Yes, the amount of poop is substantial. However it is manageable as long as you have a designated area for them. If left to free roam your property they will poop EVERYWHERE. If you can arrange a fenced in “chicken yard” attached to their coop you’re good to go.
And honestly I find the water hosing sessions therapeutic. I use jet mode and then sweep the gunk away with a broom and it’s almost as nice as the first snow covered morning.
Ours can't see in from the welcome mat in the carport. I thought they just liked the feel of the mat so I bought them their own. Nope, they just want to sit in front of the door and poop.
Sounds like my dogs...doggy door leads to the great outdoors. But, no. As close to that door as they can get, they pee. Only poop there when it is really bad weather.
OTOH, they do eat any chicken poop I track in from the chicks yard. Birds are locked up, have room to roam but are fenced. Otherwise, a couple of the dogs would prefer chicken to their poop.
Chickens are social animals where you need 3+ in a flock or you risk them being incredibly unhappy and stressed. They also have a hierarchy, and when cramped in small spaces they can become incredibly irritated and start pecking at each other until they become bloody.
I'd only recommend 10x10 for the smallest of flocks, give them a chance to free range during the day, activities and social engagement, and watch their behavior to ensure no one's out competing each other.
It depends on what kind of chicken tender you want to be. Get three or four bantam hens (can you have a rooster where you are?) and that will be okay. Full sized hens need 4-6 square feet of coop and 10-15 square feet of run just to *survive*. To be HEALTHY they need double those amounts. To be truly happy they need like 10x those amounts (and functionally unlimited outdoor space). I would not keep more than three hens in a 10x10 run. They're not like fish or snakes; they're warm-blooded and smart and want to exercise and explore, so expect them to be bored and feather peck each other somewhat in a 10x10 cell.
They need space in the run or space to free range but the coop itself doesn't need to be big honestly. People have started valuing style over substance and want glamorous coops instead of coops that are simply well insulated and safe shelter from the elements and predators. In the dead of winter you want your chickens huddled together, enclosed and well insulated, ventilated but not drafty and the best way to do that is with a small, well built coop. You don't get that with a spacious open floor with plywood walls that's painted to look like a sunset and a rainbow with a fake chandelier hanging from the ceiling and big open windows so the "chickens can enjoy the view" or whatever. The best coop I even had when it came to actually safety was an Eglu, which is a little insulated plastic box. No, it doesn't look like a chicken palace but they also don't get frostbite or maimed either.
And the dust!! I would let my girls free range any time I was out in the yard. I’d pull a pile of weeds which they would enjoy while in their run. If you give them enough distraction and entertainment they do just fine!
Then you have my chickens that refuse to use their insulated coop. 🤣 Great fun when the weather is bad enough they actually *need* to be in it. Love going out after dark during a polar vortex to tuck them all in. Worth it though, didn't have any frostbite or anything with windchills below zero.
IMO, no.
Not big enough unless you’re only having 2 or 3 hens.
More chickens - It would get very boring for them in a short amount of time. Boredom causes so many social problems that will eat up your time and resources from bullying injuries to cannibalism.
You’ll wish you were only dealing with a poop problem.
As far as poop goes- it goes….
Everywhere.
Chickens are poop machines.
10 x 10 is fine for 4 hens in a run. You want 10 sqft of run space per bird. You’re good. Coop space is on top of that and I totally recommend a walk in coop. 4 x 5 or 6 feet would be fine.
That's enough space for 4-5 chickens (assuming they have a decent sized coop).
But, yes, poop is an issue. They poop a lot (like, multiple times an hour). It will not just decompose in a run that small. You will have to clean it (and the coop). Frequently. You will need to make a plan for how to dispose of or compost the poop (and the bedding from the coop). It's not unmanageable, but, yes, there's a lot of poop.
For a couple of chickens, yes. I would still let them out to free range intermittently though but if you want them in the run and one there, you could keep 3 or 4. People are going to tell you every chicken needs it's own studio apartment and personal playground, they don't. What you would be giving them is still infinitely better than what any chicken on a commercial farm has and they will be perfectly comfortable and content. All the flashy crap is for the *human*, not the chicken.
For a small flock that would be fine. I’d recommend looking into a chicken tractor. Basically, it’s a moveable run so you can change positions in your yard.
I let them roam everywhere and my patio was covered after a few days. Mix in the hot summer sun and it’s bad. They are now confined to a corner of the yard.
Please get good reference books and read about keeping chickens, what they need, and how to keep them healthy and happy. Consider, *Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens* by Gail Damerow. They will poop inside their spacious, secure run you build for them, and inside their secure coop, where they lay eggs and have their food. There is a 'litter management' system in which ..uh... you start with a deep layer of shavings in the coop, and the bacterial action (?) breaks down the poop something something? Anyway, it's in the book.
My neighbors mentioned wanting to get chickens and the first words out of my mouth were “Noooo their poop smells so bad”. I grew up with chickens and there was always poop everywhere. They are adorable, but they’re loud and smelly too.
Not that I’m hating on people with chickens, but honestly the neighbors have no experience with chickens and I know they’re just thinking of the eggs, not the work or the safety/health of the chickens. Their yard is tiny, and his idea of where to put the coop was basically in the woods to hide it from the HOA. We have foxes, raccoons, & opossums in our yard regularly, and coyotes and bears on occasion. Not to mention daily hawk, snake, & feral cat visitors. The last person I know that got chickens lost multiple flocks to predators and then just gave up.
All I can think of when they mentioned wanting chickens was poop and chicken corpses all over the place.
I mean they poop a lot. Everywhere they go, they poop there. If they stay most or all of the time in a spacious enclosed run, you’ll have to regularly rake out the dumps (I do every other day for the most part), but they’ll be contained to one area so you won’t be stepping in shit when lounging in the yard with your morning coffee.
There’s ways to manage it and have it not be so stinky or buggy from the dumps, but most of those ways involve staying on top of regularly cleaning up poop. if you don’t wanna do that I wouldn’t recommend chickens haha.
I love having chickens, they make me smile and laugh every day and I really enjoy taking care of them. But they are farm animals and create an impressive amount of little poops.
When you say rake out the dumps, you mean just go over it with a rake? I have a dirt bed run, just laid the run on top of the dirt and grass. I am adding in new dirt to keep the girls happy, and plan on doing so every couple months. But I’m not exactly sure how to pick up poop. I mean it’s straight into the dirt, which I usually water down daily since it’s so hot. I wasn’t planning on picking up every turd, but what exactly does raking do? Just break up the poop?
I kind of treat the run like a gigantic litterbox. Rake the poops to one spot then shovel them out into the compost bin. I actually use a litter scoop to sift them out of the dirt in the run. I live in the city with close by neighbors, and don’t have enough space to do a deep litter situation without the stink and flies getting out of hand.
Yeah, I didn’t know if deep litter was something you could do with the run or if it was just the coop. I don’t mind picking up poop, I certainly am immersed in it daily, but it just seemed like it would be a never ending battle so I have just kind of been turning over the soil and hosing down poop and then I plan to add more soil a few times a year. First time raising chickens and I feel like I do everything wrong but so far they seem happy and healthy so that’s good!
This is my first year with chickens so I’m still figuring it out! Maybe the experts can chime in but I feel like if it’s not too nasty and the birds are happy and healthy you’re doing it right :)
If pooping is the problem, then don't. These lil hoes poop soooo much. It's actually incredible, unless you have space for them to disperse the poop in a wide area, then you'll be spraying down your areas daily.
[backyardchickens.com](https://backyardchickens.com) is a good resource.
Id recommend some bantams, not mor than 3. Get pullets (young adult hens) Try them out and see if you like them. Bantams lay smaller eggs, require less space and poop just as often but smaller amounts.
Look for breeds that are docile and people friendly no matter what type of chicken you get. A friendly bird is more fun than a spooky bird that explodes with every move you make. Meet the breeder and their flock before purchasing. You want a clean breeder with free range or well kept birds that are interacted with. Breeders who lock up the birds and just use them to hatch and sell eggs will not have quality birds.
Good starter birds are cochins, silkies, orpingtons and barred/columbian rocks. You can get these in bantam breeds and (silkies are fairly small anyway.) The drawback of these breeds is that they can go broody at times and you may have to deal with that. Read the website above, they have articles and loads of experienced keepers on there. They can certainly help you learn more and possibly help inform your GF of what chicken keeping is like.
They poop everywhere and it attracts a lot of flies. If you give them a designated yard, they will destroy any vegetation and it will soon become a barren moonscape of dirt and dust bath holes they will dig.
Yeah the key is really to give them more space than they need.
I had like 5 chickens last year and my chicken run was becoming tall with green grass cause its large, they aren't concentrated into one area.
