Chickens eating paper!

[The Clark Farm]

Hello all! I'm still new to chicken raising so I'm a bit of a helicopter mom still... So I have outdoor cameras at my house and of course I positioned one to where I can see my chickens all day (I know, I know). I just looked because my alerts were going off.. and my Barred Rocks are pecking at a biodegradable litter box that I placed outside their run for dirt baths! I placed it outside of their run because when I went to show them in their run they instantly started eating it! I just put it too close to the run when I removed it. It's basically made of recycled paper, and baking soda, at least that's what it says, you never truly know. Well, I'm over here at work and they are just going to town on it and I can't stop them. Should I be worried? I'm not sure how bad baking soda is for them and I don't know how much paper they have consumed. I feel like I have toddlers! They get organic, non-gmo, soy free, corn free, complete layer feed. They get a wide variety of treats, meal worms, cooked quinoa, kale (their fav), etc so I don't think they're missing something major in their diet. Maybe I'm wrong, or maybe they are just maniacs who love to eat paper? Is it terrible for them? I know it's oddly specific but has this happened to anyone else? I don't want to have to leave my job to stop my chickens from eating a litter box, but I will if need be

 

[Ebony Rose]

You just wait until some styrofoam escapes from someone's trash can and the wind blows it into your yard. They treat it like popcorn!

 

[rosemarythyme]

I'd simply replace the box with something that isn't so easy to pick apart - plastic or wood. I wouldn't run home to remove it, but I also wouldn't let them continue to have access to it.

 

[The Clark Farm]

I'd simply replace the box with something that isn't so easy to pick apart - plastic or wood. I wouldn't run home to remove it, but I also wouldn't let them continue to have access to it.

Thanks, that's what I was thinking but I wasn't sure! And of course they're not going to have access to the paper one anymore.

 

[Ra_]

You just wait until some styrofoam escapes from someone's trash can and the wind blows it into your yard. They treat it like popcorn!

I don't know why they love that stuff so much but they sure do.

 

[VanUnamed]

Yeah, mine did this too. I left a cardboard piece near the net of the run, ready to be cut up and put into the compost pile after it rained, they picked all of it apart. lol

 

[Willowspirit]

Mine also ate a huge amount of styrofoam when they were babies! I was horrified but they all survived it.