Chicken Improv

Coyote trouble means the Ladies are on lock down until we can get a larger area fenced off for them. They have been less than thrilled so  to make up for it I did put together some chicken treats/entertainment.

Pulling from a list recommended by Back Yard Chicken:

• cheerios
• scrambled eggs
• pasta
• yogurt
• leafy greens
• carrots
• broccoli

I've read that the cabbage/head of lettuce/your choice of greens should be strung up some how, either by a skewer or a bungee cord. I think the Ladies would LOVE the bungee idea, but I couldn't put  my  hands on one right away so I used a pecker-wrecker alternative: Bicycle hook! The corkscrew end twisted right into the base of the head and stayed firm, despite the girls' best efforts.

Being that the weather is either rainy or 80 degrees with sun, I wanted to have some other pre-made treats to keep the Ladies occupied regardless the weather.

Totally improvising, I filled the bottom of some muffin trays with water and sprinkled lettuce, marigold, sunflower seeds, and plain cheerios on top. I splashed a little more water for good measure then stuck the tray in the freezer for a few hours.

Later, when I remembered that I had indeed made chicken popsicles, I popped them out to see if my idea had worked.

Yay! Everything was still crispy, but not beak-breaking and this way the Ladies would get a little more agua for their pecking. The Ladies love Cheerios and pecked them first, but seemed content to keep returning and trying to get more hidden goodies as the discs melted.

I have a more seed and berry based set of popsicles for tomorrow and the rest of the week. We'll see if they turn out to be as much of a hit as their leafy counter parts.