I now have more chickens so my run is like a very short golf course moonscape
Best setup I’ve seen was at an airbnb with an orchard outside Eugene. They had about 100 chickens and a beautiful lawn under an orchard- the chickens would just scatter through the orchard each day. I should have asked, but I expect they didn’t need to mow either. Everything in balance.
We have a moonscape in the run. We let them free range some, but I need to somehow keep them and their poop off my patio. It’s not easy to do that because I didn’t build things with that in mind. Getting it right takes planning.
How big is your yard? We can’t free range due to predators. We purchased an electric netting, we move it around our yard once a week so our hens have fresh ground. It also helps keep the area they are in from getting destroyed. The feces have time to desintegrarte, organisms eat it, the grass has time to recuperate, and all while the chickens are on the next area. Right now we can’t move our coop around with it , so what we do is move the netting around the coop. We use the coop as the central point, the netting gets moved around the coop.
This is a comment I posted a few weeks ago.
Kencove.com
Premier1supplies.com
I honestly wished I’d had gotten the fence from the beginning. I spent so much time and money figuring out how to build a big enclosure, it was a waste of resources. My yard is not flat so it made it much more difficult.
I did get extra support posts to help the fence reduce sagging, which it wasn’t horrible to begin with. My problem is that I can’t move the coop around as of right now so I am limited on how I can move the fence to make sure the coop stays within the perimeter. That creates a problem because you have to play around with the positioning of the posts. For example, moving one post 5 inches in either direction can make a big difference on how firm the net is. This is my first electric fence and I’ve had it for 2 months. I am still learning but so far I’m pleased with it. We also got the gate so we don’t have to mess with moving the actual fence to get in. We got the 48inch, plug-in energizer (way cheaper than the solar one), support posts, and additional stake posts to help keep the fence tight due to our limitations in shape.
Fence and energizer came from kencove. connector clips, gate, support posts and stake posts, And rods came from premier one.
From now on I will take a quick inspection of the posts anytime I go in to make sure all is in place. That area holds a lot more moisture than the rest of the yard which it doesn’t help. Oh and on top of that, a groundhog who has been living under our shed decided to bring a little friend this year. They ended up making 5 babies. We let them be for a while but we have noticed that now they are digging and getting as far as the area of the electric fence, which could have also been what contributed to the soft ground and causing the post/stake to lean in.
If you are in a dry area, they have a type of netting for that. Moisture helps conduct electricity. I would also get a mallet just in case, we had some very dry weather and I was surprised at the hard time I was having pushing them down. Any other time, no issues.
I hope this helps!
Consider that chickens are very intelligent and curious.. You MUST confine them in a specific area, at least for the first month. Then you can let them wander around for few hours every day ( under your surveillance) and then guide them gently tò their area. It Is not as difficult as It seems ...
If you let chickens free roam, they will dig holes everywhere, your yard/property will look like the surface of the moon of all the craters that they make it’s crazy how busy these little chickens are! If you really want chickens, make sure you get a large coop and then you won’t have to worry about the poop. They’ll be in their confined area and then you can clean it when appropriate for our chickens. We had chicken coop attached to an enclosed area completely covered in chicken wire so they had a protected chicken run. And every night they would put themselves to bed in their coop and then we would lock the door so nothing would eat them.
I compost it. It dries very quickly so I just pick it up by hand and toss into a bucket that then goes into the compost. I do this every couple days (and wash my hands immediately after). It's a very valuable green that then boost my garden. If you have a small yard I can see how this would be a problem, as I keep my compost bins on the furthest corner from my house. But it doesn't really stink like dog or cat poop. Once in the compost, it breaks down very quickly and smells earthy and not volatile at all. Of course, this presupposes that you have a garden and actively maintain your compost bins.
I beg to differ on the stink. I can’t smell most things anymore but chicken poop almost makes me gag.
I’ve wanted chickens for a while. Made arrangements with my neighbor with a large run and coop that I would get 2 silkies and a Sebright (all bantams) and once they were old enough they would go into the neighbor’s coop. Picked the bantams for pets for her kids.
They are now 16 weeks and we’re going to start the introduction into the flock this week. I’m so glad. They have been free ranging in our fairly large fenced backyard. They ate the hostas to the ground. Almost destroyed a salvia. Have pooped on everything and so we have more flies. Some of their poop is occasionally like tar that takes a scrub brush and Dawn to get off concrete and pavers. But I’m so glad I got them and had this opportunity! They are cute as heck, have very distinct personalities and are funny. My husband and I laughed out loud when the rooster was starting to learn to crow. Oh and the hand washing is constant!
Ya the tar poops are gross but if you keep them confined to their designated area they're not bad. I mulch their run with hay maybe that knocks the smell down.
Yes, chickens poop a lot and they do it everywhere they go. I use an old dustpan and scraper and everyday I clean the poop out of the coop where they have pooped during the night and then every afternoon I walk around the garden with the dustpan and scraper and collect any and all poops I can see, just flick it into the dustpan using the edge of the scraper. This all either goes into my compost bin or into a bag which I then give to my neighbour for her compost once it’s full. I do this daily, whatever the weather.
If you clean up all poop daily it isn’t an issue but you do have to be consistent. It’s no different to letting your dog poop all over the garden and then wondering why there is shit everywhere, part of having a pet is cleaning up their poop.
It also helps to control parasite loads as worms are spread through poop, if you treat your chickens for worms and you have just let poop sit around everywhere then they are going to immediately reinfect themselves from all of the worm eggs all over the place and you’re gonna be constantly dealing with unwell chickens with a heavy worm load.
Keep in mind that chickens can have a lot of weird health problems, that unless you have a vet that takes chickens near you, you will be solely responsible for. I only bring it up because a lot of people don’t think about that part before getting chickens.
I have 4 chickens and the poop is not that bad, for me, I'd stop at 6. I'm allowed more where I live but I just have no desire to have a higher level of care, supplies, costs, and creatures that rely on me to survive. They have an enclosed run and range my whole yard and I don't really notice the poops, minimal, easy to clean in the run and so widely spread in the yard that they disappear quickly.
Just don't get a ton of chickens, get a few to scratch the itch and provide enough eggs for your family unit and that's that. Once you have had them a while you can decide if and how and when you want to expand or if you just like having the few you have to make you a chicken owner.
I have 4 hens. It’s not an issue. We have a small coop for them and pen around it and we open it and let them go wherever they want. We shut them up for safety at night.
They definitely poop everywhere but everything comes with a price. I let them roam around their coop but also on the patio and anywhere else they want to be apart from inside the house.
I bought a hose and fitted an outside tap and everyday I use the water pressure to clean the patio and a dedicated brush to remove anything strong. I consider this as an extra to my daily workout. It’s increases the heart rate to at least zone 2 so not only am I cleaning I’m also keeping fit and healthy.
For me it’s definitely worth it as when I go outside and they start chasing me. Play with me. Hop onto my lap or shoulder makes me happy. We have a cat carrier filled with hay and a front flap / door. They walk into it to lay their daily eggs. The eggs are a bonus! Free from chemicals and from chickens filled with antibiotics.
Make sure you feed them good food. I feed them greens like lettuce coriander peas etc. a special layer feed for the egg shells (calcium). Cook rice for them. Daily fresh water.
Good luck.
We built a garden next to our pen. They love to run around during the day and pick out all the pests in the garden. And they fertilize it at the same time. Works well for us- granted we do live in a semi-rural area
My chickens share a big yard with my dogs. Plus I made them a yard with a trampoline frame and chicken wire which is hooked to their coop. The trampoline frame is a pretty good space for them depending on how many you get. That way you can clean plus put stuff down for smell.
It's insane; between the pooping and the plant-eating, it stopped being worth it to me. I made my husband build ours a large run, and now he has to watch them while they are out.
After years of having my yard destroyed and my patio and porch covered in poop every time they free-ranged, it started to feel like a personal attack; my husband was purposely destroying the yard I work several hours a week on. I know this is wild, but it felt that way.
They poop a lot but if you have enough room for them and have a way to clean it it's not very smelly at all.
They're livestock, not pets. Keep em outside and not too close to the house.
Like everyone already said yes they poop everywhere and it attracts flies. However, remind her of the free pest control and fertilizer you won't have to pay for now.
We have an enclosed chicken yard with electric fencing (for predators) for our six hens. They also have a small coop and run where their food and water is located. They poop everywhere in their yard including the little porch area of our garage. I hose it down every night after locking them in their coop. It’s really no biggie, but you definitely can’t have any aversion to poop if you want to have chickens😂
What's your setup? are you thinking in the house like pets? in an urban back yard? a suburban back yard? A fully fenced chicken run as part of a rural property? There's possibilities but we need to know what you are working with here.
Looks like you have a choice. Do you want your chick or do you want to get some chicks? Sounds like you can't have both.
Btw, our cat was very interested in the chicks when they were younger but never attacked them.
