The other day after raking out my chicken pen and loading it into the wheel barrow, my ever curious dog tipped it over b4 I had the chance to get it to the compost pile.It then started raining, so I left it out there. After letting the chicks out this morn (they 'free range' during the day) I noticed them picking through the poo<sorry,I can't think of any other way of putting it>. Are they missing something in their diet? (Their food and some veggie treats were like 10' away,and they choose to eat their own p**? I stopped giving them grit awhile back,since someone said they REALLy don't need it since they free range..Any ideas?
There were probably bits of food, bugs, straw, etc mixed in with the poo. Chickens can have some pretty disgusting behaviors.
No worries...my chickens love scratching through the compost, which includes the stuff I have raked out of their coop. Lots of worms and bugs, as the previous poster said! It is definitely normal chicken behavior, and you haven't done anything wrong in regard to their diet. Rest easy
It is not at all unusual in the animal world for animals to eat poop. There is still a lot of partially digested nutrients in there. They often find some good creapy crawlies in the poop. It's a way for them to share probiotics. For example, a baby elephant will eat some if its mother's poop when it is ready to start eating something other than mother's milk so it has the right bugs in its digestive tract. There is nothing missing from their diets to trigger this. They enjoy scratching and pecking at poop, theirs and other animals', because it is a rich source of food for them. A lot of dogs enjoy eating chicken poop too. It is a rich source of nutrients.
next to my barn is where my mare "poops", it was piled quite high and I knew I had to get out there and distribute it away from the barn...well, the chickens found it before I could get to it I now have a PERFECTLY manicured area...free of "poop", and while moving some wood I had piled up there, discovered it filled with WORMS...the hens saw I was moving wood and ran as fast as their little legs cold carry them, and devoured the worms...from inside the manure...ugh! And I have to eat those eggs! They eat everything....I just don't tell my friends who buy the eggs that!
