Chicken poop crumbling to dust?

[OliviaBirds]

Hi,

I discovered the weirdest thing today when I went into my chicken coop. Usually after a week of not cleaning the coop, there will be poop on the concrete. Over the past week, I have noticed that there has been way more dust piling on the ground. I decided to check it out, so I ran my hands through the stuff on the ground, and in stead of there being piles of poop, there was only a thick layer of gritty dust! It was dry, mixed in with the pine chips, and slid right through my fingers like sand. It was the weirdest thing. I know that chicken keepers should expect plenty of dust from their chickens, but I have had chickens for two years, and this has never happened to me. Also, one of the feeders is sitting on the ground, and there was more food on the ground than usual, (even five feet from the feeder). I haven't seen any rat poop or any sign of rats inside the coop. Please, can anyone explain this?

Thanks!

Olivia

 

[silkie1472]

I am not quite sure what you mean by the "dust", but as for the food being scattered on the ground, your chickens may be doing this. Sometimes, as the temperatures are changing, some breeds will be picky if which foods they eat, and will scratch out all of the food they do not want. Also, if your chickens are not causing this, rats could be your problem whether it seems like it or not. Pac-rats are a common coop invader responsible for taking food to their nest without being noticed. They often do not even leave any poo or holes behind. However, letting them continue to do this may cause them to kill your chickens. Yes, a rat can kill your chickens, turkeys, ducks, etc.. It has happened to me too many times. Just be on the search for rats in your coop. **They are more active in the late afternoon and early morning**

 

[OliviaBirds]

Sorry, dust might be the wrong word. It's more like sand, (or broken down poop?) Here is a picture.

I know it's probably normal to look like this, but I don't do the deep liter method, and by now the poop should be damp and sticking to the concrete. It's been about a week since I
Cleaned it last, and I will be cleaning it again in the next couple of days. I thought I would post this and ask about it since it seems abnormal. BTW, there is way more of this throughout the room( barely any whole chunks of poop) nothing is sticking to the ground.

 

[silkie1472]

Well then, I am not sure what is causing their poop to decintegrate. In my coop they just scratch around the pine shavings under the roost until their poop is gone.

 

[OliviaBirds]

Yeah, that's probably what is happening. Thanks for the help! I know I'm probably making a big deal over nothing