This is a two part question regarding poop. My hens and my dogs share a yard, so they are exposed to each others' droppings. My hens seem to avoid my dogs' poop (I don't blame 'em) but should be more concerned about the dog poop being around, in terms of my hens' health? I'm really good at cleaning up the yard, but I don't always get to it every day.
Also, my dogs LOVE to eat chicken poop. One of their favorite things to do in the yard is to go around, licking up chicken poop. UGH. Nasty habit, I know, and I've tried to discourage it, to no avail. Does anyone know of a way to deter dogs from this horrible habit? And should I worry about my dogs' health?
Thanks for any input.
By the way, I like the new format of this site. It's nice to be able to read other people's answers.

I expect the dog's are eating it due to a deficiency in their diet. You may need to take a sample of the dogs' droppings to the vet for analysis.

No, that's not it. They have a clean bill of health. They just like to eat poop. They'll eat anything with a tiny trace of edibility in it.

Well, if you knew the answer to your on question, why did you post it? Thanks for wasting my time.

Duh..... Silver, my question was: How do I DETER my dogs from doing it? And will it harm them? I didn't ask WHY they do it. I already know WHY.

can I but into this fight. I would say if you really want to get them to stop eating it put some chilli peper on some of them, the dogs won't like the tast any more, but the Chicken Poop won't hurt the dogs 2 much.
Norman

I know that there is a product on the market with which I've been able to keep my pugs from my catboxes. This product is called Deter and it is sprinkled over the cat's (chicken's) food. It makes the droppings foul (fowl?) to the dog's sense of smell and I assume taste as well. I do agree with you Sunni that the problem is not some vitamin deficiency but is an instictual drive in canines to devour the most disgusting substances possible. I've seen this over and over with mixed breeds and show dogs, it makes no difference. I've worked as a lab tech and vet tech for some time and have experienced first hand the awesome ability of a dog to ingest feces from just about any other species and its ability to rid its body of all related toxins. I do keep three pet Bantam Silkies and find that my dogs are more interested in the feces than in any thing else and my solution has been to keep the chickens seperate from the dogs until I have everything thouroughly cleaned. Best of luck to you Sunni!!!

I have the same problem but I use it to my advantage...We have a big Rottweiler dog who loves to babysit my newly hatched chicks. We have tile floors so the chicks are allowed to stay in the house for the first few days out of the incubator. I put a heatlamp in the corner of the kitchen and let the dog do all the cleanup work! Kinda funny watching a 100 pound dog fussing over 20 or so little chicks but he seems to like the droppings better than dog treats. He never eats grown chicken poop.

:o) FarmMom

Thats interesting. My dog likes to eat the scratch which in turn is eaten by the hens when it comes out the back end again. Its amazing how nature abhors a vacume.

On a slightly different aspect of the subject, I'd like to know if anyone has suggestions for dealing with pasting--I've read Damerow's suggestion for change in feed mix, but her description of dealing with poop practically of cement hardness glued to those tiny little behinds falls a bit short. Could it be softened with vegetable oil or the like, to thoroughly clear it off? I've made sure the vent is clear, but hate to keep pulling on the little fellow's down and skin....

We have just purchased some baby chicks and we have the same problem, they seem like they are plugged up. The told use to feed them chick starter which we did, and they have plenty of fresh water.They seem to be drinking good, but we have already lost one of the chicks. Are we supposed to be feeding them something else besides the starter? Also all long to we half to keep them under a heat light? And can they go into a coop we have made for them ? I would appreciate any help anyone can give. Thanks

Have you checked the temperature in their box? Too cold or too warm will cause problems. 95f for the first week and drop about 5 degrees each week until 70-75f. Raise the light to lower temp. I never use a heat lamp, always a 100W light in a reflector hood. No, you don't need to feed them anything else besides medicated Starter, but some people feed grated hardboiled eggs--good for very young chicks. I keep my little ones on paper toweling, and layer clean sheets of toweling in their box a number of times a day. Keeps them clean and dry. Keep any drafts from their box, and depending on the breed and how they've grown, they probably can go in your coop by 7-8 weeks. Good luck (And ask for a book on raising chicks from your feed store--or from the library.)CJR

Thanks CJR You have been very helpful, will check the temp. right away.

Ladyfarmer

This may sound dumb, but (just like us) a little fresh fruit might help! If the chicks won't eat or peck at chopped fruit, slice an apple and coat each piece with feed. When they peck at the feed, they will get some of the apple. I've also used sliced green grapes - they peck at the darker seeds inside.

