Help, my coop/run reek!

[Renee572]

I have been diligent about cleaning up poop every morning especially after noticing tons of flies. And my coop/run has smelled fine. Then the past 2 days we got TONS of rain and now the area that my chickens are in reeks. I can't even stand to be out there with them. I'm afraid people walking past my house can smell it too. Here's a picture of my coop/run.

the area of my yard that the coop is in is about 15×10 and fenced in and they get to free range all day just about every day. Is there something I can throw on the ground in that area that will help with the smell and be safe for the chickens to consume or is it just gonna smell like that till the ground dries? I really need to get rid of this smell!

 

[lazy gardener]

It looks like you're feeding the girls in the coop. I think that's your problem. The spilled feed along with the moisture in your litter is causing some nasties to grow in the litter. flies are having a hey day. My recommendation to you is to feed them outside the coop, and remove all food at dusk. I also am an advocate of fermented feed. It makes your feed last longer, they don't waste ANY of it, none of it can spill on the ground, and the chicken poop doesn't smell as bad. It's real easy to do, and the chickens love it. Check out how to do it on the Fermented feeds threads.

 

[Renee572]

I do feed them in the coop but we recently changed feeders and I haven't noticed any mess on the coop ground from the food. If I feed them outside the coop then what do you suppose on days I keep them cooped up? Anyway, I guess I will work on the feed issue if you think that's what it is but in the meantime what do I do about the smell. Honestly it smells the worst in an area outside of the coop.

 

[lazy gardener]

If their run is bare ground, get a deep mulch over it. Is the coop and run on high ground? Without seeing your set up, it would be impossible to give recommendations.

 

[Renee572]

The run is bare ground, I'm thinking about doing construction sand. What do y ou mean is it on high ground? Like as opposed to the rest of my yard? My yards pretty level I guess.

 

[vehve]

You'll want the area the chickens spend time in to be higher than the rest of the yard, that way it will drain better and dry faster. The mulch would probably be a good idea.

 

[aart]

Poop stinks when it's wet...my run stinks after a good rain, but its sandy soil and drains well so only takes a day for it to dry out and then the odor goes away.

Adding mulch to something is not going to help it dry out...mulch is used to hold moisture in the soil.