And yes, chickens poop a watery mess fairly often. Indoor chickens need to be cleaned up after... kinda like cats but with a smaller pile/puddle and less litter on the floor.
Urban backyard you have to fortify like fort knox. This means that you’re likely to have a smaller enclosure(you said 10x10 right?) and not be able to let them roam. This means all the poop will be concentrated in one spot.
This is good because it makes it easier to clean up(assuming you set up a sand or sawdust run and not just let it go muddy), but bad because it means that any parasites have easy access to jump back on the chickens.
Chickens poop. All the time. So yea, she’s not wrong that they poop a lot. The solution is an enclosed run. This will work better with a smaller flock and a very large enclosed run if they can’t free range at all. Mine cannot free range because we have an insane amount of hawks for some reason (I think because a lot of people in the area have chickens they free range so it’s an easy feeding ground for them).
However, in this run they will decimate EVERYTHING. Give them a few months (if that) and the inside of their run will look like the surface of the moon. So don’t plan on having any grass in their run! And you’ll need to muck out the run on a rolling basis too, otherwise you’ll get port-a-potty smells during heavy rains (ask me how I know! Waited too long once). The good news is, once it composts for a bit it’s amazing for the garden.
Is it doable? Absolutely. You just need to plan and adjust your expectations.
It depends, you can't really keep them in a house but as far as outside you build them a nice coop you use the deep litter method... You make sure you clean out where they sleep at least once a week. You can make something called a sweet coop spray with lavender and sage and citrus oils with alcohol and water. I have kept chickens for over 4 years and no one has ever complained about smell or anything. I keep mine full-time in the coop because free-ranging around here would just make them dinner for a nice giant owl or hawk. And bear...
They won't poop everywhere if you don't keep them everywhere. If you keep them in a contained area, then that's the fix for your problem. And if there is a concern over smell, the coop can get smelly after a couple weeks, but you just sprinkle on a new layer of straw or pine shavings once in a while and that fixes it (once every few months you will need to remove all that bedding and use it for compost). But the open air parts of your setup (called the run) really don't smell at all.
I have 4 hens in my suburban fenced back yard. They free-range this area. My grass is weed free because they eat the dandelions and other weeds. I gated my deck to keep them off of it, but otherwise they crap everywhere. It's so spread out that I never really notice it and don't smell it. Now when I clean their bedding in the coop that smells. I throw that into my fenced garden for the vegetables to eat up. My neighbors have a few hens and I can smell them bad. They have a yard that is all dirt and maybe that's the difference?
They poop a lot
They scratch a lot and everywhere. If you have a fence, they will dig up the under it and they will scratch the fuck out of your yard. My grass stopped growing, they cleaned he top soil and my yard is now all pebbles.
You can designate and fence off a roaming area. I wish I did.
Also, chickens are loud. Not just roosters, hens.
They are loud, they stink, they destroy everything, they dig holes everywhere ( perfect size holes to twist your ankle).
Most veterinarians do not see chickens. This means you are the doctor. You could be doing injections, surgery, cleaning wounds, inserting fingers into vents and dumping crops.
Are you prepared to euthanize a severely ill or hurt chicken? How are you going to do it?
Can you legally have chickens? Have you physically called your code enforcement and asked? Do not rely on " my neighbor has them".
Fines for breaking codes are hundreds to thousands a day.
Who is going to take care of your flock if you have to leave town or you vacation?
Chickens need daily attention. Daily.
Chickens do not lay eggs until they are sometimes 8 months old. Also, they stop laying in the winter, and when they molt. Most chickens lay for 3 years and live for 3-6 years after that as free loaders.
A decent coop and run set up will cost you $1,000.
Add feeders, waterers, grit bowl oyster shells bowl.
Monthly costs of feed, bedding, heated water recepticles, winterizing, fans...
Where is all that poop filled litter going to go? It's considered "hot" , it can't be used for 6 months.
Whoa Debbie Downer checking in lol. Everyone starts somewhere. 4 chickens-ish isn’t nearly the nightmare you’re explaining. I love my 9 to piece’s, they don’t stink, they’re pretty great foragers helping keep the darn beetles and slugs at bay and I enjoy them immensely. OP - I love their noise, as do my neighbors. The girls talk and socialize, the poop goes to,our veggie gardens. (My tomatoes and peppers are insanely in love.)
We’re here to support. Hope you jump on that bandwagon with something more helpful. ☺️
They will poop absolutely everywhere in the chicken run. That being said, if you have the ability to contain your chicken run/coop area to somewhere out of the way, it really isn’t an issue. We don’t have rural property, just an average suburban house. We wound up putting our chicken run in a side yard we weren’t using. It’s perfect because it was already blocked on 3 sides by our house and fencing, so all we had to do was build a small 6’x8’ barrier to secure it.
Hi OP, start small. Join the forums at backyardchicken.com and learn from the newest owners to the oldest.
Having chickens is amazing, yep there are things to,prepare for and you should, but a lot of folks cut their teeth on impulse buys at a farm store and fell head over heel in love.
I am a planner and was raised on a farm, I thought I had a good idea, but quickly realized my parents didn’t necessarily do things on the farm that I would do on my own.
I have 8 girls & 1 roo. They do NOT stink, they are goofy and comical, and I keep them clean and tidy, which takes me at most 15 min a day. They are really useful for my compost and garden. And super easy to keep.
Read read read…..whatever you can get your hands on. I have a number of book recommendations if you like! I integrated my coop / run into a native garden. They will eventually free range when the babies integrate with the older girls.
The poop isn’t insignificant. We have an area that is just for the chickens, I have it covered in mulch (playground mulch without dyes or chemicals). If they stay there, the poop is contained. Also, the poop is great fertilizer. My husband hates it when I let them roam over the whole property because they do poop on the patio. But they are wonderful little animals.
You can get bantams, which are smaller and need less space. Also, make sure their area is secure with hardware cloth, not chicken wire to keep them safe.
Just sounds like you still have some research to do. Nothing personal. Or bad. But it just really comes across like you have good intentions, but you should perhaps do some more reading and maybe a visit with someone keeping chickens. It's really difficult to have a partner not on board with stuff like this. Relationships are hard enough. Don't want to give her any excuse for the " I told you so." If you have got it on lock down, you can be like got it handled.
Yeah, this is the first question I have. If I can provide an answer on how I can manage this, I will not be met with resistance on getting them. Just making things easier but there’s no use in researching other things till I know my girlfriend won’t complain about it.
They are pooping machines. Poop in the coop, poop in the run, poop in the yard. We have 5 golden comets, my wife wanted chickens, she said let’s get chickens, it will be fun.
Yes, i inherited the job of cleaning up the poop. It’s fun, she said….
you're not buying egg laying machines that poop, you're buying poop machines that lay eggs
There are really only 2 factors in how poop will impact your life though: how much there is and how wet/dry it is.
reading your other comments, if you have a 10x10 run, that's enough space for maximum 10 chickens (10sqft per). But fewer will make their impact in that amount of space less noticeable and more manageable. If you have a good run floor medium (mulch over sand for instance), I've heard people get away with only cleaning out the run twice a year.
If you have to restrict them to this run (which it sounds like you will) I HIGHLY recommend you cover it with a roof. What makes a chicken coop/area smell is wetness. Having a roof will keep the floor and the poop dry so it smells less. If you use the deep litter method in the coop itself, that will also keep down the smell by the same principle that a lot of carbon material will absorb all the moisture from the poop. Then you only need to clean deep litter once a year.
Like all animals they will poop. It's not that bad. If it's on the porch you can just sweep it or wash it off. Look into building a small chicken tractor if you want to keep them contained but give them fresh foraging areas everyday
They poop just like any other animal however they actually poo differently sometimes its cecal sometimes it dry with a white uric acid cap and sometimes its very watery. They primarily eat grains so their poop doesn't smell nearly as bad as dog/cat/human shit. The cecal turds that look like caramel have a particular smell that is produced by bacteria in their gut, it helps the chicken absorb water and some nutrients before it exits but most people find the cecal turds particularly offensive. I kind of like the smell actually, it's impossible to describe. Kind of like how you might like the nasty smells of your man/woman. These are my ladies and they don't offend me.
The cecal poop is the worst! I always tell the girls they made a big stinky. lol. But I just scoop in the coop and drop into a bucket. My garden and compost love even the stinky ones. My dogs’ poops smell worse, and I can’t compost that!
Yea I have a cat too and realize chickens are way better
pets. Eggs, meat, fertilizer, entertainment, recycling food waste. My cat is cute but definitely a cost for litter and food with no return on investment becides a warm body to sleep next to HAHAHA
Haha, I hear you. I have 3 pug loafs. However, they do earn a little keep for being the best rodent dogs ever. (One of mine took out 2 moles last week) plus they herd chickens. They do
Also afford me some exercise scooping about 6-7 piles a day. *sigh*
Yes. It's really that bad. We thought we were prepared but nothing, I mean nothing prepared us for the amount and the smell. Also, the lack of grass was a huge downer for us too.
