Are chickens under the front porch, ultimately going to stink up the place!?

[squadleader]

I've got a covered wrap around front porch on the house, about six feet wide. The chickens have made their clubhouse under there for a couple of hours every day, while free ranging.

There's only about 18 inches under there, so perfect for them. Extremely tough for me though, to do anything under there.

I did slide under there on a piece of cardboard, a few weeks ago, before they came to this location, and raked it, removing leaves and so forth. It's dry, somewhat rocky, and dusty under there.

Now I'm starting to wonder if I've created a poopy chicken run under there, I can't possibly clean.

Has anyone else dealt with this? I've got 13 chickens, they love it, and it is good cover, but do I need to close their access to it off?

I'm wondering if I don't get them out of there, is the front porch area going to start stinking, because of the poop they're going to drop under there?

 

[Lazy Farmer]

The poop will not..They scratch and dig so much looking for bugs that it gets covered up like cat poo in a litter box.

BUT if they start laying eggs under there.. THEY EXPLODE!

 

[oregonkat]

Can water get under there? If their poop gets wet, then yes, it will start to stink. The other thing is whether or not predators can get under there too? They may also start laying under there if they think it is safe which is going to make harvesting the eggs a real pain for you.

 

[SueT]

I think if they are free range, it's probably fine. You can put some sweet PDZ under there if you are concerned. It's a natural granulated mineral that people put in horse stalls and chicken coops. It's non toxic. Just a thin layer would do.

 

[Chickassan]

Nope, no issues. And as long as their nest boxes stay nicer than the spot under your porch they won't lay under there. Just do not under any circumstances feed them under your porch because you'll draw rats, possums, coons. Mine depend on being able to take refuge under the porch during storms, no stink issues in two years.

 

[JedJackson]

I doubt there will be a problem, but the PDZ sounds like a good option if it starts to smell. I hadn't heard of that before. You could also put a skirt of chicken wire around the deck so they can't get in but I'd only do that if it became necessary since the birds seem happy there.

 

[Abriana]

If they lay eggs under there that may rot or attract predators that could kill your chickens. An electric fence is great to contain birds and keep out predators. I have one and i have zero complaints

 

[Lazy Farmer]

And as long as their nest boxes stay nicer than the spot under your porch they won't lay under there

Not always.. They might not feel like sharing a nest box one day or get bullied and deterred from using it/them.
Free ranging enables them to break old habits and create new ones. I have tons of contained birds who are forced to conform with routine. But my free will flock, between the 15ish of them, half will use the nesting boxes provided in a safe location and in ultra clean status.
But the ornery non conformant ladies will choose a new location each time there is a security breach. I find the nests, remove the eggs and that is the last time she will lay in that spot. It's a natural instinct for her to find a private nesting location with free range birds. Protecting her future offspring.

 

[squadleader]

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences. I feel a lot better about it now. It's generally sheltered from everything, but a strong blowing rain, which isn't that common.

It is good cover, they'll dive for it if there's a hawk.

If stink isn't an issue, it's better from a predator standpoint being open. My Jack Russell makes regular patrols under there. It's a pretty straightforward and secure place open to outside, and the brick foundation of the house on the back, and sides.

Great info everyone, saved a lot of trouble, and the chickens will be thrilled!

 

[squadleader]

Thanks Connie, that's true, one did lay eggs under there a couple of weeks ago, we got the eggs, and so far everyone is using the tractor nest box. Last week I found a rogue nest in the nest box, took the eggs, and it hasn't been used since.

I'm trying to monitor it with the egg count. I should be getting 8 to 11 a day. If it drops, I start looking at around.

Darth Vader trying to find the secret rebel base of rogue hens!

Here's the secret woodshed nest I found.

I only have two Leg Horns, the others are black and Golden Comets. 90 percent of the time, it's the Leg Horns doing this, the white eggs give them away the rest are brown.