I was told (and I haven't tried this myself yet) that you should get some cracked corn (baby chick size) and mix it with the feed to keep from having pasting up problems. Anyone else tried this? I was also advised against this by another person, who said anything besides chick starter would cause blood in the droppings. Now I don't know whether I should try it next year or not! Anyone have any experience with this one?

Chickenmom: give it a try - did you ever wonder what baby chicks ate before there was starter mix? Visual blood (called "frank blood") in stool is caused by a change in diet; it is usually just a matter of time before the digestive system accommodates the new food.
Frank blood will appear as bright red, thin lines mixed in or around the stool. The stool often appears to contain a lot of mucus. The intestines produce this to ease the passage of foods with pointy edges - like cracked corn. Free blood - blood passed without stool - is a serious sign; this is what you want to watch for. If you put the chicks on corn meal and notice frank blood in the droppings, keep the diet going for about three days to see if the amount of blood diminishes. If not, cut back on the ratio of corn meal; 'way back, if necessary. Usually, the problem resolves.
Good Luck! - liza

Thanks Liza! I will try it next time, then. I never know who to believe sometimes, especially when I get conflicting information. I didn't have a big problem with pasting, luckily.

This is one of only a few trips to the coop, and about my third time on the computer-and I come across a discussion on chicken poop! You guys are great! But it WAS very interseting and I learned alot.

IS salmonella something to be worried about if a dog is eating the chicken poop? How long does it live after excretion?

I used to give my 4 bantams 3 apples a day to peck at until I realised it was making them too regular, (projectile poop everywhere!!!)So I agree with Liza if you have a problem with them being bunged up,give them lots of fruit.An apple a day keeps constipation away.

You do have to keep an eye out for dogs eating chicken poop if the chickens show any signs of coccsidia. Dogs can get it too and the symptoms are pretty much the same - runny stools, sometimes with blood. Need antibiotic to cure.

We compost all our table scraps through the chicken yard. Along with starter, our baby chicks get a minimal amount of grass, weeds, green leaves, and discarded veggies from the garden. We've never had any problems with digestion. Also, if older chickens are "turned loose" from the pen at least once a week, not only will their nutrition improve, your roach problems will dissipate.

Help Please!
I have never raised chickens so I may seem frantic but I have 50 6days old white mountian rocks and some of them have brown loose poop that just started today.
They receive fresh water and food twice a day and I clean their area everyday.
What is worng with my babies and what should I do.

Roxanne, There is a lot of variety in poop, firm, loose, and occasionally watery, different color--and usually none mean anything to worry about. The important thing is to keep their "floor" as clean as possible, so the little toes don't collect poop and the chick stays dry and clean. I change papers a number of times a day--actually I layer clean papers over old, until there are several layers, then roll them up and start over. The light (for heat)keeps things drying very fast, and my feeders hold enough feed, so they are never without it. Same with waterers. Even grown chickens will have variation in poop, from very dry and firm to loose--its normal. Not to worry, but always be watchful. CJR

Now my hens started eating the dog poop. This is so disgusting! Any thoughts? Think maybe they are just bored? They are 13 months old, and this just started within the last month. THey have been roaming my back yard and so has the dog. The dog used to "clean-up" after them, now it's the other way around. Might this affect their eggs at all?? YUK! DM

Dogs will eat anything that is edibale.

You might want to know that chickens delight in following grain-fed cows around. Chickens are scavengers and patrol birds, and make efficient use of what other animals waste. Their habits will not affect your eggs, but I would make sure my dog was in good health and regularly wormed. If you find these dog gifts about, you might eliminate them with a blast from the garden hose before they can be discovered. This is probably no worse than eating worms or mice. Hope this helps.

Thanks it does help. I spend a lot of time cleaning my back yard!

I need help. I have an Aracona hen about 7 months old. Today she was at the door when any one entered or left seeming in need of attention. This evening upon spending some quality time with her we realized her craw was empty. She is not interested in drinking or eating, which is unusual. She justs wants to sleep but of course it is her bedtime now. She did go to the bathroom and it was really watery. The only solid poriton of it was bright green. We do not have anything out for her to get into. Our flock contains 32 birds. Please let me know any suggestions. Thank You

Look her over carefully for injury, watching for pain responses as you work joints, look under feathers, bottoms of feet, etc. It sounds like she was acting like she needed to get away from the others. How large is your building? Are they confined inside this time of year? Were there any recent changes that might have caused stress? How many roosters? Old and new birds together recently? If you isolate her and she eats, then there may also be a pecking order problem, where she is being harrassed or excluded from the feed. It might be something as simple as putting out another feeder so she can eat when the others eat from the main feeder. Of course, at any given time of the day, the crop may be empty any way. But chickens generally want to fill the crop before roosting. If it gets dark and she has not eaten, then there is something discouraging her from eating. Observe and answer the questions above, and we will all try to help.