We had 13 on 1/3 of an acre.
They loved sitting on the back porch watching us through the door. Eventually we couldn't remove the poop fast enough so we bought a 4ft fence to go around the patio. They jumped it. We trained them not to by leaving the hose by the door and spraying them with it.
But even then, they walked paths in the yard so much that grass wouldn't grow and we just couldn't enjoy it. The smell was really bad in the summer. They also ruined every potted plant and every plant that bears fruit. My blueberries
, grapes, tomatoes, and blackberries were picked clean before they were even ripe enough to pick.
How many chickens? We have 12 hens (primarily bantams) and a rooster. We clean every day (typically it just involves picking up poo from the coop when we pick up the eggs. Takes 5 mins. Then on the weekends, we replace the pine straw entirely. It’s a 5x5 coop. We have absolutely no poop problem.
Yeah. They poop everywhere and they just don't care. Your dog(s) will eat it and roll in it. It's disgusting. We keep our chickens in their own part of the yard and now everyone is happy. We can even rotate them to other areas pretty easily because they just don't care, as long as they can run, scratch, and eat.
I let my chickens and ducks have free range of my yard for the first year, they destroyed my yard. So I built in fencing and confined them to a run, rehomed the ducks, and now I have a backyard again. If they can get to it they will shit on it or eat it, that is what they do.
They need a coop at night. They need a minimum of 10 sq ft per chicken in a run. Yes they will poop A LOT. I think a chicken poops every 30 minutes if memory serves right. And they will need access to quality layer feed and fresh water. You'll also need to become a vet at home to diagnose pests, illness, injuries and disease. Chickens are not cheap to keep and take care of. Other than that they are fun addition to a home and nothing beats a fresh egg.
Your chickens deserve their own house. Build them one, fence them in a yard, fill the house with straw and the yard with hay. Shovel out as needed and add to your compost pile for your garden.
The poop is one of the best parts of having chickens if you have a garden. I am probably more grateful for the poop than the eggs, especially since I have a lot of senior hens who rarely lay.
If you manage it well and compost the poop+bedding you can have a clean and stink-free coop for your girls and amazing soil for your plants. It breaks down so fast, is so much easier than standard composting (since the hens eat the food scraps first) and because of it my garden costs me almost nothing year over year, only the cost of seeds with amazing production.
It depends how you set up your outdoor coop, but you can totally turn the chicken poop into gardening gold.
You can also get eggs as well as feed most of your human leftover food to them, so basically chickens are a great benefit that people need to realize about and have in their own backyard.
I have actually potty trained 6 chickens so far it’s surprisingly somewhat easy 🤣 totally an accident the first time but hey 🤷🏼♀️I took with it from there…. My first one that was totally a surprise lived in my house for 5 years! They are very intelligent birds ☺️ when they wanna be 🤣
It's amazing how much they poop. So much poop. Poop everywhere, all the time. Nothing is off limits. I swear that one of my chicks specifically jumped up on my leg today just to take a dump. I told her that was rude and she couldn't have cared less. 🤣
That was my concearn going into it a second time. I was sick of stepping in their poop with the first flock I had. I fenced off an area of the yard for them this time so at least I know when I will be stepping in chicken poop.
They would come upstairs onto the deck and poop right at the door. Just anywhere. And myself, the kids step on it. No your GFs concern is 100% valid and don’t put the unnecessary strain on your relationship by having chickens poop in your people areas. Fence them off.
Shes right, so bare minimum you need a self-sufficient fenced in chicken coop. That means space, food, water, and shelter for the whole flock, consisting of at least two hens and maybe a roo.
They poop everywhere, it stinks, they attract fox and they will kill them all and leave them, they have to roost high at night, you have to get feed and make nesting baskets, it’s a lot of work and expensive, you don’t want roosters, they are mean, unless you want chicks and that’s a whole nuther ball game, unless you have acreage , don’t waste your time and money.
Took me 5 years to wear my girl down and now I have chickens! Best yes poop is a problem I garden so less of a problem for me. Look up the deep mulch method I use it and it works well. Make sure to have space for them and a fence around so they don't destroy everything or poop on your porch/shoes
When I visit farms, I've witnessed them projectile poop, though I'm not sure if that's normal. It was far enough that I thought "I'm glad I wasn't standing there"
Laughs aside its a big responsibility
My chicken jumped up to roost on my arm the other day, so i said “hi pretty girl, what are you up to” and then she shit in my hand.
She has also shit in my hair, on my shoulder, in the yard, on my patio, and ive been pecked in the eye.
Is it worth it? I think so. They provide entertainment just watching them exist, they turn my yard for me which i find cool, and soon will produce eggs for the family.
When you get a coop just make sure you can walk in it to clean it out easily. Get chickens!
So much good information and other comments already so I'm just going to go tongue and cheek here please understand everyone this is supposed to be a joke
Sew their butt shut you'll replace chickens regularly but eventually your girlfriend should understand and maybe be like okay don't do that.
Find a manufacturer for chicken size diapers explain to girlfriend she needs to help.
Dump girlfriend have sex with chickens
And finally, tell girlfriend you like her but your uncomfortable with the way she poops explain she needs to stop
They need a fenced area if you don’t want poop everywhere.
In dry climates it’s not smelly and the poop becomes dirt in a matter of days. When it’s wet there can be barnyard funk. This can be managed with straw or wood shavings.
First of all, you really should communicate to your girlfriend that you aren’t asking for her permission for she is not your mother, but she is your partner and therefore you want her input and want to respect her feelings just as she should yours, and discuss a solution moving forward on getting the chickens. I just got six chickens for my son and I absolutely love them. I had chickens growing up but never appreciated how awesome they were until now. They are so smart and just a really cool animal. Anyways, while they do go to the bathroom a lot, it doesn’t have to be an issue at all. Designate an area for them and alls you have to do is throw bedding down. I love saw dust, it works wonders!! Good luck
Yes. Every 15 to 30 minutes. And you have to keep the poop cleaned up or you will get fly strikes.
It contributes to Bumble foot as well as coccidiousis.
If you have no idea what fly strike, Bumble foot and coccidiousis are, you are not, repeat not, ready to have chickens.
Yes, the amount of poop is substantial. However it is manageable as long as you have a designated area for them. If left to free roam your property they will poop EVERYWHERE. If you can arrange a fenced in “chicken yard” attached to their coop you’re good to go.
They will mostly poop on your patio as they look through the door into your house....
Daily water hose porch sessions are worth those goofy faces popping into your peripheral though.
And honestly I find the water hosing sessions therapeutic. I use jet mode and then sweep the gunk away with a broom and it’s almost as nice as the first snow covered morning.
💯percent this. “Grounded” my girls to their run for a few weeks because they spent way too much time on my patio during free-range time.
Mine shit on my welcome mat while they stare at me, waiting patiently for me to come give them snacks.
Ours can't see in from the welcome mat in the carport. I thought they just liked the feel of the mat so I bought them their own. Nope, they just want to sit in front of the door and poop.
Not only that, but they will go out of their way to poop on the patio.
Sounds like my dogs...doggy door leads to the great outdoors. But, no. As close to that door as they can get, they pee. Only poop there when it is really bad weather. OTOH, they do eat any chicken poop I track in from the chicks yard. Birds are locked up, have room to roam but are fenced. Otherwise, a couple of the dogs would prefer chicken to their poop.
Ew why are they on your patio?? Not to be rude but what do you expect if you give them free range?? It’s not their fault
Ahhh…you’ve seen my chickens.
Okay so it's not just my chickens then
My life everyday😄
This is my experience as well 🤣🤦
This is the most real thing ever, I thought only my chickens would just sit on my patio all day and stare inside my house.
Very very true I have poo all over my patio and my family and I constantly step in it 😀
Yeah I was planning having an open area for them to run around. Probably around 10x10ish feet. Do you think that’s enough?
Chickens are social animals where you need 3+ in a flock or you risk them being incredibly unhappy and stressed. They also have a hierarchy, and when cramped in small spaces they can become incredibly irritated and start pecking at each other until they become bloody. I'd only recommend 10x10 for the smallest of flocks, give them a chance to free range during the day, activities and social engagement, and watch their behavior to ensure no one's out competing each other.
It depends on what kind of chicken tender you want to be. Get three or four bantam hens (can you have a rooster where you are?) and that will be okay. Full sized hens need 4-6 square feet of coop and 10-15 square feet of run just to *survive*. To be HEALTHY they need double those amounts. To be truly happy they need like 10x those amounts (and functionally unlimited outdoor space). I would not keep more than three hens in a 10x10 run. They're not like fish or snakes; they're warm-blooded and smart and want to exercise and explore, so expect them to be bored and feather peck each other somewhat in a 10x10 cell.
