New pup thinks chicken poo is a delicacy - how to stop him eating it?

[Callisto]

Hi all,

I picked up our rescue pup last saturday and he really is a delightful little chap. He is 6 months old and a terrier cross of some variety. He is very bright and has already learnt not to chase my chickens. However, he loves eating their droppings, and will spend ages truffling around the garden finding them if I let him. The chooks are free-range and I don't want to fence them in.

So, is this something he will grow out of or should I try and train him not too?

Mine loves to eat guinea pig droppings. She's never touched the chicken poo - that seems a bit more yuck! She used to eat horse droppings when she was little. She'd carry a little ball of it around for a while and then eat it. Made my dc4 feel rather queasy!

SpicyPup went through a stage of being obsessed with rabbit poo but it did pass on its own. I would maybe give it a bit of time to see if it gets old naturally before trying to train. He's still at an age where he will be drawn to investigating new things.

There will be many more forms of poo he will delight in yet. I'd not worry about trying to stop him eating it but concentrate on teaching him not to roll in it and keep him well wormed!

Our 3 labs relish all sorts of poo! The list is extensive but I'll start it: chicken, cat, dog, horse, cow, goat, sheep.................................. They usually eat it - rolling in it is WORSE!

Would love to see a picture of your pup (maybe not eating chicken poo though!)