Sooo.... The girls are eating the stucco / paint off of our house

[eaking]

And I can't figure out how to stop it. They free range in our backyard and I really don't want to put up a fence, plus I've discovered they're eating the chipping paint off of our fence as well! Lordy!! They have plenty of grit and a ton of oyster shell and I'm paying a ton of money on premium organic feed... What the heck????

 

[PopoMyers]

So, yeah, my girls also eat anything as well. They loved pecking and eating the styrofoam cooler they were houses in as chicks, as well as any stray pieces of plastic, paper, string. This scares me and I hope they don't get sick or die from this haphazard behavior. Could you put a type of tarp or cover over the areas they're pecking? No see, no eat. Reminds me I have to go police their yard again for things they may have unearthed. And my girls are fenced in for their own protection. I used to let them free range but got a bit embarrassed to have poop on my porches and walkways when guests came over. We also have predators around our forested area.

 

[wf1992]

OMG yes! Styrofoam and/or foam insulation is their favorite! What is the appeal?? And they'll pick at the osb their coop is made of. Thank goodness they haven't decided to eat my siding...yet. It's like every day I have a new reason to question how chickens survived in the wild before they were domesticated!

 

[benevolent_leonela]

I have geese that love to eat the paint off the windowsill on the outside of the cabin.... Following this thread!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Fence 'em out, fence 'em in, or find a way to cover up the areas they're picking at.

Mine were nibbling at the paint on the coop so I wrapped the bottom 2' or so with a layer of bird netting, and now they leave it alone.