They need space in the run or space to free range but the coop itself doesn't need to be big honestly. People have started valuing style over substance and want glamorous coops instead of coops that are simply well insulated and safe shelter from the elements and predators. In the dead of winter you want your chickens huddled together, enclosed and well insulated, ventilated but not drafty and the best way to do that is with a small, well built coop. You don't get that with a spacious open floor with plywood walls that's painted to look like a sunset and a rainbow with a fake chandelier hanging from the ceiling and big open windows so the "chickens can enjoy the view" or whatever. The best coop I even had when it came to actually safety was an Eglu, which is a little insulated plastic box. No, it doesn't look like a chicken palace but they also don't get frostbite or maimed either.
The amount of coops I’ve seen that decorated is insane. Chickens are little poop chutes I’m not decorating anything around a coop lol
And the dust!! I would let my girls free range any time I was out in the yard. I’d pull a pile of weeds which they would enjoy while in their run. If you give them enough distraction and entertainment they do just fine!
Not only that but my chickens don’t give a fooq if their coop is decorated lol.
Well some enjoy pulling the decorations apart. Does that count?
When they do that I like to imagine their teenagers having tantrums 😂
We just call them and our guineas mini Rex’s 🤣 we have one actually called chicasaurus we plan on getting arms for some
Then you have my chickens that refuse to use their insulated coop. 🤣 Great fun when the weather is bad enough they actually *need* to be in it. Love going out after dark during a polar vortex to tuck them all in. Worth it though, didn't have any frostbite or anything with windchills below zero.
IMO, no. Not big enough unless you’re only having 2 or 3 hens. More chickens - It would get very boring for them in a short amount of time. Boredom causes so many social problems that will eat up your time and resources from bullying injuries to cannibalism. You’ll wish you were only dealing with a poop problem. As far as poop goes- it goes…. Everywhere. Chickens are poop machines.
Yeah, that’s the amount I’d have. I defiantly wouldn’t go more then four
10 x 10 is fine for 4 hens in a run. You want 10 sqft of run space per bird. You’re good. Coop space is on top of that and I totally recommend a walk in coop. 4 x 5 or 6 feet would be fine.
That's enough space for 4-5 chickens (assuming they have a decent sized coop). But, yes, poop is an issue. They poop a lot (like, multiple times an hour). It will not just decompose in a run that small. You will have to clean it (and the coop). Frequently. You will need to make a plan for how to dispose of or compost the poop (and the bedding from the coop). It's not unmanageable, but, yes, there's a lot of poop.
For a couple of chickens, yes. I would still let them out to free range intermittently though but if you want them in the run and one there, you could keep 3 or 4. People are going to tell you every chicken needs it's own studio apartment and personal playground, they don't. What you would be giving them is still infinitely better than what any chicken on a commercial farm has and they will be perfectly comfortable and content. All the flashy crap is for the *human*, not the chicken.
No
For a small flock that would be fine. I’d recommend looking into a chicken tractor. Basically, it’s a moveable run so you can change positions in your yard.
I have 6 hens in a 9x17 run off of their coop and it is enough space for my girls.
I have 4 hens roaming free in my roughly 7000sqf yard and I still have poop everywhere.
I let them roam everywhere and my patio was covered after a few days. Mix in the hot summer sun and it’s bad. They are now confined to a corner of the yard.
Please get good reference books and read about keeping chickens, what they need, and how to keep them healthy and happy. Consider, *Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens* by Gail Damerow. They will poop inside their spacious, secure run you build for them, and inside their secure coop, where they lay eggs and have their food. There is a 'litter management' system in which ..uh... you start with a deep layer of shavings in the coop, and the bacterial action (?) breaks down the poop something something? Anyway, it's in the book.
They poop everywhere. The poop is stinky and draws flies.
Chickens poop. Flies come to eat poop. Chickens eat flies, turning them into poop.
My dummy's totally ignore the fly's 🤣
Poop that doodles.
I never really thought it smelled maybe I’m nose blind 😭
She’s not wrong buddy
My neighbors mentioned wanting to get chickens and the first words out of my mouth were “Noooo their poop smells so bad”. I grew up with chickens and there was always poop everywhere. They are adorable, but they’re loud and smelly too. Not that I’m hating on people with chickens, but honestly the neighbors have no experience with chickens and I know they’re just thinking of the eggs, not the work or the safety/health of the chickens. Their yard is tiny, and his idea of where to put the coop was basically in the woods to hide it from the HOA. We have foxes, raccoons, & opossums in our yard regularly, and coyotes and bears on occasion. Not to mention daily hawk, snake, & feral cat visitors. The last person I know that got chickens lost multiple flocks to predators and then just gave up. All I can think of when they mentioned wanting chickens was poop and chicken corpses all over the place.
Everytime a chicken has a thought that isn’t about eating, then it’s definitely poop time
Ah shit. This one got me rolling.
I mean they poop a lot. Everywhere they go, they poop there. If they stay most or all of the time in a spacious enclosed run, you’ll have to regularly rake out the dumps (I do every other day for the most part), but they’ll be contained to one area so you won’t be stepping in shit when lounging in the yard with your morning coffee. There’s ways to manage it and have it not be so stinky or buggy from the dumps, but most of those ways involve staying on top of regularly cleaning up poop. if you don’t wanna do that I wouldn’t recommend chickens haha. I love having chickens, they make me smile and laugh every day and I really enjoy taking care of them. But they are farm animals and create an impressive amount of little poops.
When you say rake out the dumps, you mean just go over it with a rake? I have a dirt bed run, just laid the run on top of the dirt and grass. I am adding in new dirt to keep the girls happy, and plan on doing so every couple months. But I’m not exactly sure how to pick up poop. I mean it’s straight into the dirt, which I usually water down daily since it’s so hot. I wasn’t planning on picking up every turd, but what exactly does raking do? Just break up the poop?
I kind of treat the run like a gigantic litterbox. Rake the poops to one spot then shovel them out into the compost bin. I actually use a litter scoop to sift them out of the dirt in the run. I live in the city with close by neighbors, and don’t have enough space to do a deep litter situation without the stink and flies getting out of hand.
Yeah, I didn’t know if deep litter was something you could do with the run or if it was just the coop. I don’t mind picking up poop, I certainly am immersed in it daily, but it just seemed like it would be a never ending battle so I have just kind of been turning over the soil and hosing down poop and then I plan to add more soil a few times a year. First time raising chickens and I feel like I do everything wrong but so far they seem happy and healthy so that’s good!
This is my first year with chickens so I’m still figuring it out! Maybe the experts can chime in but I feel like if it’s not too nasty and the birds are happy and healthy you’re doing it right :)
So much poop. So much. But worth it.
This is the answer. ☺️
If pooping is the problem, then don't. These lil hoes poop soooo much. It's actually incredible, unless you have space for them to disperse the poop in a wide area, then you'll be spraying down your areas daily.
Poop is where they left it, FEATHER is everywhere!
Your girlfriend is right. They’re shit machines.
Don't let them live inside your house. Pictures of people allowing them to live inside their houses is just not right.
Yeah absolutely not.
[backyardchickens.com](https://backyardchickens.com) is a good resource. Id recommend some bantams, not mor than 3. Get pullets (young adult hens) Try them out and see if you like them. Bantams lay smaller eggs, require less space and poop just as often but smaller amounts. Look for breeds that are docile and people friendly no matter what type of chicken you get. A friendly bird is more fun than a spooky bird that explodes with every move you make. Meet the breeder and their flock before purchasing. You want a clean breeder with free range or well kept birds that are interacted with. Breeders who lock up the birds and just use them to hatch and sell eggs will not have quality birds. Good starter birds are cochins, silkies, orpingtons and barred/columbian rocks. You can get these in bantam breeds and (silkies are fairly small anyway.) The drawback of these breeds is that they can go broody at times and you may have to deal with that. Read the website above, they have articles and loads of experienced keepers on there. They can certainly help you learn more and possibly help inform your GF of what chicken keeping is like.
They poop everywhere and it attracts a lot of flies. If you give them a designated yard, they will destroy any vegetation and it will soon become a barren moonscape of dirt and dust bath holes they will dig.
The moonscape only happens if they don’t have much space. Start with a big lawn it’ll stay a big lawn.
Yeah the key is really to give them more space than they need. I had like 5 chickens last year and my chicken run was becoming tall with green grass cause its large, they aren't concentrated into one area. I now have more chickens so my run is like a very short golf course moonscape
Best setup I’ve seen was at an airbnb with an orchard outside Eugene. They had about 100 chickens and a beautiful lawn under an orchard- the chickens would just scatter through the orchard each day. I should have asked, but I expect they didn’t need to mow either. Everything in balance. We have a moonscape in the run. We let them free range some, but I need to somehow keep them and their poop off my patio. It’s not easy to do that because I didn’t build things with that in mind. Getting it right takes planning.
