Chooks & dogs

[peeejaay]

Hi All, Has anyone had the problem of their dogs being obsessed with eating chicken poo. My two dogs get on very well with my two chooks who live in an Eglu but who I let out to free-range the garden every day. The two dogs are so obsessed that they follow the hens around to "collect it fresh" and also dive into the Eglu run whenever they get the opportunity to clear up anything produced during the day. I've tried hosepipes etc but am now thinking this is something we are just going to have to put up with. Any ideas? Thanks. P.

[TEB]

Yep my dog will eat any type of bird poo, it got worse after he was diagnosed diabetic.

[lynda66]

they like cat poo too ... and horse and cow .. actually dogs are foul

[Bramble-Poultry]

do you feed the dog on BARF? if so, its natural for the dogs to eat poo from herbivorous species as it replicates their natural feeding. In the ancent world, before man came on teh scene, the dog would have hunted its quarry. once killed, it would have started on the soft easy to gets bits first, then muscle tissue - i.e the stomach and instestines and that is where the dogs would have got their fibre and vegetable food from.

In a dog fed on BARF (which personally i think is the best) then the vegetable element is somewhat lacking, so the consumption of rabbit poo and the like in moderation will do no harm as long as the dog is regularily wormed.

If it becomes habit forming and they become scatophagus (poo eaters to you and me) then it can be a hard cycle to break, but break it you must otherwise they will eat poo rather than whats good for them.

A littel tip for you - if your dog rolls in it and stinks, bath them in a solution of water and tomato juice as the tomato juice somehow seems to neutralise the odours. Learnt that from a friend in the states whose dog went up against a skunk on more than one occasion!!