Coop too close to our backyard patio!!!!!

[Karen711]

Well time will tell for me I suppose. Going to move them to their new coop on April 2. I read I should leave them in the coop for up to two weeks so they know it's home. Others say just a few days will be enough hmmmmmmm........ Any suggestions???

 

[kristaschics15]

My coop is right up against the house. Right under a bedroom window, cannot smell it, deep litter and they free range. It'll be ok!

 

[JadedPhoenix]

If you are free ranging, I'd err on the side of caution. A minimum of a week and then only let them out for one hour right before sunset so they won't stray far before they will want to roost for another week. Slowly extend that time outside to a couple more hours in the evening until you feel confident that they know where home is before giving them full freedom.

 

[User395221]

My chicken house is way up the backyard, but I don't think it smells at all. I have thick pine shavings and I pick off the surface poo and put it in the compost. As mentioned, daily maintenance means it doesn't stink. It stinks when you leave it, it piles up and it rots in the open air.

EDIT: if it is a bit "whiffy", you could put in a trellis and plant something. That should stop the odour having straight access to the people area.

 

[Karen711]

If you are free ranging, I'd err on the side of caution.  A minimum of a week and then only let them out for one hour right before sunset so they won't stray far before they will want to roost for another week.  Slowly extend that time outside to a couple more hours in the evening until you feel confident that they know where home is before giving them full freedom.

Sadly they are not free range as I would love them to be. We have coyotes in the area. Hubby saw one cruise by the back yard the other morning. Our back yard has a 4 ' chain link fence which they could jump but my coop is well built and I had the run completely enclosed with hardware mesh with a two foot skirt of it all way round as well. I'm covering the skirt with dirt then cement blocks and gravel. I hope nothing ever gets in.

Thanks for info. I will scurry them in before dark for several days till they get the hang of it
After having them in coop for few days

 

[Karen711]

My chicken house is way up the backyard, but I don't think it smells at all.  I have thick pine shavings and I pick off the surface poo and put it in the compost.  As mentioned, daily maintenance means it doesn't stink.  It stinks when you leave it, it piles up and it rots in the open air.

EDIT:  if it is a bit "whiffy", you could put in a trellis and plant something.  That should stop the odour having straight access to the people area. 

Great idea thanks!! Will see how it goes this summer

 

[azygous]

When I began my flock nine years ago with two adopted hens, I was very concerned about the stink. Little did I know then that I had complete control over how it smells. By the time I added three six-week old chicks to the flock, making five, I had learned about poop boards in the coop and that cleaning them each morning kept the coop clean and odor-free. And I was also learning that keeping the poop in the run scooped would eliminate the smell there, too.

The biggest dividend to keeping the poop cleaned up is zero fly problem in summer. Flies are attracted to the odor of poop, and when there is no odor, you get no flies. I dispose of the poop in a compost pile and in summer, I dust the fresh deposits with a little hydrated lime. That keeps the flies from laying eggs in it, further eliminating the fly problem.

I use no deodorizers, and no PDZ. I tried Stall Dry once in my sand run, but it was too dusty and didn't really do anything the sand wasn't already doing quite well.

So relax. You will be able to sit on your patio and enjoy your odor-free chicken run.

 

[teria]

I use deep litter method with pine shavings. I put down 6 inches deep of pine shavings inside my coop in the Fall and here we are end of March and it still smells clean. I have droppings board under the roosts that I scrape down daily, and I dust any wet spots with Diatomaceous earth. I also sprinkle a little DE in the shavings now and then. I also rake the shavings when I scrape the droppings board, to keep it fluffed up. It makes the poop go to the floor and brings dry shavings to the top,

My girls free range, so no run problems, but, if I were to keep them in their run I would deep litter that with sand. It is far too heavy for my coop floor, but, would be easy to maintain because you just rake and sift the poop out, and the girls don't kick it out of the pen so easily as they would shavings.

I'm planning to plant a mint bed along one side of my run to repel flies, and it is safe for the girls to eat. You can also use herbs in the nesting boxes and in your roost cleaning fluid to up that natural nice aroma.

 

[Karen711]

When I began my flock nine years ago with two adopted hens, I was very concerned about the stink. Little did I know then that I had complete control over how it smells. By the time I added three six-week old chicks to the flock, making five, I had learned about poop boards in the coop and that cleaning them each morning kept the coop clean and odor-free. And I was also learning that keeping the poop in the run scooped would eliminate the smell there, too.

The biggest dividend to keeping the poop cleaned up is zero fly problem in summer. Flies are attracted to the odor of poop, and when there is no odor, you get no flies. I dispose of the poop in a compost pile and in summer, I dust the fresh deposits with a little hydrated lime. That keeps the flies from laying eggs in it, further eliminating the fly problem.

I use no deodorizers, and no PDZ. I tried Stall Dry once in my sand run, but it was too dusty and didn't really do anything the sand wasn't already doing quite well.

So relax. You will be able to sit on your patio and enjoy your odor-free chicken run.

Well good to know and thanks so much for writing with all the good info I do appreciate

 

[ejcrist]

I have a flock of 25 that are 11 weeks old as of a few days ago, and I keep them in the enclosed run and coop due to predators. Our coop is 8'X8' and the run is 8'X24'; both are well above my head so walk-in-able. Anyway I'm at about my limit for size of my flock per the formulas I've read, and I might even be a little too small, but the gals seem to be very happy so far. I don't clean every day due to my work and garden duties taking up a lot of my time, but I do clean thoroughly every weekend. I change out most of the bedding (pine shavings) and sweep the run with a stiff bristle broom and rake. It's generally hot here north of Phoenix, AZ but we also have very low humidity most of the year. So far I haven't had any disagreeable odors at all and everyone that's visited my coop/run have said the same thing, so I think my cleaning schedule is working ok. I don't trust my own sense of "bad" odors because I think skunk pee smells good - reminds me of the woods and outdoor activities, so I make sure to ask my Mom and wife to verify nothing smells bad. So far so good. So I think you'll be fine. I'm planning a coop for broilers that will only be about 40' from our back door and none of us think that'll be too close at all. So I think you'll be good-to-go. Don't sweat it, I wouldn't.