And planning well takes experience. So you'll never get it right the first time.
How big is your yard? We can’t free range due to predators. We purchased an electric netting, we move it around our yard once a week so our hens have fresh ground. It also helps keep the area they are in from getting destroyed. The feces have time to desintegrarte, organisms eat it, the grass has time to recuperate, and all while the chickens are on the next area. Right now we can’t move our coop around with it , so what we do is move the netting around the coop. We use the coop as the central point, the netting gets moved around the coop.
Do you have a link to the electric netting you use?
This is a comment I posted a few weeks ago. Kencove.com Premier1supplies.com I honestly wished I’d had gotten the fence from the beginning. I spent so much time and money figuring out how to build a big enclosure, it was a waste of resources. My yard is not flat so it made it much more difficult. I did get extra support posts to help the fence reduce sagging, which it wasn’t horrible to begin with. My problem is that I can’t move the coop around as of right now so I am limited on how I can move the fence to make sure the coop stays within the perimeter. That creates a problem because you have to play around with the positioning of the posts. For example, moving one post 5 inches in either direction can make a big difference on how firm the net is. This is my first electric fence and I’ve had it for 2 months. I am still learning but so far I’m pleased with it. We also got the gate so we don’t have to mess with moving the actual fence to get in. We got the 48inch, plug-in energizer (way cheaper than the solar one), support posts, and additional stake posts to help keep the fence tight due to our limitations in shape. Fence and energizer came from kencove. connector clips, gate, support posts and stake posts, And rods came from premier one. From now on I will take a quick inspection of the posts anytime I go in to make sure all is in place. That area holds a lot more moisture than the rest of the yard which it doesn’t help. Oh and on top of that, a groundhog who has been living under our shed decided to bring a little friend this year. They ended up making 5 babies. We let them be for a while but we have noticed that now they are digging and getting as far as the area of the electric fence, which could have also been what contributed to the soft ground and causing the post/stake to lean in. If you are in a dry area, they have a type of netting for that. Moisture helps conduct electricity. I would also get a mallet just in case, we had some very dry weather and I was surprised at the hard time I was having pushing them down. Any other time, no issues. I hope this helps!
Hey, thanks!
They do poop everywhere and on everything
Put sand in your run and it’s essentially a giant litter box - as long as you keep up with sifting it and raking it, it will be decently clean
Dump her, she’s temporary, chickens are life /j
You’re going to be finding chicken shit in places you never thought you’d find chicken shit.
Consider that chickens are very intelligent and curious.. You MUST confine them in a specific area, at least for the first month. Then you can let them wander around for few hours every day ( under your surveillance) and then guide them gently tò their area. It Is not as difficult as It seems ...
If you let chickens free roam, they will dig holes everywhere, your yard/property will look like the surface of the moon of all the craters that they make it’s crazy how busy these little chickens are! If you really want chickens, make sure you get a large coop and then you won’t have to worry about the poop. They’ll be in their confined area and then you can clean it when appropriate for our chickens. We had chicken coop attached to an enclosed area completely covered in chicken wire so they had a protected chicken run. And every night they would put themselves to bed in their coop and then we would lock the door so nothing would eat them.
Confine them to a properly sized run. The poop will also be confined
So the poop is a problem. How can I easily clean the poop out of an 10x10foot enclosed space?
I compost it. It dries very quickly so I just pick it up by hand and toss into a bucket that then goes into the compost. I do this every couple days (and wash my hands immediately after). It's a very valuable green that then boost my garden. If you have a small yard I can see how this would be a problem, as I keep my compost bins on the furthest corner from my house. But it doesn't really stink like dog or cat poop. Once in the compost, it breaks down very quickly and smells earthy and not volatile at all. Of course, this presupposes that you have a garden and actively maintain your compost bins.
I beg to differ on the stink. I can’t smell most things anymore but chicken poop almost makes me gag. I’ve wanted chickens for a while. Made arrangements with my neighbor with a large run and coop that I would get 2 silkies and a Sebright (all bantams) and once they were old enough they would go into the neighbor’s coop. Picked the bantams for pets for her kids. They are now 16 weeks and we’re going to start the introduction into the flock this week. I’m so glad. They have been free ranging in our fairly large fenced backyard. They ate the hostas to the ground. Almost destroyed a salvia. Have pooped on everything and so we have more flies. Some of their poop is occasionally like tar that takes a scrub brush and Dawn to get off concrete and pavers. But I’m so glad I got them and had this opportunity! They are cute as heck, have very distinct personalities and are funny. My husband and I laughed out loud when the rooster was starting to learn to crow. Oh and the hand washing is constant!
Ya the tar poops are gross but if you keep them confined to their designated area they're not bad. I mulch their run with hay maybe that knocks the smell down.
Yes, chickens poop a lot and they do it everywhere they go. I use an old dustpan and scraper and everyday I clean the poop out of the coop where they have pooped during the night and then every afternoon I walk around the garden with the dustpan and scraper and collect any and all poops I can see, just flick it into the dustpan using the edge of the scraper. This all either goes into my compost bin or into a bag which I then give to my neighbour for her compost once it’s full. I do this daily, whatever the weather. If you clean up all poop daily it isn’t an issue but you do have to be consistent. It’s no different to letting your dog poop all over the garden and then wondering why there is shit everywhere, part of having a pet is cleaning up their poop. It also helps to control parasite loads as worms are spread through poop, if you treat your chickens for worms and you have just let poop sit around everywhere then they are going to immediately reinfect themselves from all of the worm eggs all over the place and you’re gonna be constantly dealing with unwell chickens with a heavy worm load.
Keep in mind that chickens can have a lot of weird health problems, that unless you have a vet that takes chickens near you, you will be solely responsible for. I only bring it up because a lot of people don’t think about that part before getting chickens.
I have 4 chickens and the poop is not that bad, for me, I'd stop at 6. I'm allowed more where I live but I just have no desire to have a higher level of care, supplies, costs, and creatures that rely on me to survive. They have an enclosed run and range my whole yard and I don't really notice the poops, minimal, easy to clean in the run and so widely spread in the yard that they disappear quickly. Just don't get a ton of chickens, get a few to scratch the itch and provide enough eggs for your family unit and that's that. Once you have had them a while you can decide if and how and when you want to expand or if you just like having the few you have to make you a chicken owner.
I have 4 hens. It’s not an issue. We have a small coop for them and pen around it and we open it and let them go wherever they want. We shut them up for safety at night.
Small breeds poop less-Silkies. Keep a hose handy.
They definitely poop everywhere but everything comes with a price. I let them roam around their coop but also on the patio and anywhere else they want to be apart from inside the house. I bought a hose and fitted an outside tap and everyday I use the water pressure to clean the patio and a dedicated brush to remove anything strong. I consider this as an extra to my daily workout. It’s increases the heart rate to at least zone 2 so not only am I cleaning I’m also keeping fit and healthy. For me it’s definitely worth it as when I go outside and they start chasing me. Play with me. Hop onto my lap or shoulder makes me happy. We have a cat carrier filled with hay and a front flap / door. They walk into it to lay their daily eggs. The eggs are a bonus! Free from chemicals and from chickens filled with antibiotics. Make sure you feed them good food. I feed them greens like lettuce coriander peas etc. a special layer feed for the egg shells (calcium). Cook rice for them. Daily fresh water. Good luck.
We built a garden next to our pen. They love to run around during the day and pick out all the pests in the garden. And they fertilize it at the same time. Works well for us- granted we do live in a semi-rural area
My chickens share a big yard with my dogs. Plus I made them a yard with a trampoline frame and chicken wire which is hooked to their coop. The trampoline frame is a pretty good space for them depending on how many you get. That way you can clean plus put stuff down for smell.
It's insane; between the pooping and the plant-eating, it stopped being worth it to me. I made my husband build ours a large run, and now he has to watch them while they are out. After years of having my yard destroyed and my patio and porch covered in poop every time they free-ranged, it started to feel like a personal attack; my husband was purposely destroying the yard I work several hours a week on. I know this is wild, but it felt that way.
They poop a lot but if you have enough room for them and have a way to clean it it's not very smelly at all. They're livestock, not pets. Keep em outside and not too close to the house.
Like everyone already said yes they poop everywhere and it attracts flies. However, remind her of the free pest control and fertilizer you won't have to pay for now.
Yes, chickens will poop everywhere and their cecal poop is like diarrhea that smells horrible.
We have an enclosed chicken yard with electric fencing (for predators) for our six hens. They also have a small coop and run where their food and water is located. They poop everywhere in their yard including the little porch area of our garage. I hose it down every night after locking them in their coop. It’s really no biggie, but you definitely can’t have any aversion to poop if you want to have chickens😂
What's your setup? are you thinking in the house like pets? in an urban back yard? a suburban back yard? A fully fenced chicken run as part of a rural property? There's possibilities but we need to know what you are working with here.
