Bock bock pew!!!!!

[kchampion]

Lengthy post warning....
I do deep litter method inside the actual coop. I stir all the time and add shavings. No smell. I have a dirt (previously grass....lol) run. I throw food onto the ground in run, stir dirt and old pine chips fall down from the coop. I also throw tons of food scraps and yars clippings in the run. We just had a ridiculous amount of rain and it smells like a pic farm! I stirred it again to confirm this is the source of the odor! Sweet baby jesus!!! It is. Will this disappear when we dry out a bit? Never had this before. Help!

 

[chickenlittle21]

You could spray some water with essential oils to block the smell

 

[aart]

Lengthy post warning....
I do deep litter method inside the actual coop. I stir all the time and add shavings. No smell. I have a dirt (previously grass....lol) run. I throw food onto the ground in run, stir dirt and old pine chips fall down from the coop. I also throw tons of food scraps and yars clippings in the run. We just had a ridiculous amount of rain and it smells like a pic farm! I stirred it again to confirm this is the source of the odor! Sweet baby jesus!!! It is. Will this disappear when we dry out a bit? Never had this before. Help!

Stop throwing chicken feed and food scraps in there.
Are the yard clippings green plants?
Does your run drain well or have standing water?
Basically you have an unbalanced compost pile.
You need to add dry plant matter(carbon) to help balance it out.

You could spray some water with essential oils to block the smell

Trying to mask the odor is not going to help.

 

[Acre4Me]

What type of food scraps? There should not be any animal protein or dairy thrown in there bc that will stink a whole lot.

@aart is right -you need to balance the compost and not throw their feed into the ground.

some people have success with keeping a compost pile in the run. Others (like myself) keep a compost pile outside the run.

 

[Quahog]

I use a thick layer of oak leaves in the run, gives them something to scratch through and keeps their feet clean of mud and poo. It should give you plenty of "brown" to bring it into balance it will take time though.

 

[kchampion]

Ok.....so the food scraps do not go into the stinky area. The food scraps are veggies and fruits. I just stirred it up and threw pine shavings down. Maybe I am operating the coop wrong. Would anyone object to a phone call for a q & a? My cell is 8563047794

 

[aart]

so the food scraps do not go into the stinky area.

They don't?
What is in the stinky area, the chicken feed?....some pics might help here.

 

[Justso]

How long have you had this run? I will agree that a large amount of rain will soak in and make a composted chicken run stink . Maybe it's time to dig out your run. You can put the dirt in an area to age a little longer for use on a garden. The other option is to put a new run in a different area and let your old run lie fallow. I tend to dig out small areas of my run continuously, and then add brown matter.

 

[NatJ]

I just stirred it up and threw pine shavings down.

Sounds like a good start.

Of course you should make sure you don't have actual standing water there.

Other than that, I would just add more dry stuff anytime it smells, and anytime you have a convenient source. So wood chips, shavings, hay or straw, dead leaves in the fall, and so forth. In sunny weather, the grass clippings probably dry into hay too. (I would put the dry stuff on top, and not bother mixing it around.)

 

[rosemarythyme]

Needs a lot more browns. I don't use shavings as I need drainage to deal with all the rain, so for me it's a lot of wood chips and dried leaves, and less of any fresh trimmings.