Chickens in the barn

[mmjgg123]

Ok, so I moved my yearling to a barn that for the most part I really love. He lives in the heated barn. There weren’t any chickens when I moved out there in March. They started coming around in the spring. I don’t mind them. But then the staff built a roost for them (right in front of my stall, to boot). So now they live there. It’s getting cold, so now they rarely leave the heated barn. They have ruined the aisle floor. And the roost isn’t cleaned regularly. It’s really gross. And it’s really starting to stink now that the doors are closed more.

These chickens have a coop by the way. Others in the barn are feeling the same way about them, but none of us have spoken up about it. But we’re close.

I don’t pay board for this. It’s not unreasonable for us to want them back to their coop, right?

[stb]

I certainly don’t think it is unreasonable. I don’t want to expose my horse or myself to copious chicken droppings. In fact, years ago we had a group of chickens that decided my barn aisle was a great place to hang out. Those chickens were relegated to no turnout status for a while so that we could break the habit of them going back to my barn.

Chicken poop is nasty.

[Arlomine]

I LOVE chickens. A lot. But I don’t want them roosting in my barn. The poop is a health issue. One or two cruising the property and passing through the barn at times is a different thing. I would politely complain.

Chickens are very easy to habituate though, and I bet the staff could find a much better place for the chickens to roost. Possibly still in the barn, but out of the way and not near the stalls. Or…just put them back in the coop.

[mmjgg123]

Yes, back to the cooooop!

[Raincityrider]

I have chickens, I like chickens…no way in hades would I let them roost in the barn aisle. Every 7th or 8th dropping is cecal poop which is smelly when fresh and adheres like super glue when dry. They also turn into walking dirt transporters after they find the right soil for bathing. If the chooks have a decent dry coop they can deal with low temperatures just fine but they will get into the habit of hanging out in the nice heated barn especially if provided accommodations. I’d politely request the chickens go back to their coop and the roost be removed from my stall.

[trubandloki]

My chickens do not roost in my barn, but they do leave a fair bit of droppings in the aisle when they are wandering thru during their loose chicken time in the evening while their coop is cleaned.

Neat trick to chicken dropping cleaning - put just enough clumping cat litter (I use the walnut stuff) on the dropping to cover it. Let it sit for a couple of seconds and then it scoops up easily with a kitty litter scoop.

Clearly not the answer you were looking for, but figured I would pass it along.

I agree that I would not like chicken mess right outside my horse’s stall if I was paying board.

[Djones]

I have hens and they muck around in my hall and clean up dropped horse feed. They overnight in their coop that is 50’ from the barn.

This is nasty, friend.

[mmjgg123]

That’s the thing. Apparently this is the first year they’ve ‘lived’ in the barn. They have a coop:/

[2DogsFarm]

Assuming the BO also owns the chickens you may be SOL.

I no longer free-range my hens, but when they did visit my barn the poopage (from just 5 hens) was not a big deal.
That said, it’s not what I’d want full-time near my stalls.
I scoop my coop daily & like @trubandloki said, shavings sifted over a wet poop allows it to be easily scooped up.

If chicken owner is new to poultry-keeping they may not realize chickens don’t require warmth (unless subzero temps & no shelter from drafts is provided) - they wear down coats year-round
I have a heatlamp in my coop & hens tend to use the roost that’s not directly under it, even on Polar Vortex nights.
Coop is a repurposed metal shed, no insulation besides the shavings on the floor. I have - in 10+yrs - never lost one to frostbite or cold weather.

[mmjgg123]

This is right in front of my stall that I pay for.

[2DogsFarm]

So have you pointed out the mess to BO?
If yes, what response did you get?
If chickenowner doesn’t care, then what?
Honestly, IIWM, I’d get a scoop (I use one made for a cat litter box) & scoop into a bag to dispose of myself.
At least the area in front of your stall would be clean.

[trubandloki]

I can’t wait to see what everyone in the barn thinks when these hens start to molt. You will add mass quantities of floating feathers everywhere.

@mmjgg123, It is for sure time to talk to the barn owner/manager about the mess and smell.
Is there another barn (at the same facility) that you can move to?

[eightpondfarm]

i have free-range poultry and free-range horses. The guinea foul (not misspelled lol) roost in the rafters above where some of the horses sleep in ‘weather-y’ nights. Most of the horses know to not lay down underneath them. Most of the chickens roost in the other barn, and not high up…so they’re not above any other animal (sheep or llama or the occasional equine). The most excellent thing about the poultry is how they desensitize the horses to random odd movement/flight/noise. Sometimes the guineas fly up ontop the roofs and just run back and forth, creating ungodly bedlam! Or fly down from the rafters in the morning right in front of the horses eating hay.

[mmjgg123]

It’s not that I mind them being around at all, it’s just the poop everywhere.

[candyappy]

Maybe a opossum/ raccoon etc… will come along and take care of them?

I would go to the BO and either ask to have the chickens roost in the coop, or move your horse to a different stall if she won’t.

[2DogsFarm]

IME, you can’t have one without/o the other.
Unless chickens wear diapers (& yes, there is such a product) chickens poop wherever they happen to be standing when nature calls.

And @trubandloki has the moult mess right too.
My coop looks like a sorority pillow fight this time of year

I hope your barn doesn’t end up like one I visited where friends are boarding.
Chairs in the “viewing room” - just a spot in one aisle - were so encrusted with chicken poop they were unusable… Unless you were a chicken.