Free ranging with Kids

[SamLockwood]

Hey everyone!! Quick question about letting your chickens out to free range in the yard. How do you manage the poop? We have 5 hens and they are mostly contained in their own fenced area but when we are outside we like to let them come out with us. But we also have 2 children and 2 dogs. How do you get over them pooping in the yard area where the kids and dogs also play? We have a small yard and so it grosses me out! I usually try to keep the hens over in an area where the kids don’t play but they always want to come and be near us.

There's no way to really train them to not "go" wherever they go. Plus they'll try to dust bathe and dig holes in your lawn or garden. I have a lot of acreage and no kids, so it's largely not a problem. I just hose off the sidewalk between my house and garage every couple days, and I ended up putting up a couple of those lightweight "toddler gates" on my back deck, which keeps most of the off it but for a few acrobats.