Diminishing Smell

[Soon2BChixMom]

Where does the poo go?

Rinses away. Lol I imagine It is going into the dirt beneath the sand. Duck poo isn't as hot as chicken poo so it is great fertilizer. It is also very wet - so mostly water anyway. Now, if I could utilize that in my garden, it would be great.
It also rinses off of the stepping stones I have - which makes clean up pretty easy.
In most of my run, I have pine shavings from the duck house when I clean it out - I just throw it into the run. It seems to break down faster than on the chicken side. I imagine it is from the extra water? or it could just be that I don't use as many shavings on the duck side. Either way, so far this works for me.

 

[Knighstar679]

Water in a pond/kiddy pool is going to smell. It smells in fish tanks too if it gets dirty or stays immobile to long and is in use regularly (ie fish or ducks using it all the time). It may be easy to find a good used pond filter on craigslist. I have looked around me and there are several selling the whole kit for filter some times under $200 (filter, skimmer, and little water pump thing for the center). That is more than your basic pond filter. But a basic one will come with a carbon filtration that will help filter the contaminates in the water and also remove a good amount of the smell, some even let you get a cartage that allows for extra ammonia filtration. Just an idea if redoing the whole bottom of your pen/coop area isn't in the cards.

That should help with some of the smell, and is the one of the chief reasons why your home aquarium doesn't always smell like a pond in August. They can be added to things like kiddie pools too with a little modification to how you place it in the set up too. It is one of the things I am looking at for my set up when I get to setting up and placing my pond/kiddie pool this year. Should also decrease on the water changes a bit too if you regularly clean the filter.

 

[aart]

Rinses away.

What do you do in winter when the ground is frozen?

Apologies to OP, if they ever come back, for hijacking thread.

 

[chickens really]

I also have rocks as a base and sand over top. It dries quickly. I hang vanilla Christmas tree car freshener in my Runs.. Flies love poop but not vanilla....I have also hung sticky fly tape in my runs.. I turn the sand to keep down the Poop load and the flies to a minimum..

 

[Knighstar679]

I also have rocks as a base and sand over top. It dries quickly. I hang vanilla Christmas tree car freshener in my Runs.. Flies love poop but not vanilla....I have also hung sticky fly tape in my runs.. I turn the sand to keep down the Poop load and the flies to a minimum..

Do you think it would work the same with a very fine gravel instead of sand?

 

[chickens really]

Do you think it would work the same with a very fine gravel instead of sand?

Well..I tried that also and I had to hose it down steady. That caused the stink. Sand works great over the gravel because it filters and drys quickly..

 

[harmonymw]

About 1/3 of my fenced yard is river rock and I just hose it down also. I’m about ready to order a truckload if it and do the entire yard.

 

[CrystaBub]

Rinses away. Lol I imagine It is going into the dirt beneath the sand. Duck poo isn't as hot as chicken poo so it is great fertilizer. It is also very wet - so mostly water anyway. Now, if I could utilize that in my garden, it would be great.
It also rinses off of the stepping stones I have - which makes clean up pretty easy.
In most of my run, I have pine shavings from the duck house when I clean it out - I just throw it into the run. It seems to break down faster than on the chicken side. I imagine it is from the extra water? or it could just be that I don't use as many shavings on the duck side. Either way, so far this works for me.

Agree - I just hose it down and the poop goes into the ground. everything around the run is very green No smell either. I use mulch instead of sand and shavings though and then rake it once a day - then I relocate some of the mulch to other parts of the yard for fertilizer and replace it in the run. Seriously no smell or flies.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

What do you do in winter when the ground is frozen?

Apologies to OP, if they ever come back, for hijacking thread.

I don't know just yet. I will let you know when the time comes. I don't think poop smells in the winter.

 

[aart]

I don't know just yet. I will let you know when the time comes. I don't think poop smells in the winter.

True, but the 'spring' thaw(s) could be highly odoriferous!
They are in my chicken run.

Now I've never had or been around ducks, but can't imagine that washing away the poops into sand and/or gravel could not all of sudden become a huge cesspool type situation.