I spent $40 on a 'chicken swing' and it was a total flop

I saw this cute wooden swing online and thought my hens would love it. I hung it in the run, put a treat on it, and everything. They just stared at it for a week, then my boss hen, Bertha, pecked the rope until it fell down. Now it's just a weird perch. Has anyone actually had success with these things, or are they just for us humans to think are cute?

3 comments

3 Comments

paul1172mo ago

Oh man, that's classic chicken logic right there. They have zero interest in our expensive toys. I tried a little ladder once with the same result, total ignore. It really does seem like we buy this stuff for ourselves, not for them. A plain old cinder block or a stump would probably make them happier.

victorcoleman2mo ago

My three hens use their metal ladder every single day to get up to their favorite roosting bar. It took about a week of watching the lead hen figure it out, but now they all climb it like pros. I built a nice wooden perch too, but they completely ignored it for months. Sometimes they just need time to learn a new thing is safe and useful. That stump would be fun for a day, but the ladder gives them a reliable way to get where they want to go every night.

hill.hugo21d ago

Exactly this, @paul117 hit it right. My flock ignored a fancy wooden ramp for weeks but figured out a rusty old extension ladder I leaned against the coop in about two days.