Coop Help

[lindan3754]

Hi All

We are very new to having chickens we live in a housing track we added a day run to our coop part dirt part grass, but i am noticing the smell even though we try and clean it up daily, is it better to just have dirt with maybe some straw ????? and the grass is dying pretty quick im thinking about just dirt and straw there is no roof on this coop just day use any suggestions ? Night coop has dirt and pine shavings ...thanks

 

[sideWing]

Hi All

We are very new to having chickens we live in a housing track we added a day run to our coop part dirt part grass, but i am noticing the smell even though we try and clean it up daily, is it better to just have dirt with maybe some straw ????? and the grass is dying pretty quick im thinking about just dirt and straw there is no roof on this coop just day use any suggestions ? Night coop has dirt and pine shavings ...thanks

I would try some straw if it keep smelling nasty. Can you make it any bigger? Maybe it's a bit small? Are you in a humid environment or can it dry out?

 

[lindan3754]

Been a little humid which CA doesn't see much , I only have 3 hens and they have. Big run for just them , I do water the grass , but so hard to clean up all that poop ....so should I put straw on the grass or rip grass out ?

 

[sideWing]

Been a little humid which CA doesn't see much , I only have 3 hens and they have. Big run for just them , I do water the grass , but so hard to clean up all that poop ....so should I put straw on the grass or rip grass out ?

When you water the poop down it really makes it stink. I have over 30 chickens in a 3600 sq ft area and you can't even tell unless it rains. You might be keeping it too moist. If the poop dries up it breaks down pretty quickly.

ETA: I would only clean the poop up maybe once a month if you have a large area. That's just me though.

 

[lindan3754]

Well i only water cause I was trying to keep grass green .....but yea maybe I should let grass just dry out not water it .... Or take it out just have dirt and straw ..

 

[sideWing]

Well i only water cause I was trying to keep grass green .....but yea maybe I should let grass just dry out not water it .... Or take it out just have dirt and straw ..

At least try it for a few days dry and see if it fixes the problem? I use straw and it works pretty good.

Unless it rains.

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

You might try sand. Sand repels flies, absorbs poop and their smells and stays dry when wet. I collect my sand from a nearby dry wash/arroyo. You can use natural sand, play sand or cleaned sand from hardware stores. Some gravel companies will deliver sand as well. I switched to sand a few years ago from wood shavings and will never look back.

Good luck!

 

[lindan3754]

So u think I should take grass out and just have dirt/sand /straw ??

 

[Mutt Farm]

So u think I should take grass out and just have dirt/sand /straw ??

Hi! I'm here in Riverside. I went with straight sand. Sandbox sand from a nursery. It's about 3' deep. It's working great. The poop dries right out and I can rake it up easily. I've had no trouble with smell. I do add a flake of alfalfa free choice to the run for greens and protein. They love to scratch it and eat the leaves. When it's hot, I can dump ice cubes in a spot, they love to dig it it, then it dries right out.

 

[Mutt Farm]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

You might try sand. Sand repels flies, absorbs poop and their smells and stays dry when wet. I collect my sand from a nearby dry wash/arroyo. You can use natural sand, play sand or cleaned sand from hardware stores. Some gravel companies will deliver sand as well. I switched to sand a few years ago from wood shavings and will never look back.

Good luck!

^^^X2 on everything.