Pooping on the back porch....ugh!

[mrsbos]

So I let my chickens out to free-range several times a day. I have a beautiful large backyard filled with grassy areas, veggie garden....deciduous and evergreen trees, bark beds full of flowers, gravelly areas for dust bathing...you name it--I've got it. And where do I find my 2 month old birds hanging out--even when I'm outside with them standing in the middle of the lawn---ON MY PORCH LOOKING INTO MY KITCHEN! This would be all fine with me, except I was kind of wanting them to direct their poop elsewhere in the yard

It's not that they're on the porch ALL the time, but they definitely make a visit each time they're let out.

I'm getting tired of having to hose down the porch every day just so my family can safely step outside without having to dodge piles of chick poo. Not too attractive either when I have neighbors and their kids over for playdates with my kids. I was joking with friends that I would have to fence off my porch area to create a chick poo "free" zone!

 

[trunkman]

I had the same problem with my chickens, I let them out to free range and they always ended up in the carport and making a mess of it, my wife and I like to sit in the carport and watch the birds free range, all it took to keep them out was constant shooing whenever we saw them in the carport, it took us about 2 months shooing to make them stay out, but it worked..

 

[crawfordmama]

I have the same problem! They go onto my deck because they know that's where I go in and out of. They also peck at the door, as if to say, "We know you're in there!" The rain helps, but I'm seriously thinking of getting a gate. But then, what's going to stop them from jumping over it? Silly chickens!

 

[teach1rusl]

What you need is a good chicken poo eating dog....

Mine run to gobble up the "treats" when I let them outside...hehee...

 

[Dar]

Quote:

my dogs do the same thing too... and then wonder why you wont let them kiss your face

 

[trunkman]

Before the shooing thing worked I had this bright idea of building a fence and keep them fenced in an area of about 2000 square feet, so I went to home depot and spent about a thousand dollars for materials to build a 4 and a half foot fence, the proof that I wasted a grand came when I set up the first section of fence and went to sit down for a bit of a breather and look to see how the fence will look, well when I looked up low and behold one of my chickens was perched on my newly build fence.

And it almost looked like the chicken was laughing at me!!

 

[greenSearcher]

I have a front and back porch, 30 odd feet by 8 in the back and 30 odd feet by 6 in the front. Of course the make a circut of the house to eat all the bugs in the kindling pile in back (poop poop) and try to sunbath in the planters on the front porch (poop de poop). Right now there are only 6 chickens and DH can hose the porch as much as 4 times a day. The hotter the day, the cooler the concrete.

I have the plans ready, and just need to buy the lumber to screen off the porch with shade cloth. I have the shade cloth already, 4 pcs that are 21x25" - enough for the porch and shade for the coops for next summer. Will buy a screen door with a jam and insert it, so the chickens (30+ next summer) won't be on the porch. Plans are different for the front porch and not finished yet.

 

[Patoot]

Same thing happened to me. Nice yard, a garden and a mulchy area to dig...but where were they? On the porch!!! I kid you not, they knocked on the back door more than one time. My dog ran running barking thinking someone was here.

I got sick of hosing the poop off everyday so I put up a fence around it. Kinda stinks since it means my dog can't use the yard to "go" and now has to go to the front. I also have to climb over it to feed them and let them out. Oh well. Still better than hosing poop off everyday.

Bree

 

[centrarchid]

I have licked this type of problem. Must take into account the chickens natural behaviors and preferences.

We have a similar setup in respect to one of my batches of chicks. They roost in box right next to front porch but go straight from there to cover planted cover about 75 yards away. No poop by these guys on front steps. They will would use the front porch if better cover not to be had. I move feeding station near cover that that is suitable for them, previously mentioned. Biggest problem you guys have is that either suitable alternative cover to porch is not present or other resources (water and food) not close enough to cover away from house. A point I will make is that chickens do not seem to regard trees with a clear understory as being cover. They like heavy vegetation they must almost tunnel through or crouch down occasionally to get under. This is especially true with younger birds.

 

[Ukyou]

I was worried that my chickens were going to figure out our doggie door. I had let my daughter keep the chicks in her room at night for their first 8 weeks. Then for a solid week when I said they had to start sleeping in the coop, as soon as it got dark they would be pushed pitifully up against the glass door and we would have to go out and carry each chick to the coop. Then one night they weren't there and I thought they had gotten the idea. However, when I went to close things up I found them at the other door circled around the doggie door with my dog poking his head out.

So far thou, there hasn't been a house chickie.