Why are my chickens pecking the paint off the barn?

[stefnoonan]

Any ideas why a chicken would peck paint chips off a barn? Do you think spraying soapy water on it would break their habit?

 

[Msbear]

I remember listening to the chickens pecking at the side of the house. Our farmhouse was built pre civil war in Sharpsburg, MD. It must've had five layers of crumbly paint on it til Dad finally cumbled himself and paid someone to strip and repaint it in 2004.

I wonder how high the lead levels were in all those tasty eggs we grew up eating ???

 

[debilorrah]

I had to giggle at that. Chickens will peck whatever they can. they peck the side of shed too. the chicks peck the cardboard box. The juvies peck my feet. The adults peck my ring. It's what chickens do. Peck.

 

[stefnoonan]

Of course chickens peck. My concern was them ingesting toxic paint chips. They've stripped the paint off almost the entire length of our barn. (We painted only 3 summers ago.) I was curious if anyone else out there in chickenland has had their chickens eat paint off a building as well. That's all.

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
Are you sure they are eating it? When mine peck at the shed, they don't eat it. Paint these days doesn't have lead in it anymore either. All I meant was that it's normal for them to peck at it. Someone on here once had a flock eat a whole pile of styrofoam. Scary, but it didn't hurt them.

 

[miss_thenorth]

I don't know about the toxicity of the paint, but I do know that my chickens would peck at the paintball splats my ds would leave around the place. I would notice huge green poos and wondr whats going on--thn I saw them ating the paintball splats. I know that paintballs ar supposed to be nontoxic, but you might look to see what your barn was painted with to determine toxicity. I don't have any recommendations as to what you could do about it though.

 

[BeckyLa]

If the paint is loose anyway, they might be taking it off looking for bugs underneath. Like has already been said, look to see of they are eating it or leaving it lay on the ground. Either way, putting metal up a couple of feet along the bottom would stop that. I don't know, except to cover it with something, of anything else that would help. But, I'd say if they've cleared the paint off over months, it probably won't hurt them or you'd be seeing signs by now.

 

[spook]

omg- thank you people!!!!!!!!! I thought I had the strangest dang chickens! We heard this drumming- 5 drummers to be exact, we could have entered them in the Christmas Parade!!!!!!!! I go out, they are not doing anything but look at me. Finally one day, I caught them, covered it with a heavy plastic (seasonal), then shingled it, no more bother, but they still try to jump up and pick the paint!

ps-these guys loved the green paint chips. I did have to ask mom if it was lead or latex, latex it is- phew!

 

[debilorrah]

I used to think they were trying to escape from their brooder with all the pecking going on in there. Now I know better. they will peck ANYTHING.

 

[Julie08]

Because they can!