I have a confession to make: I'm a messy, lazy person. Over the years, this has resulted in a stinky, stinky backyard. Admittedly, when I got my first pet as a grownup (my first dog), I had no idea about the practical requirements involved in picking up poop. Then I got the cat. Then I got the second dog. Then I got three chickens. When two died, I added three more. All of this in a very, very small backyard space.
I occasionally poop scoop, but it seems like a ridiculously ineffective task. For one thing, it rains here and is dark for 8 months of the year. I never make it out to the backyard to do more than feed, water, and collect eggs. I follow a path to do it so that I minimize my chances of stepping in dog poo. When it's summer and I do poop scoop, it's pretty much impossible to adequately remove the poop from the grass. The chicken poop is too small. If one of the dogs gets into something (like chicken food), the resulting liquidy poo is impossible to pick up. I use one of those poop scoopers that has the jaws and whenever I pick up some poop, I tear out a small bit of the grass too. If the grass gets even slightly high, now I can't even find the poop. Then there's the flies, all summer long, zooming around trying to eat all my chicken and dog poop. My yard is disgusting and obnoxious and I'm ready to make a change.
When I go to my neighbors' yards, some of them have more pets than I do, but there's no evidence of poo or smell. Obviously, these people are much less lazy and much cleaner than I am. But I have no idea how they're accomplishing such a clean yard. I could ask them, but then I have to admit how gross my own yard is. I want to have a clean yard, but it seems like such a phenomenal task. So give me some ideas, please! How do you guys manage your poop? How much time do you spend, what do you use as a ground cover, what tools do you use to collected, how do you compost and/or dispose of it, how often do you clean, and so on. I need some serious help if I'm ever to have a nice yard that I would allow my child to set foot in!
I occasionally poop scoop, but it seems like a ridiculously ineffective task. For one thing, it rains here and is dark for 8 months of the year. I never make it out to the backyard to do more than feed, water, and collect eggs. I follow a path to do it so that I minimize my chances of stepping in dog poo. When it's summer and I do poop scoop, it's pretty much impossible to adequately remove the poop from the grass. The chicken poop is too small. If one of the dogs gets into something (like chicken food), the resulting liquidy poo is impossible to pick up. I use one of those poop scoopers that has the jaws and whenever I pick up some poop, I tear out a small bit of the grass too. If the grass gets even slightly high, now I can't even find the poop. Then there's the flies, all summer long, zooming around trying to eat all my chicken and dog poop. My yard is disgusting and obnoxious and I'm ready to make a change.
When I go to my neighbors' yards, some of them have more pets than I do, but there's no evidence of poo or smell. Obviously, these people are much less lazy and much cleaner than I am. But I have no idea how they're accomplishing such a clean yard. I could ask them, but then I have to admit how gross my own yard is. I want to have a clean yard, but it seems like such a phenomenal task. So give me some ideas, please! How do you guys manage your poop? How much time do you spend, what do you use as a ground cover, what tools do you use to collected, how do you compost and/or dispose of it, how often do you clean, and so on. I need some serious help if I'm ever to have a nice yard that I would allow my child to set foot in!
