Poop eaters? eww!

[saginawmom]

So I was wondering if all chicks eat poop

or are mine just gross? Its mostly the cecal they are eating. They will get a mouthful and run around the brooder like its a prize! Eck! Is it bad for them? Will they grow out of it? Usually they wipe their mouths afterward too.

 

[crawfordmama]

Mine would pick at the poop to see what it was, then wipe their beaks to get it off. I don't think they actually ate much of it though. Nice prize!

 

[the_great_snag]

Birds use their beaks to explore their world, like humans use their hands. It's normal for chicks to pick up everything to see if it's food. They pretty much have a one-track mind for eating and will try to eat everything at first.

I always chuckle when an insect is stupid enough to enter a chick brooder. They have the life expectancy of a snowball in hell.

 

[Ridgerunner]

It is normal for many animals to eat poop, their own and the poop of different animals. There are a lot of undigested nutrients in some poop and a lot of microbes, some of which are very handy to the health of the chicks. In the flock when raised with their mothers, chicks eat the adult poop to get microbes so they can develop immunities from some of the parasites and such that the flock has. Chickens really love working over cow poop. They fine a lot of bugs and grain in there. I saw a Discover Channel show where a baby elephant eats its mothers poop to get the right microbes in its stomach so it can digest adult food.

It is not gross to them. It is necessary to their health. Welcome to the world of animals.

 

[the_great_snag]

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Excellent post! thank you for the info!

 

[saginawmom]

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Thanks for the info! i know my dogs love chicken poop. They tore open a trash bag to get to it!

 

[pgpoultry]

My dog and several of my sheep eat chicken poop......don't fancy it myself, but they find it irresistible!

Sandie

 

[turtlebird]

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and yes, my cornish cross did this also for a bit with cecal droppings. Now it all makes sense. Gross tho', huh!

 

[Xanthro]

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Are they making the "It's Mine, It's Mine" noise? Then being chased by all the other chicks trying to get the "prize"

It's normal, it's why chickens are so fun to watch, you'll always see something that can amuse you.

 

[sharol]

My dogs think that the "gifts" in the cat litter pan are the best dog treats ever. bluckkkkkk I tell my doxie not to lick my face because I know where his tongue has been.

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