Help! To modify old coop or not?!?

[tree_tyger]

Here's another vote for conversion. I agree that getting the place wet and stirring it up released the ammonia.

Additionally, ammonia rises so you need ventilation at the very top of the coop -- right now it's being trapped up near the roof.

Can you get the soffit blocks out and put hardware cloth in their place? Maybe even the top siding board too (the one above those tiny vents)?

Definitely a great idea. Someone else suggested a similar solution with the ventilation up top too. Sounds like that will be part of our plan!

 

[NatJ]

What do you consider to be aging? We have about 6 large garden trash cans filled w/the stuff, just waiting to be thrown in.

Spreading it in the open air would probably work better. If you keep it shut up in the cans, and if there is any moisture in it, it is more likely to grow mold, or start rotting in a stinky way.

I would probably just dump it in the coop or run as soon as you can, and spread it around. Actually, if it was me, I'd put a few handfuls in the brooder right now for the chicks to scratch through.

 

[gtaus]

it is still unusually cold and damp out today, so that might have something to do with it too!

Cold and damp may increase the smell. Nothing wrong with putting a fan out there temporarily to dry things out. Then you would have a better idea of where to go from there.

I should have also mentioned that part, maybe a big part, of why I am such a fan of using wood chips is that I can get all I want for free from our county landfill. Nothing better than free bedding. Plus, after I clean out the wood chips in the coop, I spread them out in the chicken run and let them compost in place. When I need compost for the garden in the fall, I will sift out shovels full of chicken compost. I built a cement mixer compost sifter just to harvest all that chicken compost.

Speaking of which, if you have dug out the smelly soil in the coop, you could probably mix that in a compost pile if you have one started. If you don't have a compost pile yet, I would suggest planning on it because chickens are natural composters. They scratch and peck things into compost in no time. You just have to let the chicken poo in the compost age for a number of months before use. Chickens and gardens go together well.

At any rate, you certainly have a nice setup there to work with and your planned improvements should make it even better.

 

[tree_tyger]

Cold and damp may increase the smell. Nothing wrong with putting a fan out there temporarily to dry things out. Then you would have a better idea of where to go from there.

I should have also mentioned that part, maybe a big part, of why I am such a fan of using wood chips is that I can get all I want for free from our county landfill. Nothing better than free bedding. Plus, after I clean out the wood chips in the coop, I spread them out in the chicken run and let them compost in place. When I need compost for the garden in the fall, I will sift out shovels full of chicken compost. I built a cement mixer compost sifter just to harvest all that chicken compost.

Speaking of which, if you have dug out the smelly soil in the coop, you could probably mix that in a compost pile if you have one started. If you don't have a compost pile yet, I would suggest planning on it because chickens are natural composters. They scratch and peck things into compost in no time. You just have to let the chicken poo in the compost age for a number of months before use. Chickens and gardens go together well.

At any rate, you certainly have a nice setup there to work with and your planned improvements should make it even better.

Thanks for the extra advice. We will see if we can get a fan out there--that's not a bad idea either! We can also get free wood chips to that may be of consideration. The only problem was there was all sorts of unidentifiable scat in there from before (goat, opossum, raccoon, and definitely rat poop) that we didn't want to compost what we removed; however, composting the chicken poop is definitely the plan for the future!

 

[3KillerBs]

Lots of votes for adding more ventilation but I forgot to ask if we need to worry about the wind. If it's really windy, I suppose we can put up a tarp, but do we need to worry about drafts where the hens are roosting when a tarp is not needed?

As long as the ventilation is above the birds's heads when they're sitting on the roost, wind won't be a problem.

 

[aart]

Lots of votes for adding more ventilation but I forgot to ask if we need to worry about the wind. If it's really windy, I suppose we can put up a tarp, but do we need to worry about drafts where the hens are roosting when a tarp is not needed?

Tarp and wind, don't necessarily go together.
Might be good to plan on covers for ventilation in case they are needed during extreme weather events.
Top hinged glazed windows or 'shutters' are good for adjusting air flow.

BTW...Welcome to BYC! @tree_tyger
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[gtaus]

I will definitely try to get to updating our location, but that is why I described our location in my post.

As the thread gets longer, some people may not fully read the first posts and therefore may miss out on your location. Putting your geographical location on your profile allows everyone to see where you live and they may adjust their advice to better help you.

 

[3KillerBs]

In central North Carolina, I'm planning a 3-sided shelter at one end of my new Open Air Coop because we get hurricanes and winter storms with blowing rain.

 

[IT Farmer]

Yea. I would always recommend having some kind of wind block. Not proud of it but when I first decided to get into keeping chickens around 8-9 years ago I had a rooster that got frostbite on his comb due to heavy winds and it was only in the upper 20s that night. He lived but till this day I have always felt bad about that.

 

[gtaus]

We're concerned the smell will just not go away. The chicks are just over a week old, so we need to make a decision fast!

Just wondering the status of your coop. Did the smell go away? Have you made any coop mods? Would be nice to see some new pics of your efforts and the chicks.