Coop Smell issue?

[LynneP]

Stall PDZ, Stable Boy and Stall Dri are wonderful products, so is food-grade DE.

I've put together some thoughts based on what we have learned. Basically, it's possible to keep all dropping dry and to minimize odor, disease and parasites!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=7693-Coop_Hygiene

 

[patandchickens]

I would suggest figuring out what the problem IS and fixing THAT, rather than putting down something to absorb moisture or odor which essentially just masks a management or design issue.

What is your ventilation like? How dry is the inside of your coop (are there waterer spills, roof or window leaks, etc)? How much bedding are you using, and what are you doing with it sanitation-wise? Do you have a droppings board or pit, and if so, how often are you cleaning it? And how many chickens do you have in how much space?

If you can give us a clearer idea of your situation I betcha we can identify the problem so that you can address it in a more direct and lasting manner

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Angelic Vampyre]

thanks guys. At the moment I have this coop

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/CHICKEN-COOP...wItemQQptZAU_Pet_Supplies?hash=item27ac1c71e2

If the link does not work then go to www.ebay.com.au and type in item # 170391269858

The front door is never closed (unless we are going to get some really nasty weather) and I prop the top open so that it gets air flow during the day.

I have wood shaving down on the floor a few cm's thick.

I have three Isa Brown x RIR hens and two Silkie hens.

They free range during the day in the back yard and only go into the coop/hutched area at night.

At the moment I am doing a complete clean out ever second day as it seem to smell alot and I am worried about neighbours complaining.

 

[Tala]

Quote:
I was working in my coop today.

My neighbor's 2 dogs smell worse than my 5 chickens.

I recently switched from pine shavings to pine pellets (sold for horse stalls) and I like them 100x better than shavings. They have a nice fresh smell, even when wet, and absorb and handle moisture very well. My TSC doesn't have Stall Dry or food grade DE, but I'm plenty happy with plain pine pellets.

 

[Angelic Vampyre]

Tala - thanks for that, not sure we have pine pellets over here but will check out the local stores and see if I can get some and trying that.

 

[Whisper]

I use the deep litter method. It seems really counter-intuitive, but the longer the litter stays there and the deeper it gets, the less it seems to smell. The first couple weeks, it smelled awful. But after a while the odor lessened and the bedding looked much less "new fluffy shiny pine shaving" and more like an organic living thing. My chickens stir the litter around a lot. Right now the coop's got three bags of shavings (added gradually over two months) and a quarter of a bale of straw, all mixed into a slurry sort of mishmash all over the floor. They happily dig through it looking for flies and bugs and whatnot. It barely smells at all-- in my backyard, its the puppy poo that stinks, not the chickens!

 

[Kriquet]

Quote:
Do you wet your pellets as recommended or just put them in dry and crunchy?

 

[Tala]

Quote:
Do you wet your pellets as recommended or just put them in dry and crunchy?

Uh, well with all the rain we got recently they did get a bit damp from the doorway opening, but generally I just dump them in.

The only downside is that a bag of pellets weighs 40lbs and a bag/bale of shavings is considerably easier to handle

 

[Sam The Yam]

The deep litter method is indeed the key and keeping it dry. I have had 9-11 chickens in my small coop, which is well ventilated, and it has about 6-8 inches of pine shavings for the litter. I do not have a dropping board but scrap the roosts off with a inexpensive putty knife in the mornings and simply let it fall into the litter. I then have a small rake that I use to rake it and stir it in. The litter keeps dry and I do not have smell or flies. My coop is very pleasant to be around. Except for when the hens are announcing their egg laying noise my neighbors would probably not know that I even had chickens and I have 3 neighbors whose fences butt up to mine. I really like the pine shavings and deep litter.

 

[Booswalia]

I don't see any ventilation in the photos of your coop other than by propping the lid up. I would do that for a few days to see if it makes a difference. Just prop it up a few inches with something and I'm sure you'll find it much better.

You may want to read Patandchickens page on ventilation.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-VENTILATION