Our Aracona that has been sick had a empty craw Thur. night but ate some from us. We brought her in and put her in a box. Friday we kept her inside in the box. She had no interest in food or water. Sat.evening is was obvious she was going down hill. I mixed PediLite and dog food and tubed her. This moring she drank on her own,we did tube her with another 35cc of Pedilite because she appears to be dehydated. She did drink during the day but has no interest in eating. This evening I brought to other hens in briefly to stir her interest in eating but it did not work. We are tubing her tonight(Sun) with another 35 cc of Pedilite I mixed in a very little bit of vit supplement and teramyin. She still has diarrhea. A couple of times she had liquid come from her mouth as though she was getting sick. She does not appear to have any injuries. She is a free range chicken sharing shelter with 26 others. Two are roosters the rest are hens. Half are older half are younger, no apparent problems with her being picked on. We did have a third young rooster whose hormones had kicked in but we got rid of him this weekend. About three weeks ago we had three struck with Mereck's disease we had to destroy. She does not have this symptoms except for the diarrhea. It always is a very bright or dark green different from anything I have seen. Any suggestions? Can this just be stress from the changing weather or a symptom of worms? Thank you for you previous response Dr. Smith.

Here are the things Gail Damerow says can result in droppings the color you report.
In growing birds:
leucocytozoonosis, rare; lymphoid leukosis, common

4-12 weeks:
infectious synovitis, not common;

in maturing pullets:
bluecomb, rare;

in mature birds:
pullorum, rare; Newcastle(exotic), rare;

in all birds:
influenza, rare;

Just because it's common, here is a summary of what she says about lymphoid leukosis, also known as big liver disease. symptoms:in birds over six months: dead without symptons, pale or pale shriveled comb, loss of appetite, diarrhea, emaciation, weakness, sometimes bluish comb, vent feathers spotted with urates (white) or bile (green); sometimes you can feel enlarged kidney, cloacal bursa, liver, or nodular tumors through skin
mortality is up to 25%; caused by a group of retroviruses primarily infecting chickens that do not live long off the body; transmission is through infected breeders through hatching eggs or through chicks via droppings; prevent by selecting resistant strains; no treatment, suggest cull and disinfect;

You understand I don't know if this is what you have. If you want me to send other descriptions, let me know. Good luck.

Baby birds/loose bowels

Hi..I have some new silkies form a store & their butocks are protruding and even worse when they deficate, to the point of their rectum protruding out an awful lot like they're straining to go. Is there something I should do or give them.change? They're on starter feed & water, have clean bedding changed 3-4X a day & seem healthy otherwise.

I forgot to add..these are brand new chicks..kept warm...total 3 but 2 have the protruding vent! TIA

Try taking your chicks to a vet. A vet that knows aboutn birds may be able to determine the cause.

Make sure if they are new chicks that they are warm enough. For the first week they should have 95 degrees available to them under the heat source, and you can reduce the temperature by 5 degrees each week until you get to 70 degrees. Prevent drafts from chilling them. Do they have access to chick grit? If not, sprinkle it over their feed like heavy salt so they can get their gizzards working. Hope this helps.

I'm a new chicken owner. We have two egg-laying hens. I notice there's not a speck of poop in their coop or in thier pen. Do chickens eat their own feces? Is this okay

Not if they have a good layer ration, free choice. There should be gobs of poop under the roost where they sleep, but in their coop, if they have a nice bedding of shavings, it gets scratched into and absorbed for a while, but you should see plenty! Yes, they will eat at it, not a good thing, but they may be attracted to the white portion if they do not have oystershell and grit. Keep checking, I think you will find it--makes good compost for your garden. CJR

I have a question about a sick 3 1/2 wk old cornish rock giant. It started putting its head between its legs and walks backwards. Has been eating the chick starter and drinking water with medication. I know they have heart and leg problems ..but I dont think that that is the case here..but i dont know for sure...it seems like its seizes and then will just go to sleep afterwards. do you know what this is.. I know it will have to be destroyed but i would like to know the problem.