Garden Lime Question

[triciayoung]

I need to do something about the smells in my chicken runs. Despite the fact that I clean coops everyday, and dry rake the runs, the endless rains here are making the runs smelly. I read that hydrated lime is bad for chickens; hence do not get products that have calcium hydroxide in it. My first question is; the garden lime I purchased has calcium oxide in it. Everything from chemistry class tells me it is okay because it doesn't have to "hydro" in the lime; however, I need to check with the experts on this site. My plan is to rake all of the pine needles out of the runs and then sprinkle some lime and then put new pine needles down. My second question is; do you think the barrier of the pine needle is enough, or should I add more dirt and then pine needles? Thank you for helping me with your experience.

 

[WI chickens]

In my experience, two things keep runs smell-free. More organic matter, and charcoal. Charcoal works great in runs and is super easy to make. Youtube "biochar" and you'll find several ways to do it. Almost all are super easy. I don't use charcoal in the coop because it's too dusty when it's dry. It works great in runs. Mixed with lots of your organic matter of choice and chicken manure, you create biochar. This stuff is gold when added to your garden and charcoal removes smells better than anything I have ever used.

 

[triciayoung]

In my experience, two things keep runs smell-free. More organic matter, and charcoal. Charcoal works great in runs and is super easy to make. Youtube "biochar" and you'll find several ways to do it. Almost all are super easy. I don't use charcoal in the coop because it's too dusty when it's dry. It works great in runs. Mixed with lots of your organic matter of choice and chicken manure, you create biochar. This stuff is gold when added to your garden and charcoal removes smells better than anything I have ever used.

Thank you so much

 

[perkolator]

Is your bedding only pine needles? Also, how thick is the layer?

Pine needles aren't very absorbent in general and can matt together when wet and hold moisture, I would try adding other organic materials that will absorb and dry out better in moist conditions -- try a mix of coarse chunky arborist mulch, shavings, leaves, more pine needles, etc. and make it a thicker layer

 

[triciayoung]

My bedding in the coops is pine shavings mixed with hemp shavings. In the runs, it is pine shavings mixed with pine needles. Thank you for the extra ideas.

 

[gtaus]

I need to do something about the smells in my chicken runs. Despite the fact that I clean coops everyday, and dry rake the runs, the endless rains here are making the runs smelly.

Wow, you really put in a lot more effort into your maintenance than I do! Everyday! I could not keep up with that schedule.

We all have certain challenges for where we live. I don't know about your endless rains, but I can tell you what I do and what works for me.

After my chickens ate all the grass in the chicken run down to bare dirt, I was challenged to find some way to keep everything from turning into a smelly, muddy mess. I got a load of free wood chips from our local county landfill and laid down about 2-3 inches of wood chips on the ground. That pretty much took care of any potential problems and I could have stopped there, maybe adding fresh wood chips from time to time.

However, I decided to convert my chicken run into a chicken run composting system. I started dumping all my grass clippings, leaves, weeds from the garden, and just about anything else organic into the chicken run litter. It never smells. In fact, after a heavy rain, it smells rather pleasant like a fresh forest floor.

I don't have endless rains, so the top layers of my chicken run litter have a chance to dry out in a day or two. The lower layers of the litter will retain water, much in a wrung-out sponge state, and will compost in place. The moisture in those layers is also great for worms and bugs to thrive. My chickens love to scratch and peck, digging for good things to eat in the composting litter.

My chicken run litter is about 12 inches deep, normally, and in the fall after I dump all my leaves into the run, the litter is about 18 inches deep. At any rate, I think the thick layers of the composting litter contain any smell that might be going on near the ground level.

I harvest my chicken run compost about twice a year. But I have so much compost in the chicken run, that I only clean out a small section at a time. Even so, when I get down to the bare dirt, my chicken run litter still smells like fresh compost with no offensive odor. If you have a good mix of material in your litter, it should not smell.

I agree with others that suggested you might want to add more organic material to your run to stop the smell. I suspect that your daily raking out of material is working against you. My suggestion is to let your litter build up and see if the smell goes away.

Again, I don't have endless rains, and that might make your course of action different than what works for me. But I would suggest trying to give yourself a break, let that litter build up, and see if it works for you, or not. Good luck.

 

[WI chickens]

Wow, you really put in a lot more effort into your maintenance than I do! Everyday! I could not keep up with that schedule.
...

Your setup sounds great. You may also want to try my charcoal suggestion. Free biochar for your gardens along with all that beautiful compost.

 

[aart]

Coarse wood chippings and good drainage are the keys, IMO.
If you have any standing water and/or soil that does not drain well,
no bedding or additive will take care of the odors long term.

Adequate space can help too. A bunch of birds in too small a space is going to make the odors more concentrated.

@triciayoung a How many birds in how big a space(feet by feet)?
Is your run in a low spot in your yard?
Pics might help here.

 

[triciayoung]

Coarse wood chippings and good drainage are the keys, IMO.
If you have any standing water and/or soil that does not drain well,
no bedding or additive will take care of the odors long term.

Adequate space can help too. A bunch of birds in too small a space is going to make the odors more concentrated.

@triciayoung a How many birds in how big a space(feet by feet)?
Is your run in a low spot in your yard?
Pics might help here.

I have 9-hens in a 30x40 foot space. The two roosters are in a 10x15 foot space and their coops are above the space. Their are two coops in the hens space about 2 1/2 feet up. It is not in a low spot in the yard, we are just having record rainfalls. I will take pics soon. Between your post and @gtaus it looks like the wood chippings and more organic matter is what I am missing.

 

[triciayoung]

Wow, you really put in a lot more effort into your maintenance than I do! Everyday! I could not keep up with that schedule.

We all have certain challenges for where we live. I don't know about your endless rains, but I can tell you what I do and what works for me.

After my chickens ate all the grass in the chicken run down to bare dirt, I was challenged to find some way to keep everything from turning into a smelly, muddy mess. I got a load of free wood chips from our local county landfill and laid down about 2-3 inches of wood chips on the ground. That pretty much took care of any potential problems and I could have stopped there, maybe adding fresh wood chips from time to time.

However, I decided to convert my chicken run into a chicken run composting system. I started dumping all my grass clippings, leaves, weeds from the garden, and just about anything else organic into the chicken run litter. It never smells. In fact, after a heavy rain, it smells rather pleasant like a fresh forest floor.

I don't have endless rains, so the top layers of my chicken run litter have a chance to dry out in a day or two. The lower layers of the litter will retain water, much in a wrung-out sponge state, and will compost in place. The moisture in those layers is also great for worms and bugs to thrive. My chickens love to scratch and peck, digging for good things to eat in the composting litter.

My chicken run litter is about 12 inches deep, normally, and in the fall after I dump all my leaves into the run, the litter is about 18 inches deep. At any rate, I think the thick layers of the composting litter contain any smell that might be going on near the ground level.

I harvest my chicken run compost about twice a year. But I have so much compost in the chicken run, that I only clean out a small section at a time. Even so, when I get down to the bare dirt, my chicken run litter still smells like fresh compost with no offensive odor. If you have a good mix of material in your litter, it should not smell.

I agree with others that suggested you might want to add more organic material to your run to stop the smell. I suspect that your daily raking out of material is working against you. My suggestion is to let your litter build up and see if the smell goes away.

Again, I don't have endless rains, and that might make your course of action different than what works for me. But I would suggest trying to give yourself a break, let that litter build up, and see if it works for you, or not. Good luck.

Thank you so much. I get the idea now.