Quit pooping on my sidewalks!

[Lmoreau70]

My girls are now old enough where I go out every morning about 630 ish and open up the coop doors and let them "free range" as they wish until they tuck themselves in just before sunset. We have 10 acres of land and my "vision" for them was to have them free ranging in the backyard. Trouble is now every morning they make their way up to the front of my house and park themselves under my kids bedroom windows. I think they must like the shade or the bugs in the shrubs and trees up here. I'm sick of them making a mess of my sidewalks that lead into the house. I hate when people come to the door and have to play hopscotch thru a bunch of poo! I go out there 2 x's a day with a hose and wash it off but I'm trying to figure out how I can get them to stay in the backyard. I don't want to pen them up all day. I have 6 guineas and 15 chics and I want them to free range to an extent. Any suggestions on how I can deter them from parking their butts in my front yard? I thought maybe I should build them their own little area on the other side of their coop with the same trees/shrubs as what is in my front yard but other than that I don't know what else I can do? My husband is about ready to cull them all! HELP!

 

[FoofySquared]

We are having the same problem! And I also have a husband that is ready to get rid of my girls! We have plenty of bushes and trees all over the property, but they continue to lay under the bushes close to the house and poo on every inch of the sidewalk and porch. The only thing I can think of is to put up another fence, but we don't have the money for that right now. I am also asking for help. Somebody please help!

 

[Melabella]

I wish I had insight, as soon, I am sure I will be having the same issue! I do have a question for you Lmoreau, you mentioned you have 1 0 acres and that you let them free range all day. Predetors are not an issue? I wish I will be ok to let them out all day, but I fear that Mr. Fox or Mr Coyote will have easy lunch. I do have an English Shepherd that I am hoping will look after them once mine are old enough to free range. I am also hoping that I can teach him and them to stay out of my horse barn as I don't want them in there..lol.. I am sure lots of you are laughing and thinking....good luck with that!

Maybe you can sprinkle some sort of enticing thing out on the area where you want them to be..a few handfuls of bird seed that will keep them busy looking for all day, or would that be just a temporary solution? I too envision the fence I am going to have to put up to keep them out of the flower beds here near the house.

Hope to see some responses from the experienced folk!

MB

 

[Lmoreau70]

I have tried sitting them down and explaining that this is unacceptable behavior but they do not listen! HA! I wish there was some kind of deterrent that I could use. I'm at my wits end!

 

[Lmoreau70]

I have started throwing treats for them in the area I want them but they munch it up and then come right back up to the house! Yes. We do have all sorts of predators. I hear the coyotes just about every other night out howling and have had fox in the yard chasing my geese that stop by in the spring and this morning I had a bear across the pond. I have not lost a chic or guinea yet. I got so many cuz I thought I may lose some. Most predators will come at first light or just before dusk and I wait until the sun has been up a bit and they normally go in on their own at night. So far so good. I don't know if maybe the guineas help cuz they are lil watch dogs. Anytime any car pulls into the yard they are alerting me. They are LOUD! We also have a dog that I was afraid was going to be a chicken killer cuz she killed a couple of our ducks a few years back and barks and chases crows out of the yard all day. She has learned that the girls are our pets and has been really good with them.

 

[Melabella]

I want to get some guineas too, to help me with the darn ticks, but figured I would learn with the chickens first year, I thought I had heard that guineas take some training. I have 6 acres, and have 2 houses close to me,, I think one of them would have a problem with the noise they make. urggg. There is an ordinance in my town that I need neighbors "agreement" if their house is 200 feet from my property line if I want to get guineas. Just thought I would start with chickens. Where we rented for a year before we found this property, they had chickens they free ranged during the day. I also had a large fox family that we would see tumbling around the front yard with their little ones, they were beautiful, but I used to see a chicken a day get picked off.....in the middle of the day! Where we are here, I haven't seen a single fox, but I do see a very large fox hole when I head out riding on the horse path. I know they must be close, and I also hear coyotes at night. Maybe I will be fortunate. A farmer down the road told me that I should put my dogs piles around the perimeter of my property, he said the coyotes stay away from where a dog marks,,,especially an intact male as my dog is... hmmm... hope that is true. I figure I will only free range them when Jack and I are with them. He sits outside the brooder pen, and watches them all ready,,, it's adorable. I hope he is learning they are dear to me, and they need to be watched. He sat next to the manure dumpster all day when our lop bunny escaped and hid under there. I Hope he minds the chicks the same. I ordered 10 chicks thinking I would lose some too, was going to get only 4 at first!

Love the picture of them sitting under your bushes,, I know that's not what we want, but it's cute nonetheless!

MB

 

[Den in Penn]

Your though to make an area like the one they use near the house is a solid idea. They tend to seek out places with cover to hide from predators. Also if you put a feeding station where you want them to be it helps attract them there. Fencing is always a possibility.

 

[Puddin Fluff]

Sorry to say, we had the same problem last year. We just kept adding fencing until they finally got the point. They seemed to want to be close to us and would follow us up to the house. I would love to know another solution, if there is one

.

 

[henthorn73]

I'm having the same problem, AND my husband is already sick of it. It's only been 3 weeks.

 

[oldrooster]

have you all thought of chicken tractors? it's a compromise of pure free ranging and being fenced in, but it means you must move the tractor (and the water) perhaps a few times a day.