Chickens keep pooping on the deck and cement.

[Msoul]

I have a large backyard. There is more than enough space and grass and things to hide in and play with for my chickens. And yet, even with all this space plus a spacious coop and run just for them, when I let them out to free range THEY GO AND POOP IN THE ONE FRACTION OF THE YARD I DON'T WANT THEM IN! The worst part is, I have a sneaking feeling that they know I don't want them there. Whenever I come outside and they're on the deck and thy see me, they scamper away. I was once scaring them off the deck, and my RIR looked me right in the eye, and pooped right in front of me. I have to pressure wash the deck so that our guests (and me) don't step in poop. I have tried everything to get them to stay off. I scare them off the deck and cement whenever I see them, I covered the ground in lemon juice ans spices once, it was supposed to sting their feet when they walked there but as far as I could see it did nothing. I have cut down on their free range time and it is still like running a parkour course when you try to walk around without stepping in it. I only have 5 birds I have no idea how they generate this much poop. I have tried almost every method short of buying and installing motion activated sprinklers all around that area. Any advice?

Good morning! We had the SAME issue. All of our chickens would hang out on our steps and porch right up to our front door, it was a mess. We have 21 acres for them to run and play all day but they would continue to use the porch. It got to the point I was arguing my husband of ways to keep them off and who's turn it was to pressure wash the porch well we ended up reading somewhere to try using a fake owl. At this point I was willing to do anything I bought one from TSC for I think $15.00 we placed the owl front and center on the first step and literally the same day the chickens would not come near the porch. This continued to be successful over the next few days I honestly cried. I will say you have to move the owl around to different places on the porch every few days so the chickens think it is real but IT IS SO WORTH IT! Give that a try let us know if it works. We are going on 3 months chicken free and poop free on the porch

 

[svh]

I have had extremely good results with keeping my 16 chickens off of the deck, steps, and picnic table, by diligently acting like a maniac running after them, yelling, and waving my arms above my head, and sometimes throwing stuff in their general direction.

I did this from day one, and I quickly learned that they don't like this AT ALL !!!

I started a year ago with 8 adult hens, and 1 roo, and it was fairly easy to deter them, within a week or two, with the method above, with them "learning" to stay away from the deck. The original chooks NEVER come up on the deck anymore.

Of course, I am retired, and have the time to employ this training, and the birds have many acres to range in.

Now, I'm using the same technique with 9 new, 4 month old pullets, and although they have just recently started exploring the forbidden territory, they are quickly coming to terms with what I expect from them.

I am very confident, that within a few weeks, the new pullets will not want to visit these "off limit" areas, and I can once again relax and enjoy my poop free deck and picnic table !

Your mileage may vary.

 

[ChassiNoir]

I have had extremely good results with keeping my 16 chickens off of the deck, steps, and picnic table, by diligently acting like a maniac running after them, yelling, and waving my arms above my head, and sometimes throwing stuff in their general direction.

I did this from day one, and I quickly learned that they don't like this AT ALL !!!

I started a year ago with 8 adult hens, and 1 roo, and it was fairly easy to deter them, within a week or two, with the method above, with them "learning" to stay away from the deck. The original chooks NEVER come up on the deck anymore.

Of course, I am retired, and have the time to employ this training, and the birds have many acres to range in.

Now, I'm using the same technique with 9 new, 4 month old pullets, and although they have just recently started exploring the forbidden territory, they are quickly coming to terms with what I expect from them.

I am very confident, that within a few weeks, the new pullets will not want to visit these "off limit" areas, and I can once again relax and enjoy my poop free deck and picnic table !

Your mileage may vary.

How much are tickets to the show?

 

[halefamily_flock]

I combined these two approaches with much success keeping a flock of 30+ free ranging chickens off the porch....

Does the rest of the yard have interesting perches, shady spots, sheltered areas, etc? Or are they choosing the deck because it's the most chicken-friendly part of the yard?

I created play spaces & perches in areas I preferred them to hang out, added outdoor waterers & feeders, and try to minimize anything on the porch that might be interpreted as a chicken buffet.

I have had extremely good results with keeping my 16 chickens off of the deck, steps, and picnic table, by diligently acting like a maniac running after them, yelling, and waving my arms above my head, and sometimes throwing stuff in their general direction.

I started with a similar approach, but found I couldn't actually run fast enough, in all the directions necessary, to be effective on my own. Fortunately, I had a Corgi who LOVED the chickens, so I taught him the "chickens off the porch" command. It was the only time he was allowed to chase them, very briefly. I would say "chickens off the porch" (loudly, with much urgency), let him out the patio door. He would bark and chase chickens around the porch for about 10-15 seconds, then I called him back & gave him a treat for leaving the chickens alone & quickly returning to me. Obviously, this could be dangerous with dogs that weren't already friendly and non-threatening with the chickens, but here is the dog I'm talking about...

