Coop Odor

[Patch&Phoebe]

Any suggestions for controlling odor from the chickens / coop? Anything to put down? I clean 2 - 3 Xweekly but still there seems to be a risidual odor. We have "suburban" chickens (in a very large enclosure though) and my concern is keeping the neighbors happy. Thanks in advance.

 

[justusnak]

Well...is it an amonia smell? That would be urine....what type of flooring do you have? I use Sweet PDZ..some cal it Stall dry. It soaks up and odors. I just clean really well...and put a good layer of that down. Mine have a dirt/gravel floor in the coop. Hope this helps!

 

[Patch&Phoebe]

Thanks Deb, I'll try finding that. Our coop floor is actually open / wire, so the droppings fall through to the ground below the coop. Maybe I could spread some of that on the ground below. I then rake out the poop several times a week into the compost. It's not amonia exactly - it's tough to pin down. Definitely "chicken" though - maybe the urine is just starting to penetrate the ground - yikes.

 

[justusnak]

You have them on a wire floor? Hmmm, thats not good on thier feet. You might want to rethink that. They need something more solid to walk on. Maybe you can put straw over the wire, and clean that a few times a week? Also....if the bottom is open, predators can and will come through it. Be carefull! Just a thought.

 

[rufus]

I think he is referring to the type of coop used in hot tropical areas. There is no floor, but wire is placed under the roost to prevent predator attacks. The poop falls right through the wire onto the ground below. The chickens don't walk on the wire, they just jump from roost to roost.

Rufus

 

[Patch&Phoebe]

I do put a bit of straw in there, and there's some board down for them to walk on, but they are really not in there - out in the run, which is 22X15 except for when they roost. We also worked very hard to secure the entire run, completely covered w/ a ginormous trench and more buried wire. My ladies are very safe and loved!

 

[Patch&Phoebe]

I am in CA and the design we based our coop on is pretty typical for where we live. It is supposed to cut down on the odor, but not so far here.

 

[justusnak]

I didnt mean to offend you. I was by no way trying to say you didnt care for your birds. We ALL Love our chickens as babies.

I was just thinking of a post several months ago, about a rooster that was caged on wire floor..and lost all his toes. So sad. The Sweet PDZ/Stall Dry should do the trick. Again, Im sorry, wasn't trying to be mean.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

It's because the droppings are absorbing moisture from the ground. Most of use some sort of litter on the floor and keep it dry. The droppings dry out and crumble into the litter. Any moisture causes odors. As others have mentioned, you can use stall dry or spread lime on it in beween rakings.

 

[Patch&Phoebe]

Deb no, I was not offended! I appreciate the advice, truly. I'll be at the feed store this weekend looking for the Sweet PDZ, so thanks! We also discovered our first egg tonight so we're all on cloud 9 right now!!!