Dog Poop, worm bin, and Ducks

Hello! I have 9 ducks and Dash, the Anatolian Shepherd. The ducks free range and they share the yard with Dash. I have just discovered the Ducks eating Dash's dog poop! I googled this and everyone seems okay with the ducks behaving this way, the only advice would be to try to keep the dog poop picked up, but nothing about it being particularly dangerous for the ducks. Also, they have no concerns really about the eggs the ducks produce (which we will eat). So first question would be, is this unsafe for the ducks? I.e. could it make them sick? Second question is I've been thinking about a solution for the dog poop anyway, currently I am piling it up out of reach of all animals near our septic system. However, this will be our first summer with this pile and I don't think it will work well in the heat (we are in Texas). I am thinking about making a worm bin for the dog poop. I would then use the worms to feed to the ducks for added nutrition. I figure this is a great way to raise worms for the ducks, and get rid of the dog poop - 2 for 1. Has anyone done this/heard of anyone doing this? Are there major risks involved? Thank you so much in advance for your advise!!

Check out Black Soldier Fly Larvae for your manure bin. It's one of the things they eat. Also, I've heard of people running chickens in yards shared with dogs, and that the dog poop disappears. I doubt they eat it, but they probably pick it apart for anything living inside it. Then the ducks would have nothing to eat.

I wouldn't give them a steady diet of dog poo, but think of the other things the ducks eat. I don't think you're in any danger.

-CK

Thanks for the reply Chris! I try to pick up the poop as best that I can, but I do miss some. They share about an acre, so it is not in concentrated form or anything. Just a little bit here and there that I might miss. I suppose if "fresh" poop is not of terrible concern, then certainly giving them the worms from this dog poop worm bin would be of even less concern. Whew...thanks again!

Hi,
Not sure if there is a danger to ducks.... But in general you want to avoid dog and cat poop in compost and worm bins. These two animals can carry pathogens and parasites which humans can contract. So you don't want to use the vermicompost or worms on any gardens with items you eat (veggies, herbs, etc). One other concern may be medications which your pet may be on (heart worm meds,etc). Not sure if that will carry over into ducks and eggs via feces?

I put dog and cat manure (when I have any cat that is, usually the dog "recycles" it!) into my humanure system, and it ends up in the same places my humanure compost does....under fruit and nut trees, ornamentals, perennials, or vegetables that will be well cooked (and will be rotated to other such on the same list for the following year also). Salad crops and root crops (except possibly potatoes, which aren't eaten raw) and low-growing things to be eaten raw are definitely exempt from this humanure design.
If your climate favors them (they like long, hot, humid summers best....overwintering them can be a problem where they don't recolonize from the wild) then black soldier flies are an excellent way to pull a feed yield directly from humanure, pet manure and various other vile things before sending the residue they leave behind into a humanure-grade compost. They will even eat poisonous wild mushrooms, while remaining edible to poultry once they molt....