The hay doesn't bring in the mites...it makes good daytime homes for them....
But like I said...the DE you use takes care of that.
Good luck on getting the smell out!
Sandra
take any bird droppings (chickens, turkeys, etc) and add water and you'll get high levels of amonia. Additionally, wet straw rots pretty smelly.
The key to a healthy coop is to keep it DRY. Also, I don't use straw because it harbors mites (although the DE should take care of that).
It's...