My second Corgi never had much interest in the chickens, but realized quickly there were treats to be gained by helping keep them off the porch, so now she is always happy to join in.

 

[KingD]

Use treats to get them off the deck and they will soon learn that they get treats if they stay off the deck

If you give them treats to stay off the deck, they will come onto the deck to get the treats to stay off.

 

[Banditsduo]

Yes I agree -- you just live with the poop -- keep a hose handy -- mine come down to look through the backdoor window every morning -- I think because I had them up at the house when they were chicks - plus they are social and curious. I also have 3 geese who LOVE hanging out on the cement drive and patio -- talk about POOP -- geese trump chickens no contest.

 

[Banditsduo]

I combined these two approaches with much success keeping a flock of 30+ free ranging chickens off the porch....



I created play spaces & perches in areas I preferred them to hang out, added outdoor waterers & feeders, and try to minimize anything on the porch that might be interpreted as a chicken buffet.



I started with a similar approach, but found I couldn't actually run fast enough, in all the directions necessary, to be effective on my own. Fortunately, I had a Corgi who LOVED the chickens, so I taught him the "chickens off the porch" command. It was the only time he was allowed to chase them, very briefly. I would say "chickens off the porch" (loudly, with much urgency), let him out the patio door. He would bark and chase chickens around the porch for about 10-15 seconds, then I called him back & gave him a treat for leaving the chickens alone & quickly returning to me. Obviously, this could be dangerous with dogs that weren't already friendly and non-threatening with the chickens, but here is the dog I'm talking about...

My second Corgi never had much interest in the chickens, but realized quickly there were treats to be gained by helping keep them off the porch, so now she is always happy to join in.

And its awesome to let a herding dog get to herd things!

 

[aart]

I started with a similar approach, but found I couldn't actually run fast enough, in all the directions necessary, to be effective on my own

This 'bout had me spitting coffee

Great story about training the pups...and that video is priceless!

 

[svh]

I combined these two approaches with much success keeping a flock of 30+ free ranging chickens off the porch....



I created play spaces & perches in areas I preferred them to hang out, added outdoor waterers & feeders, and try to minimize anything on the porch that might be interpreted as a chicken buffet.



I started with a similar approach, but found I couldn't actually run fast enough, in all the directions necessary, to be effective on my own. Fortunately, I had a Corgi who LOVED the chickens, so I taught him the "chickens off the porch" command. It was the only time he was allowed to chase them, very briefly. I would say "chickens off the porch" (loudly, with much urgency), let him out the patio door. He would bark and chase chickens around the porch for about 10-15 seconds, then I called him back & gave him a treat for leaving the chickens alone & quickly returning to me. Obviously, this could be dangerous with dogs that weren't already friendly and non-threatening with the chickens, but here is the dog I'm talking about...

My second Corgi never had much interest in the chickens, but realized quickly there were treats to be gained by helping keep them off the porch, so now she is always happy to join in.

You're lucky to have the help ! Here's my hounds when I give the command to get the birds off the porch .....

Notice how they position themselves just right to entirely block the front part of the deck, making the chickens jump over them, and me go around them !

Here they are after I give the command !

 

[Yigolette]

I have a large backyard. There is more than enough space and grass and things to hide in and play with for my chickens. And yet, even with all this space plus a spacious coop and run just for them, when I let them out to free range THEY GO AND POOP IN THE ONE FRACTION OF THE YARD I DON'T WANT THEM IN! The worst part is, I have a sneaking feeling that they know I don't want them there. Whenever I come outside and they're on the deck and thy see me, they scamper away. I was once scaring them off the deck, and my RIR looked me right in the eye, and pooped right in front of me. I have to pressure wash the deck so that our guests (and me) don't step in poop. I have tried everything to get them to stay off. I scare them off the deck and cement whenever I see them, I covered the ground in lemon juice ans spices once, it was supposed to sting their feet when they walked there but as far as I could see it did nothing. I have cut down on their free range time and it is still like running a parkour course when you try to walk around without stepping in it. I only have 5 birds I have no idea how they generate this much poop. I have tried almost every method short of buying and installing motion activated sprinklers all around that area. Any advice?

hello! I’m new to raising hens so I’m not sure how good my advice is, but I have for hens and we dealt with the exact same problem. While we didn’t solve the problem completely, we improved it greatly by changing some things. Here’s how we did it: the deck the girls were covering in poop
was connected to the sliding door they could see us clearly through and that we would often come out of to see them. We started making a habit of not coming out of that sliding door and greeting them by entering through the gate outside. We made sure they saw us entering with their treats only from the outside gate and never again through the deck sliding door that led to our dining room from the deck. This lessened the poop greatly and while they still come to the deck, it’s usually not to loiter there for hours. It’s to simply sit and hang if we happen to be in the dining room and they’re watching.