Chickens eating squirrel/rat poop.

[Kristin209]

My hens coop and run is under a sixty foot tree. I discovered my hens eating what I assumed was rat or mice poop. I only have three hens so every morning I have been picking them up out of the coop and transferring them to a 400 sq’ area that is rodent poop free. Thirty traps later and nothing trapped- Called in professionals and still nothing. On the morning the exterminator arrived a squirrel appeared in the yard. It’s the first I’ve seen in six months. I have ruled out that the hen cleaning and storage as the issue. I believe the droppings are from the squirrel pooping high in the tree and the reason for not trapping anything were the actual poop is. Much to my horror, tonight is the first time in 20 years of backyard chickens that I saw my hen eat the others poop. In her defense, the poop was reddish from all the carrots they ate. I’m wondering: am I making a big deal out of them eating squirrel/ possibly rat Poop. Seeing one hen eat the others poop today broke me. I’m getting weary of manually transferring them,And secondly the endless “poop raining” from my backyard canopy. I installed sheet metal around the trees. Some guidance would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I don't know if my birds eat rodent droppings or not, but I do know they dig through the donkey poop, or any poop to find stuff to eat. Chickens are opportunistic eaters, and will consume many things. They also dig and scratch through stuff looking for tiny seeds and bugs. Nothing is considered too gross to a chicken. Wait until you see one of them running around with a dead sparrow, or frog carcass, and the rest trying to get it.