Can't you smell that smell???

[OliviaDeHav]

Quote:
Nope it is on the oposite side of the property - good thought though....

 

[OliviaDeHav]

Quote:
oooo have to show hubby!!! How much easier things will be for HIM after the roof is put on before winter.... Thanks for sharing the pictures

 

[BWKatz]

Some older timbers have a dead smell especially if fungi were growing on them. I too have a sensitive nose . Actually sniff ur 4x4 posts to check. Good Luck.

 

[OliviaDeHav]

Quote:
LOL... my husband laughs at me for smelling practically everything coming out of the fridge before I put it in a pan or plate... i can just see him with me outside sniffing the 4x4 posts!!!

LOL No seriously not a bad thought....
I am the one in the house saying, "WHAT IS THAT?!?" and everyone else is looking at me like, "what is what? - mom is smelling things that are not there again!"
I have a comic on my fridge that has a woman sitting on a stool in front of the door and her husband is walking in and she says, "oh good you're home there is something in the refridgerator i want you to smell"

 

[BWKatz]

Did u ever see that Christmas movie The Christmas List about a perfume counter girl? She could identify every perfume by smell."The nose knows" At least she was smelling something good.

 

[OliviaDeHav]

Quote:
I've not seen that one

- I was out today and it did not seem to smell today - cooler temps I guess??? If it is a growth or something it will be back full force in the spring.....might help solve the mystery... OR maybe it is gone!

 

[tdgill]

Nice coop, great diagram, bad smell.

 

[turtlebird]

I haven't read through all the replies yet, but has anyone mentioned 'possums? They stink to high heaven, ALIVE. If it is hanging out under your coop at night, or worse yet, during the day - that could very easily be the source of your dead rodent smell. That might explain the coming and going of the odor.

 

[crazyhen]

when we cleared off and flattened a spot for our new dblwide ,the clay smelled just like rotten flesh till we limed it good. It was horrible. Did you dig holes where clay could have been brought to the surface? Use agr. lime under and around the hen house. It will actually help with the control of cocci oxacyst as well. If you use the ground rock type it will not burn your hens feet like the other kind. If we have a hugh rain and some soil is exposed I will still catch a slight smell of it but then its gone when the soil is drier. Hope you find your problem I know how frustrating it can be. Gloria Jean

 

[LuvinMyPeeps]

It sounds to me like it could be a drainage problem. Sometimes sitting rank water can smell horrible, like a dead animal, especially if you disturbed the drainage area during your build. If it's off and on, it sounds like the ground is absorbing the sitting water some days, while others it doesn't, causing the smell. I'm not sure what you could do about it though, short of moving the entire coop and digging to first find the source, which isn't an option.

I know this is a long shot, but since your birds aren't going underneath the coop, could you attach a garden sprayer to the hose and hose out a little bleach water and let it soak into the ground underneath the coop? Perhaps it would kill whatever bacteria might be lurking in the ground? If it was just a small enough amount, the fumes probably won't hurt the chickens too much.

Another thing that can cause that smell is rotting poatoes. Could they be growing under your coop? (I know nothing about growing potatoes mind you, except for the horrible smell if you ....um....forget them in the basket on your counter LOL.

)

How horrible to be driven crazy like that, I hate when stuff like that happens!