Dog eating chicken poop

[Messipaw]

My lab like to chow on the poop too. It's gross.

 

[Lynda9]

So in reading thru all of the comments (and I'm sorry if I missed it) I didn't read what can happen if your chickens have a parasite of some kind and your dogs eat their poop - I've got two labs that eat it every chance they get- or what if you are treating the chickens for worms and their poop is eaten. Can the dogs get worms from eating the chicken poop from affected chickens?

My one lab also loved eating the cat poop - and I hated it - it was such an ordeal to keep the littler box out of reach of the dog. I was sad that my cat passed away a few months back but not at all sad that he can't eat cat poop any longer.

 

[countrydream7]

my three dogs love chicken and horse poop..cant get them to stop..yuck but i guess yummy to them..oh well..

 

[bRadlaw]

I'm nauseous reading these stories. I'm feel fortunate my dog only licks his private parts.

 

[RunningRabbit]

Lol omg. My dog is such a crap eater, I don't even need to clean up after my two house seramas. It's gross, but hey, one less thing for me to clean up. At least he stays out of the cat box (mostly). He just LOVES his chicken nuggets.

 

[chickendogblake]

WOW! I'm so glad I found this thread. I though my dog (Blake) was just a weirdo! (Well, he is. He's definitely a misfit, but I wouldn't have it any other way.) Since the first day the chickens were put out in the coop, he's been a poop gobbling monster. When I've scolded him for it, he gobbles faster. I've decided to stop yelling at him, as it will never work, so I'm glad I now know that it potentially won't hurt him. No more kisses for him, though!

 

[Sabz]

Yep, my dog eats poop also. This allows me to bring a chick in the house if I want, and no worry about the poo

Seriously, regarding health issues..
If I remember my theory correctly, coccidiosis can affect cats, dog and poultry. But, coccidiosis is specie-specific. Meaning that the coccidiosis that affects chicken WILL NOT infect a dog. It may be ingested by the dog but it will live a very short life and not cause any health issue.

So regarding coccidiosis I know there is no problem.

I am wondering about worms though. I am pretty sure some worms can affect dogs AND cat AND poultry.
My chicken never had worms, so I googled the common chicken worms.
One of them is roundworm. That one CAN infect dogs.
Tapeworm also.

We would need to research this further, but I think most worms could affect both species.
I know for a fact that coccidiosis will NOT.
Things like fleas or ticks would also affect both species (not related to poop but just thought I'd mention hehe).

 

[WalleyWaller]

Unfortunately my dog (Lucky) likes eating chicken poop as well. It indicaticates cat poop but im sure it is applicable to poop in general. This was sent to me by a petmeds survey that I filled out on Lucky:

Lucky eats feces-and there's help.

If your dog eats feces from a cat's litter box, or from the lawn, there may be several reasons. When dogs aren't getting enough protein in their diets, they seek it in feces. You can remedy this by feeding your dog a high quality kibble or a homemade diet. Consider adding enzymes, such as NaturVet Digestive Enzymes & Probiotics to help your pet absorb more of the nutrients in food. For an alternative option, try FOR-BID, which helps to curb the behavior by making feces taste awful so your pet no longer engages in this habit. Learn more about coprophagy (the behavior of eating feces) in our PetMeds blog.

 

[Sabz]

I have doubts about those theories..

A Labrador, as example, will eat EVERYTHING. Even plastic, aluminium, chocolate (poison for dogs), etc.
So, saying that dogs eat poop because it contains proteins, to me it is... a very very theorical thing.
Maybe animals, back when they were wild, DID eat stuff because it was good for them. But our house pets, I doubt it. They eat it because they are trained to think it is good, because they want to please us, because they are jealous and think the cat will eat it first, because it actually tastes good. Any reason is good, but to get an extra protein meal, hummm

This is just my point of view! Not proven scientifically.. although... I know lots of dogs that eat plastic and I don't think there is anything nutritious in there.

 

[WalleyWaller]

I have doubts about those theories..

A Labrador, as example, will eat EVERYTHING. Even plastic, aluminium, chocolate (poison for dogs), etc.
So, saying that dogs eat poop because it contains proteins, to me it is... a very very theorical thing.
Maybe animals, back when they were wild, DID eat stuff because it was good for them. But our house pets, I doubt it. They eat it because they are trained to think it is good, because they want to please us, because they are jealous and think the cat will eat it first, because it actually tastes good. Any reason is good, but to get an extra protein meal, hummm

This is just my point of view! Not proven scientifically.. although... I know lots of dogs that eat plastic and I don't think there is anything nutritious in there.

I agree with you. I think it is an individual thing that may relate to genetics perhaps as well as the things that you stated. I know that my boy Lucky gets plenty of protein. I was just sharing what was sent to me. It is a good chance they want me to buy something!