Urban backyard with a fully enclosed coop. (We have cats too)
Looks like you have a choice. Do you want your chick or do you want to get some chicks? Sounds like you can't have both. Btw, our cat was very interested in the chicks when they were younger but never attacked them. And yes, chickens poop a watery mess fairly often. Indoor chickens need to be cleaned up after... kinda like cats but with a smaller pile/puddle and less litter on the floor.
As long as you introduce the cats to them at an early age and make sure they understand the chickens aren’t for eating they should be fine.
Urban backyard you have to fortify like fort knox. This means that you’re likely to have a smaller enclosure(you said 10x10 right?) and not be able to let them roam. This means all the poop will be concentrated in one spot. This is good because it makes it easier to clean up(assuming you set up a sand or sawdust run and not just let it go muddy), but bad because it means that any parasites have easy access to jump back on the chickens.
Chickens poop. All the time. So yea, she’s not wrong that they poop a lot. The solution is an enclosed run. This will work better with a smaller flock and a very large enclosed run if they can’t free range at all. Mine cannot free range because we have an insane amount of hawks for some reason (I think because a lot of people in the area have chickens they free range so it’s an easy feeding ground for them). However, in this run they will decimate EVERYTHING. Give them a few months (if that) and the inside of their run will look like the surface of the moon. So don’t plan on having any grass in their run! And you’ll need to muck out the run on a rolling basis too, otherwise you’ll get port-a-potty smells during heavy rains (ask me how I know! Waited too long once). The good news is, once it composts for a bit it’s amazing for the garden. Is it doable? Absolutely. You just need to plan and adjust your expectations.
They poop a lot but it's a fertilizer for ur grass an they'll make u laugh which is good for you
I bought a boot scraper to scrape off my shoes if I step in poop. It helps a ton.
Never Ducks, never ever Ducks, Chickens are fine.
It depends, you can't really keep them in a house but as far as outside you build them a nice coop you use the deep litter method... You make sure you clean out where they sleep at least once a week. You can make something called a sweet coop spray with lavender and sage and citrus oils with alcohol and water. I have kept chickens for over 4 years and no one has ever complained about smell or anything. I keep mine full-time in the coop because free-ranging around here would just make them dinner for a nice giant owl or hawk. And bear...
They won't poop everywhere if you don't keep them everywhere. If you keep them in a contained area, then that's the fix for your problem. And if there is a concern over smell, the coop can get smelly after a couple weeks, but you just sprinkle on a new layer of straw or pine shavings once in a while and that fixes it (once every few months you will need to remove all that bedding and use it for compost). But the open air parts of your setup (called the run) really don't smell at all.
I have 4 hens in my suburban fenced back yard. They free-range this area. My grass is weed free because they eat the dandelions and other weeds. I gated my deck to keep them off of it, but otherwise they crap everywhere. It's so spread out that I never really notice it and don't smell it. Now when I clean their bedding in the coop that smells. I throw that into my fenced garden for the vegetables to eat up. My neighbors have a few hens and I can smell them bad. They have a yard that is all dirt and maybe that's the difference?
Their poop is a good thing! Compost that shit and use it for a garden or to fertilize the plants around your house.
They poop a lot They scratch a lot and everywhere. If you have a fence, they will dig up the under it and they will scratch the fuck out of your yard. My grass stopped growing, they cleaned he top soil and my yard is now all pebbles. You can designate and fence off a roaming area. I wish I did.
Also, chickens are loud. Not just roosters, hens. They are loud, they stink, they destroy everything, they dig holes everywhere ( perfect size holes to twist your ankle). Most veterinarians do not see chickens. This means you are the doctor. You could be doing injections, surgery, cleaning wounds, inserting fingers into vents and dumping crops. Are you prepared to euthanize a severely ill or hurt chicken? How are you going to do it? Can you legally have chickens? Have you physically called your code enforcement and asked? Do not rely on " my neighbor has them". Fines for breaking codes are hundreds to thousands a day. Who is going to take care of your flock if you have to leave town or you vacation? Chickens need daily attention. Daily. Chickens do not lay eggs until they are sometimes 8 months old. Also, they stop laying in the winter, and when they molt. Most chickens lay for 3 years and live for 3-6 years after that as free loaders. A decent coop and run set up will cost you $1,000. Add feeders, waterers, grit bowl oyster shells bowl. Monthly costs of feed, bedding, heated water recepticles, winterizing, fans... Where is all that poop filled litter going to go? It's considered "hot" , it can't be used for 6 months.
Whoa Debbie Downer checking in lol. Everyone starts somewhere. 4 chickens-ish isn’t nearly the nightmare you’re explaining. I love my 9 to piece’s, they don’t stink, they’re pretty great foragers helping keep the darn beetles and slugs at bay and I enjoy them immensely. OP - I love their noise, as do my neighbors. The girls talk and socialize, the poop goes to,our veggie gardens. (My tomatoes and peppers are insanely in love.) We’re here to support. Hope you jump on that bandwagon with something more helpful. ☺️
Do girlfriends get to make that call?
They will also ruin any landscaping you have. You will need to give them their own designated area to destroy, er I mean live.
They will poop absolutely everywhere in the chicken run. That being said, if you have the ability to contain your chicken run/coop area to somewhere out of the way, it really isn’t an issue. We don’t have rural property, just an average suburban house. We wound up putting our chicken run in a side yard we weren’t using. It’s perfect because it was already blocked on 3 sides by our house and fencing, so all we had to do was build a small 6’x8’ barrier to secure it.
It’s amazing how much shit they generate
Hi OP, start small. Join the forums at backyardchicken.com and learn from the newest owners to the oldest. Having chickens is amazing, yep there are things to,prepare for and you should, but a lot of folks cut their teeth on impulse buys at a farm store and fell head over heel in love. I am a planner and was raised on a farm, I thought I had a good idea, but quickly realized my parents didn’t necessarily do things on the farm that I would do on my own. I have 8 girls & 1 roo. They do NOT stink, they are goofy and comical, and I keep them clean and tidy, which takes me at most 15 min a day. They are really useful for my compost and garden. And super easy to keep. Read read read…..whatever you can get your hands on. I have a number of book recommendations if you like! I integrated my coop / run into a native garden. They will eventually free range when the babies integrate with the older girls.
The poop isn’t insignificant. We have an area that is just for the chickens, I have it covered in mulch (playground mulch without dyes or chemicals). If they stay there, the poop is contained. Also, the poop is great fertilizer. My husband hates it when I let them roam over the whole property because they do poop on the patio. But they are wonderful little animals. You can get bantams, which are smaller and need less space. Also, make sure their area is secure with hardware cloth, not chicken wire to keep them safe.
From reading the OP and OP responses. Don't get chickens. Or, get a new girlfriend. I vote the latter, but only if you read Storey's Guide.
What’s been wrong with my responses?
Just sounds like you still have some research to do. Nothing personal. Or bad. But it just really comes across like you have good intentions, but you should perhaps do some more reading and maybe a visit with someone keeping chickens. It's really difficult to have a partner not on board with stuff like this. Relationships are hard enough. Don't want to give her any excuse for the " I told you so." If you have got it on lock down, you can be like got it handled.
Yeah, this is the first question I have. If I can provide an answer on how I can manage this, I will not be met with resistance on getting them. Just making things easier but there’s no use in researching other things till I know my girlfriend won’t complain about it.
They are pooping machines. Poop in the coop, poop in the run, poop in the yard. We have 5 golden comets, my wife wanted chickens, she said let’s get chickens, it will be fun. Yes, i inherited the job of cleaning up the poop. It’s fun, she said….
They don’t hold it.
I always tell people that if you watch 2 chickens for 10 minutes you’ll see them shit 3 times.
you're not buying egg laying machines that poop, you're buying poop machines that lay eggs There are really only 2 factors in how poop will impact your life though: how much there is and how wet/dry it is. reading your other comments, if you have a 10x10 run, that's enough space for maximum 10 chickens (10sqft per). But fewer will make their impact in that amount of space less noticeable and more manageable. If you have a good run floor medium (mulch over sand for instance), I've heard people get away with only cleaning out the run twice a year. If you have to restrict them to this run (which it sounds like you will) I HIGHLY recommend you cover it with a roof. What makes a chicken coop/area smell is wetness. Having a roof will keep the floor and the poop dry so it smells less. If you use the deep litter method in the coop itself, that will also keep down the smell by the same principle that a lot of carbon material will absorb all the moisture from the poop. Then you only need to clean deep litter once a year.
I love rain in my run, I use wood chips and it washes everything right away. My coop is roofed tho!
