Have you ever smelled your chickens?

[gryeyes]

Oh, thank you so much, woodmort, for mentioning this. I mean, it's not like it's The Top Important Topic in Keeping Chickens, nor does it solve any problems, but it's REAL and it reassured me where I wasn't even sure I needed reassurance.

Co-workers already think I'm jess a bit techted in the head. I've never mentioned I sniff my chickens now and then, after the first surprise of discovering one of my hens smelled pretty good. Well, that she had an acceptable and rather pleasant odor to her feathers. People at work know I have purchased and put a "shawl" (saddle) on Carl's favorite gal, and why. They heard about my successful save of a nearly drowned hen who'd fallen into the stock tank/duck pool. Everybody knows I name all the chickens and would never eat any of 'em. They are amazed I know which eggs in the carton they buy from me have been produced by which chicken.

Many have suffered through the little photo essays I share about the antics in my flock.

Many more simply shake their heads when they hear about Matilda, who has become my special needs chicken, as her legs are paralyzed and I'm providing her supportive and palliative care instead of "putting her down."

But to admit I'm a chicken-sniffer? Just another reason I am so pleased there is a BYC and it's supported by SO many folks who really DO understand!

 

[jeb251]

oh well wait till you smell a chicken fart then see what you think, or maybe it was me, the wife said I was just trying to blame someone else

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

Oh, wait until you get a wiff of a buck goat in rut.

 

[Urbanfarmerkc]

Quote:
That will be a first, been around chickens for over 35 years and never smelled a chicken fart yet. I'm inclined to agree with your DW.

Dave

 

[colada584]

Quote:
That line just made me laugh!

 

[WhetzelMomma]

They do smell good! Reminds me of my boys hair when they've been playing in the sunshine. It's a good smell.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:
Yes!

 

[BunnyMomma]

I too must have sweet smelling chickens! I only clean the coop once each year in the spring. after I clean it out I wash the walls down with a Bleach solution and redo everything. I put pine shavings over the dirt floor of the coop and I add a few handfulls of dried grass clippings every time I mow. I also keep a bottle of febreeze inside the coop if I need it. (the Christmas Tree scent that comes out in the fall). The chicks have an 9x9 predator proof coop, and a daylot that is 50 X 25 feet.I clean the poop off of the board over the nests and I add it to my compost pile about once every other month or as needed. I use Diametaceous earth and boric acid powder under the straw in the nests and in the corners of the bottom of the coop. We never have mites or pesky bugs and it is organic!
The coop has 2 windows, and a door for ventilation. We built it from the roof of the old well house that was on our farm when we bought it. The other side of the coop is a shaded area that I keep straw, and a few handy tools in. I keep my feed inside the coop.
It is nice and dry and well ventilated with a fan. I live in NC and the summers here are soooo hot and humid.
It is not smelly at all, infact my neighbors remarked that they never smell my chickens! I cannot stand to go to a farm where the smells could gag a dog off of a gut wagon. I went to one a few weeks ago and I thought I was gonna die! I am glad other people take time to keep their birds sweet smelling too.
Way to go!

Hello, from Bunny in NC!

 

[MakNugget]

They smell like a clean bird to me, which is to say they don't stink or have an off sort of odor. They spend much time keeping themselves clean to their standards via dust baths and constant preening. I imagine if they DO start developing a smell it would be due to poor hygiene from overly wet conditions and unable to dust themselves properly.

My coop is not sparkly either, and although I do use a poop board on one roost, I use it more like a poop deflector than to keep my deep litter clean. The contents often get dumped to the litter floor. The coop does not smell either, and the only time there's any kind of noticeable odor is when there's a fresh cecal poo head level (Yum.

) which is easily dealt with by topping with dry litter.

 

[MissJenny]

I have a chicken on my lap most every evening and I love to nuzzle her right up into my nose -- she's soft and smells clean.

Jenny