate. They follow you around, and they may even bring gifts to you if they're happy.
Spend Quality Time
One of the best ways to get your flock to trust you is to spend time with them. If they're chicks, pick them up and spend some one-on-one time with them every day. Let them see your face and talk to them. They will get comfortable with you and even nap in your hands or on your lap.
Boredom can affect chickens in several ways. While general listless behavior is not necessarily bad, a bored, unhappy chicken can develop poor behaviors such as pecking or aggression, causing problems in the flock. Bored hens typically lay fewer eggs, and bored chickens will not be as alert to potential predators.
Hens should never be fed food scraps that contain anything high in fat or salt, and do not feed them food that is rancid or spoiled. Specific types of food that hens should not be fed include raw potato, avocado, chocolate, onion, garlic, citrus fruits, uncooked rice or uncooked beans [2].
Ground cover within the coop can be anything from wood chips, straw and grass to bare ground. Organic materials tend to break down quickly and plain sand is a popular choice for its durability. Whatever you choose, make sure the chickens may easily scratch and dig.
When hens have nothing to do, they create their own fun. And their idea of fun means picking on other hens, pulling out their own feathers and eating eggs before you have a chance to harvest them. Free-ranging chickens rarely get bored because they have lots of opportunities to explore their surroundings.
Another thing you can do is actually place a stuffed hen near the brooder. The downside to this is that the stuffed hen will get pooped on, so you'll need to do some cleanup, and you may want to toss it out at the end of the brooding period. But in the meantime, your chicks will love it!
Chickens are very social. Giving them the space and opportunity to socialise is one great way to let them express themselves. Not only do they enjoy mixing with each other, many also enjoy spending time with humans!
Puzzle feeders, such as those used for dogs or cats, are a great way to engage a chicken's mind, and encourage problem-solving behaviours. Motivated by the treat reward, you may be surprised at just how quick your chickens figure it out!
Most of us probably realize chickens are intelligent, and when not stimulated they can feel negative emotions such as boredom and frustration, but also happiness and excitement when they are stimulated.
Give Treats
Just like other animals, chickens love treats. Great treat options include cooked oatmeal, greens like kale and spinach, pumpkin, and scratch grains. You can also occasionally hang things like heads of cabbage or suet blocks in their run for the chickens to peck.
Mostly hens love to forage. This means keeping moving, looking under trees for bugs and grubs. They do interrupt their search from time to time, taking time out to dustbathe or to get into the sandpits and have a bit of fun.
High Energy. The easiest and fastest way to know if your chickens are happy is to watch them. A content chicken will participate in normal chicken activities, such as pecking and scratching the ground, taking a dust bath, hunting for bugs, nesting, preening, and laying eggs.
While they may not seem like the most obviously affectionate of animals, most backyard chickens grow very accustomed to their owners, often delighting in being picked up, petted and talked to in a soft and gentle manner.
Raising backyard chickens is relatively low maintenance. You'll spend about 10 to 20 minutes per day tending to them, and then about an hour or two on the weekends. In the morning, you'll let them into their run, and replenish their water and food.
It's the first rule right after washing your hands: "Don't kiss or snuggle backyard poultry, and don't eat or drink around them. This can spread Salmonella germs to your mouth and make you sick."
Be safe around poultry.
Don't kiss, hold or touch backyard poultry and then touch your face or mouth. Don't let backyard poultry inside the house, especially in areas where food or drink is prepared, served or stored, and don't eat or drink where poultry live or roam.
Chickens can recognize up to 100 faces—and have been found to associate the faces they remember with the positive or negative experiences. Chickens can also show love and affection for the humans who care for them, and they certainly remember the humans they know and how those humans may have treated them.