Getting over Respiratory Illness & Possibly Changing to Sand from DLM

[ChirpyBrooke]

Hello All

First year and first winter in wet old Washington state with my 15 girls. I have been using the deep little method ever since they moved into their coop 6 months ago. On average I tidy their 6x10 coop once a week. Their run is 25'x45', fenced and bird net covered.

I started out with aspen shavings accompanied with clay and DE. Even after weekly turning the ammonia smell was getting too much and I could not seem get it under control. I figured that if I could not stand it then how could I allow my girls to put up with it? I pulled the shavings out of there right before fall and replaced with hemp bedding as I read it was more absorbent and would help with my issues. We are now at the end of December and while there is no ammonia smell, I have a new issue.

About 2 weeks ago I noticed I was having difficulty breathing. I was getting winded doing my regular activities and taking a single deep breath caused a sharp pain in my chest. With home remedies I am slowly getting over the illness but I have a doctors appointment next week after the new year holiday just to be on the safe side. It only occurred to me that it might be a respiratory illness a few days ago. You see, I do not use a mask when I work in my coop (BAD!) and I regularly hold and kiss my girls when I am out there several times a day. Ever since I came to the conclusion that my illness could be chicken poop related, I have not been holding them and not gotten in the coop for the last week to turn the hemp bedding (mainly because I was too weak to do it).

I was feeling better today so decided I needed to tackle it but now notice that the chicken poop is growing fuzz!

I cant have anyone dealing with that, feathered or not so I am considering taking it all out again and replacing with washed, medium to course grain sand and just treating it like kitty litter. From what I have read, my girls are just producing too much poop and the hemp bedding is not able to dry it fast enough.

I know we live in a wet state but as you can see from my coop below it is protected from the elements so I do not think we will have an issue with wet sand but am open to comments and suggestions on how to keep myself and ladies heathy and happy. Thank you!

 

[Debbie292d]

I would suggest horse bedding pellets. We use those in both the coop and the brooder. They absorb moisture and dehydrate the poop. There are no odors and zero maintenance in the coop as the chickens scratch them around. In the brooder, chicks can't so I stir the pellets every few days.

Every spring we clean the sawdust out, put that in the garden, around trees, etc., and put down another 3" of pellets good for another year. That's 21 silkies in an 8x12 coop.

 

[DobieLover]

Sorry for your health issues.
I don't see enough (any?) permanently open ventilation in your coop. You need to have as close to 15 sq feet of ventilation in the coop with most of it over head (think between the rafters in the area between the roof deck and top plates of the walls) and one or two small lower ventilation inlets with everything covered with very well secured 1/2" hardware cloth.

My poop management technique of choice is poop boards. This way the vast majority of the overnight poop load is removed each morning after it lands in a bed of granular zeolite. This mineral is hygroscopic and absorbs moisture and odors.
My coop has about 23 sq ft of high ventilation year round and 1.5 sq ft of ventilation close to floor level.
My coop smells like chickens, not ammonia.
The floor of the coop is bedded down with pine shavings that is changed out annually.

 

[Penpal]

Ventilation is always key.

Have you considered changing the hemp more often?

 

[thecatumbrella]

All good advice here. More ventilation in the rafters. Scoop the worst of the droppings at least every other day. And please please wear a mask. Even the cheap blue ones make a HUGE difference for me. Otherwise, the hemp can be an irritant when I'm stirring it around, plus I'm constantly getting "chicken dust" (ie. powdered crap) up my nose.

I'm so sorry to hear you're under the weather, but glad you're on the upswing!

 

[Folly's place]

Yes, more coop ventilation, and wear a good N95 face mask out there! Stirring the bedding won't help you, especially without that mask!
And you can't get the coop humidity lower than ambient, but it shouldn't be higher, or smell like ammonia.
Sand in humid conditions will be WORSE!!!
Hemp, pine shavings, whatever, all can be good. I personally do worse with peat moss, something a friend of mine loves.
And I don't have my chickens near my face, especially not my eyeballs!
Chickens create massive amounts of dust, so ventilation and either N95 face masks or a good respirator will save your lungs. Inhaling dust is not healthy!
Mary