Many chick feeds contain arsenic and other "medicinal" compounds, which force the chicken bowels to evacuate more than they have to, and with more mess, too. When I switched my chicks to an all natural cracked corn and field pea diet, with a little dandelion, nettle and alfalfa mixed in for added vitamins, they stopped splorting within 48 hours. It was amazing. Ou chickens now eat primarily cracked corn with a some herbs and table scraps, plus whatever they free range, and again: little to no splort anywhere in the yard or coop. The poop they have is well formed and unobjectionable in smell. So, you may want to blame the feed and not the chicks...