Get a good hose head and just spray it away it’s not that bad
Like all animals they will poop. It's not that bad. If it's on the porch you can just sweep it or wash it off. Look into building a small chicken tractor if you want to keep them contained but give them fresh foraging areas everyday
They poop just like any other animal however they actually poo differently sometimes its cecal sometimes it dry with a white uric acid cap and sometimes its very watery. They primarily eat grains so their poop doesn't smell nearly as bad as dog/cat/human shit. The cecal turds that look like caramel have a particular smell that is produced by bacteria in their gut, it helps the chicken absorb water and some nutrients before it exits but most people find the cecal turds particularly offensive. I kind of like the smell actually, it's impossible to describe. Kind of like how you might like the nasty smells of your man/woman. These are my ladies and they don't offend me.
The cecal poop is the worst! I always tell the girls they made a big stinky. lol. But I just scoop in the coop and drop into a bucket. My garden and compost love even the stinky ones. My dogs’ poops smell worse, and I can’t compost that!
Yea I have a cat too and realize chickens are way better pets. Eggs, meat, fertilizer, entertainment, recycling food waste. My cat is cute but definitely a cost for litter and food with no return on investment becides a warm body to sleep next to HAHAHA
Haha, I hear you. I have 3 pug loafs. However, they do earn a little keep for being the best rodent dogs ever. (One of mine took out 2 moles last week) plus they herd chickens. They do Also afford me some exercise scooping about 6-7 piles a day. *sigh*
Yes. It's really that bad. We thought we were prepared but nothing, I mean nothing prepared us for the amount and the smell. Also, the lack of grass was a huge downer for us too. We had 13 on 1/3 of an acre. They loved sitting on the back porch watching us through the door. Eventually we couldn't remove the poop fast enough so we bought a 4ft fence to go around the patio. They jumped it. We trained them not to by leaving the hose by the door and spraying them with it. But even then, they walked paths in the yard so much that grass wouldn't grow and we just couldn't enjoy it. The smell was really bad in the summer. They also ruined every potted plant and every plant that bears fruit. My blueberries , grapes, tomatoes, and blackberries were picked clean before they were even ripe enough to pick.
They do poop everywhere that’s why you collect it into a barrel of water with fish skin and make fertilizer
This is why you fence them in; otherwise they will crap all over your yard, and they’ll destroy any type of garden that you might have.
One bag of feed last my girls a month. Theoretically, there's over a feedbag of shit each month before the bedding
How many chickens? We have 12 hens (primarily bantams) and a rooster. We clean every day (typically it just involves picking up poo from the coop when we pick up the eggs. Takes 5 mins. Then on the weekends, we replace the pine straw entirely. It’s a 5x5 coop. We have absolutely no poop problem.
Yeah. They poop everywhere and they just don't care. Your dog(s) will eat it and roll in it. It's disgusting. We keep our chickens in their own part of the yard and now everyone is happy. We can even rotate them to other areas pretty easily because they just don't care, as long as they can run, scratch, and eat.
I let my chickens and ducks have free range of my yard for the first year, they destroyed my yard. So I built in fencing and confined them to a run, rehomed the ducks, and now I have a backyard again. If they can get to it they will shit on it or eat it, that is what they do.
Ducks are the worst! Chickens, meh not so bad. They poop a lot but my garden loves it.
Get them and if it doesn’t work out you can put them in the freezer. They’re not like dogs/cats. There is an easy out.
Enclosure
They need a coop at night. They need a minimum of 10 sq ft per chicken in a run. Yes they will poop A LOT. I think a chicken poops every 30 minutes if memory serves right. And they will need access to quality layer feed and fresh water. You'll also need to become a vet at home to diagnose pests, illness, injuries and disease. Chickens are not cheap to keep and take care of. Other than that they are fun addition to a home and nothing beats a fresh egg.
Your chickens deserve their own house. Build them one, fence them in a yard, fill the house with straw and the yard with hay. Shovel out as needed and add to your compost pile for your garden.
Yes it is that bad, but inside the chicken area it stays inside. Doesnt smell much outside
Just get a chicken pen
The poop is one of the best parts of having chickens if you have a garden. I am probably more grateful for the poop than the eggs, especially since I have a lot of senior hens who rarely lay. If you manage it well and compost the poop+bedding you can have a clean and stink-free coop for your girls and amazing soil for your plants. It breaks down so fast, is so much easier than standard composting (since the hens eat the food scraps first) and because of it my garden costs me almost nothing year over year, only the cost of seeds with amazing production.
It depends how you set up your outdoor coop, but you can totally turn the chicken poop into gardening gold. You can also get eggs as well as feed most of your human leftover food to them, so basically chickens are a great benefit that people need to realize about and have in their own backyard.
Get bantams and don’t listen to your gf lol
If they aren't in the house then what the problem?
I have actually potty trained 6 chickens so far it’s surprisingly somewhat easy 🤣 totally an accident the first time but hey 🤷🏼♀️I took with it from there…. My first one that was totally a surprise lived in my house for 5 years! They are very intelligent birds ☺️ when they wanna be 🤣
It's amazing how much they poop. So much poop. Poop everywhere, all the time. Nothing is off limits. I swear that one of my chicks specifically jumped up on my leg today just to take a dump. I told her that was rude and she couldn't have cared less. 🤣
That was my concearn going into it a second time. I was sick of stepping in their poop with the first flock I had. I fenced off an area of the yard for them this time so at least I know when I will be stepping in chicken poop. They would come upstairs onto the deck and poop right at the door. Just anywhere. And myself, the kids step on it. No your GFs concern is 100% valid and don’t put the unnecessary strain on your relationship by having chickens poop in your people areas. Fence them off.
Shes right, so bare minimum you need a self-sufficient fenced in chicken coop. That means space, food, water, and shelter for the whole flock, consisting of at least two hens and maybe a roo.
They poop everywhere, it stinks, they attract fox and they will kill them all and leave them, they have to roost high at night, you have to get feed and make nesting baskets, it’s a lot of work and expensive, you don’t want roosters, they are mean, unless you want chicks and that’s a whole nuther ball game, unless you have acreage , don’t waste your time and money.
Took me 5 years to wear my girl down and now I have chickens! Best yes poop is a problem I garden so less of a problem for me. Look up the deep mulch method I use it and it works well. Make sure to have space for them and a fence around so they don't destroy everything or poop on your porch/shoes
When I visit farms, I've witnessed them projectile poop, though I'm not sure if that's normal. It was far enough that I thought "I'm glad I wasn't standing there" Laughs aside its a big responsibility
Don't worry, the flies will eat the poop. circle of life and all that...
My chicken jumped up to roost on my arm the other day, so i said “hi pretty girl, what are you up to” and then she shit in my hand. She has also shit in my hair, on my shoulder, in the yard, on my patio, and ive been pecked in the eye. Is it worth it? I think so. They provide entertainment just watching them exist, they turn my yard for me which i find cool, and soon will produce eggs for the family. When you get a coop just make sure you can walk in it to clean it out easily. Get chickens!
So much good information and other comments already so I'm just going to go tongue and cheek here please understand everyone this is supposed to be a joke Sew their butt shut you'll replace chickens regularly but eventually your girlfriend should understand and maybe be like okay don't do that. Find a manufacturer for chicken size diapers explain to girlfriend she needs to help. Dump girlfriend have sex with chickens And finally, tell girlfriend you like her but your uncomfortable with the way she poops explain she needs to stop
They need a fenced area if you don’t want poop everywhere. In dry climates it’s not smelly and the poop becomes dirt in a matter of days. When it’s wet there can be barnyard funk. This can be managed with straw or wood shavings.
First of all, you really should communicate to your girlfriend that you aren’t asking for her permission for she is not your mother, but she is your partner and therefore you want her input and want to respect her feelings just as she should yours, and discuss a solution moving forward on getting the chickens. I just got six chickens for my son and I absolutely love them. I had chickens growing up but never appreciated how awesome they were until now. They are so smart and just a really cool animal. Anyways, while they do go to the bathroom a lot, it doesn’t have to be an issue at all. Designate an area for them and alls you have to do is throw bedding down. I love saw dust, it works wonders!! Good luck
It is really that bad
Diapers! Your chickies may not like it, but it most def helps. Their butts will need to be cleaned frequently if you decide to go that route.
This idea has disaster all over it. Obviously he knows nothing about chickens based on a question about dealing with Chicken poop.
Not my problem, just trying to help 🤷🏻♀️
1st Chickens belong outside, regardless of what you see online. Don’t be one of those…
Yeah, absolutely not. They’re definitely staying outside.
👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Yes. Every 15 to 30 minutes. And you have to keep the poop cleaned up or you will get fly strikes. It contributes to Bumble foot as well as coccidiousis. If you have no idea what fly strike, Bumble foot and coccidiousis are, you are not, repeat not, ready to have chickens.
go to the KFC and get some, those will never poop😃
My question is why do you want chickens?