Free range chickens and patios - can they ever coexist?

[dashman1319]

Hey all,

Over the past several months I've really loved watching our little free-range flock of four hens and a rooster explore our property. There's a great combination of forest, pasture, and and shrubby spots, and plenty of cover all over. There's just one problem. Despite having 3.5 acres over which to range, the birds just love the brick patio. They roost on the picnic table, nibble at the planters, and sometimes just congregate at the sliding glass door to watch the going-ons in the kitchen. None of which would bother me, if chickens didn't poop so much.

Blowing it off with a leaf blower, followed by a spray down with the power washer, is becoming a weekly chore. Has anybody else with a free range flock encountered a similar problem, and has anybody come up with any solution besides build a bigger coop and run and keep them shut in? I can't imagine that putting any kind of fencing up would help at all. I love seeing my flock work their way around the yard, but I just can't keep cleaning all this poop for the rest of my life...

 

[Skipper81]

Same problem for a year now
Power washers my best guess too

 

[Ribh]

Sorry, I wash down our deck when I water the garden. Daily chore.

 

[Perris]

same problem here too. I decided I value seeing them strolling about more than I dislike cleaning up their poo, so we continue. It helps to consider how poopy the alternative, a run, would be, and cleaning that would surely be worse

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

Owning chickens = poop everywhere! Definitely worth the clean up IMHO. My daily chores deal with horse poop, cat poop, dog poop, hedgehog poop and chicken poop!!!

 

[SueT]

IMO, the closer they stay to the house, the safer from most predators, so there's an advantage to having them there. But you could fence in your patio....

 

[Mrs. K]

Load up a good squirt gun, and when they come close, give them a good squirt. Be consistent, and they will learn to avoid the area. Do not feed them around the patio.

 

[Perris]

Do not feed them around the patio.

that's the mistake I made, and continue to make whenever I pity them taking shelter by the house on a wet day and feed them under the porch...

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

When chickens free range it's their world and you're in it.

 

[Shadrach]

I feed chickens on the patio. It means I get to see what they poop easily. Chickens know that close to human habitation means extra safety.
The answer is simple. If you want a spotless patio, or any other part of your property don't keep animals.
It takes a few minutes to clean up. If you let it dry it can often be swept away.