Diminishing Smell

[LaineyMehrer]

Hey guys. I know I’m on here a lot, but I honestly love the BYC community and I’m so grateful for all of you! I do have a question though. How do I get rid of the smell and the flies around my ducks so that the neighbors will stop complaining?! I love my babies and they come to me every morning whenever I feed them. I added a picture of their enclosure. I’m going to be getting rid of all the rocks and cleaning it out today.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

They are very cute.

I would try to aim for deep litter style management... it made a HUGE difference in smell in my chicken run during the rainy season.

Bare dirt is a breeding ground for disease and bad stuff. But by adding layers of hay, mulched grass, leaves and such... it no longer stinks on the edges when it rains. And it isn't muddy either. All the added material invites good bacteria and bugs to fight off the others.

When I had ducks... adding some dry matter to the top regularly. Well, that's what I do with my chickens too. I still pick up what poo I can as a personal choice... but definitely look into seeing if deep litter will work for you.

Inside the duck house... maybe some PDZ or barn lyme (different types for different uses so research it), helps dry things out and get rid of ammonia smell.

Also... why not hang some fly traps? Not the sticky ones.

Good luck!

 

[aart]

Did you get rid of 5 of the 10 ducks that you had before?
....and try any of the few suggestions made here?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/tips-for-keeping-odor-minimal.1254859/

 

[aart]

It would be good if you add you r location to your profile.
It's easy to do, then it's always there!

 

[SimplyLivinthatFarmLife]

With my chickens I use the deep litter method. I have also used the PDZ along with leaves and clippings especially for my guineas. In addition, I scoop poop daily when refreshing food and water as well as hang the sticky fly traps in all coops and runs. Oh forgot to add, we use river sand in all of our runs and this really helps!

 

[rachelsflock]

If there is a pool regularly, there will be stink. I'd find a way to limit water while meeting their hygiene and hydration needs. I am not a believer in deep litter-especially for ducks. Those fowl become foul very fast and in such a set up avian botulism and other diseases would become a concern especially for soggy mud trawlers like ducks.
If they smell too much you might want to rehome them and try chickens or something drier-maybe bantams. HOA's are terrible.

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

Omg chickens smell so much more than ducks.

 

[harmonymw]

I’m surprised they aren’t eating the flies. Mine run around like maniacs trying to catch flies.

I agree that the main smell is the water. I assume that would be alleviated with a fancy filtered pond, but that’s not in the cards for most of us. The water smells worse after I dump the pools because it stirs it all up.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

I have sand and river rock under the pool and it makes for an easy rinse and clean up of poo. I wonder if you could do something like that in the whole run? It seems a bit costly though. For the most part it is the wetness and moisture that makes it smell. I know that when it is wet and rainy, I can smell everything. Someone on another thread mentioned sweet lime to take care of smells. I actually find the water container that they swirl their food in the most has the most obnoxious smell. It gets emptied twice a day and filled with fresh water and scrubbed weekly. I empty and refill their pool every other day - when it was super hot - I did it everyday as they love it when the pool is fresh!

 

[aart]

I have sand and river rock under the pool and it makes for an easy rinse and clean up of poo.

Where does the poo go?