Dust, dust, & oh, more dust

[M_Struna]

I knew when I started this hobby that it was going to be messier than I could imagine. Because chickens poop. What I wasn’t prepared for was the amount of dust once I sealed things up for the winter. The coop itself is relatively mild and I’m finding that the majority of the dust is coming from the PDZ I’ve added to the chicken sand on the poop shelf. The run is next level. It wasn’t terrible before winter but once I hung the tarps…good lord. Is it from the hemp? The First Saturday Lime? Surely the chickens alone can’t be creating this much. The tarps have quite a bit of dust on them. I haven’t added any lime in weeks, hoping it would eventually settle down. How do folks deal with odor and pest control without it becoming a health hazard to their birds? It’s my first winter and I thought I had done my research. I’m so hesitant to add anything other than the baseline substrate once I get everything cleaned out.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Chickens put out a lot of dander dust, as well as creating it by scratching and digging. It's part of the reason good ventilation is most important. You also don't want humidity to build up. Chickens add that to the air during respiration. If you are seeing more dust it probably means you need to open some stuff up for better air exchange. I make sure there are opening up high where air can flow and be replenished, but doesn't cause a draft directly on the birds or roosts.

 

[FrostRanger]

Chickens are extremely dusty animals, I've seen literal dust clouds when my girls shake. Sealing them in is the absolute last thing you want to do in winter, you need 1-3 sqft of ventilation per bird at a bare minimum even in winter. If you don't have proper ventilation moisture can build up, condense on their combs and cause frostbite. In addition to that you want at least 4sqft of coop space and 1ft of roost per bird. Proper space goes a long way at keeping messes down. Other than that I just use mulch (and yard waste) in the run and pine shavings in the coop. I find that keeps odor down well enough and I haven't had any issues with pests so I don't use anything for that

 

[M_Struna]

Chickens put out a lot of dander dust, as well as creating it by scratching and digging. It's part of the reason good ventilation is most important. You also don't want humidity to build up. Chickens add that to the air during respiration. If you are seeing more dust it probably means you need to open some stuff up for better air exchange. I make sure there are opening up high where air can flow and be replenished, but doesn't cause a draft directly on the birds or roosts.

We’ve got a two foot area at the top of about half the run that’s open. There’s good ventilation. I go out there daily and wipe down as much as I can but it doesn’t really help. Just makes me feel like I’m doing ‘something.’ And I keep an eye on the humidity in the coop, also well-ventilated. But some days it’s as humid outside as in. I haven’t noticed any condensation anywhere so I’m for fortunate for that. And I have a 40” radiant heater above their top roost bar to help prevent frostbite.

Thinking toward Spring, I’m going to take a minimalist approach and see what happens. If I get a lot of odor or see any bugs I’m pulling out the powder!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

We’ve got a two foot area at the top of about half the run that’s open. There’s good ventilation. I go out there daily and wipe down as much as I can but it doesn’t really help. Just makes me feel like I’m doing ‘something.’ And I keep an eye on the humidity in the coop, also well-ventilated. But some days it’s as humid outside as in. I haven’t noticed any condensation anywhere so I’m for fortunate for that. And I have a 40” radiant heater above their top roost bar to help prevent frostbite.

Thinking toward Spring, I’m going to take a minimalist approach and see what happens. If I get a lot of odor or see any bugs I’m pulling out the powder!

We do deep litter in the run, and I haven't noticed any smell. We do use barn lime in the coop to help dry out the concrete floor as needed. Sounds like your ventilation is good. Chickens are just dusty.