Can i feed my chickens anything to make their poop unappealing?

[putty]

I put a muzzle on my dog, I tape the end also, if not he eats away

 

[JeffOeuf]

Not a dog owner, so I don't face this problem, but wouldn't it be easier to just hit the poop with a hose? Poop's gone, lawn is fertilized and the problem is solved. I do that in the highly traveled part of the yard every other day or so just to keep me from tracking it through the house.

 

[manaze88]

Good luck training your dog not to eat chicken poop, that will be a very difficult task

My dog doesn't eat it as much as he used to. He doesn't seem to have any noticeable issues when he does have a little in-between-meal-snack from time to time, and he has a sensitive stomach. I notice more of an issue when he eats the chicken food, as he has sensitivities to gluten.

It's possible your dogs issues with the poop come from what's in the poop, which is really what's in the food you're feeding the chickens. Maybe switching to another brand might help alleviate the stomach issues. That might be an easier solution to the aggravation of trying to get him to stop eating the poop!!

Good luck!

 

[akovia]

You might try changing your dog's feed. Obviously, the dogs are missing something in their diet. Upgrade to higher protein and fat content and see if they ignore the chix poop.

 

[CluckyCharms]

Ahhh...free range duh...I didn't even think of that (I hate NyQuil).

 

[Gville_Wellies]

I don't trust the dogs out with the chickens alone so I'm always out there with them (the Rhodesian ridgeback/lab mix is a rescue who got returned from his first home for killing chickens), plus the little boston terrier wouldn't get off of the concrete patio to potty if I didn't make her, apparently the backyard is "icky" on her feet. So when I started to let the chickens roam and the dogs started eating chicken poop, I just sprayed them with the hose, which works with them cause they both hate it. It's very handy because I can hit them from far away, which works with Cookie (the boston) who is deaf and Rico, the mix, who acts like he's deaf and just gobbles it down faster when you yell at him, no pun intended

Now all I really have to do, if anything, is show them the hose. However the boston is very, very sneaky, so I need to stay on my game. She often tests you to see if your watching. She'll sniff the ground very intently from far away, and while she's watching you, ever so nonchalantly, she'll "taste" the ground, of course I know what she's up to!

 

[mickey328]

I just flat gave up trying to keep the dogs from the "chicken crunchies". Ours don't free range, but they're in a portable pen so every time we move it the dogs pounce! I seriously doubt they'll "get" anything from it. The chickens are healthy so their poo isn't likely to be harmful...disgusting, yes, but not injurious. If there are any worms or parasites in there, the heartworm meds the dogs get should take care of it. Just don't let the dogs kiss you on the lips, LOL

 

[Frecky45]

I am new to chickens but.... I have a dog. Jewel loves poop! All poop! Mostly cat poop but I have seen her trying to get to the chicken poop in the chicken run. I, on the other hand, am not fond of being licked by a poopy tongue.

Sometime back my vet told me that a little MSG in the cats food would discourage Jewel from eating the cat poop. She is very sneaky. She did not like the MSG poop at all. She stopped eating cat poop for a while. Sometimes I will put some in the cat food just as a reminder when she slips up.

I have been wondering about putting MSG in the chicken feed. Does anyone have any idea if that could be harmfull to the chickens. I can't imagine it would be but I don't know chickens well. Any opinions?

 

[centrarchid]

Give the dogs more time. The coprophagy (poop eating) is likely to cease. My dogs have stopped eating it, at least it is not done on a regular basis.

 

[MarineCorpFarmr]

Shock training collars do work with some stubborn dogs