cleaning up after free-rangers...

[Curlita]

My chickens free-range whenever I am home, and I enjoy watching them putter around the backyard. But the poop, by gosh! In the grass, fine, no troubles, but there is a lot of poop that winds up on our back patio. I've been sweeping it off every night and then sluicing it with water, but there are still, um, chicken SIGNS on the pavement and a small cloud of flies in the vicinity.

I'm trying to figure out how to clean the patio after their rambles, or how to figure out a way to keep them off the patio entirely.

Ideas?

 

[MissPrissy]

If they free range you pretty much have a pattern set. If you want them off the patio you will have to fence them into their own run where they can happily poop and draw their own flies to eat yum extra protein.

I would pressure wash the patio with some bleach water to get it clean. You can get fly traps or make your own. Tons of recipes if you search google.

 

[d.k]

* We just put up a temporary "soft" run for Miss Chook. You could use a variation to screen your patio and hopefully discourage the birds from using it. We bought 3ft wood stakes and staple-gunned WIRE window screen material to the stakes every 3 feet. Pound them in the ground and there you are. If your birds fly, they'll still get over it. Mine can't fly.

 

[HenHaven]

I have a similar problem. I wanted to reclaim my patio and deck! I keep a hose with a spray nozzle handy, and when I see any of the girls on the patio, I squirt the hose at them. You don't even have to get them wet--just a couple of jets, sent their way does the trick.

I can't say this is 100% effective, but it has cut down about 75% of the problem. They sometimes try to sneak back when I'm not looking, and they definitely hang around more when I'm working and DH is in charge. He is not as diligent as I am with the hose.

They are learning where they ARE welcome and where they are NOT welcome, but they are not above being sneaky and trying to dustbathe in my flowerbed or sit in my chair!

Edited to say that I also started letting them out to freerange a little later in the afternoon. That way, they get down to business, scratching and foraging--there is less time for lounging on the patio and drinking mint juleps!

 

[cheeptrick]

We too had the same problem...put up a child gate so they couldn't get on the porch to come to the back door to beg for treats.


We also....sprayed down the porch occasionally with the water hose.

BUT after it all...we just GOT used to the POOP!! Chicken feed, bugs and water is all it IS....I keep telling myself!!