Hen eating Poo! YUCK!

[VT Chick-lit]

This evening, after putting my two 10 week old pullets to bed in their cage in the hen house, I let my two older hens (2 years old) out of the chicken run into a low fenced in area to "free range" a little before their bed time. I was sitting and waiting for the girls to get tired of pecking at the grass and go to bed when I noticed Roxy, my Austrolorp, eating the poo

of Pebbles, my Wyandote. This was the first time that I witnessed this behavior from either of the girls. I intervened by scooping up the rather large poo pellet and disposed of it in the trash. Unfortunately I think she ate about half of it before I noticed what she was doing. I am now wondering if the reason that I do not see much poo in the chicken run is because Roxy has been eating it. Is this normal behavior? Can I break her of it? Why would she do this? I don't think it is a healthy habit for her to have.

 

[silkiechicken]

Maybe she sees something undigested in the poo? Ick, but I wouldn't worry too much about it. They can be odd... like the poults who ate cecal poo from the chicks like it was candy.

 

[can you hear me now?]

I don't remember where I saw it but there was something I saw about them needing some poo in their diet to help aid in digestion. The thread had something to do about a deep litter method and letting it build up so you can compost it. But saying it wasn't all that unhealthy because they needed some poo in their diets anyway.