How do you have Not-Stinky Chickens?

[stinkychickens]

Hello,

I have seven week old chicks and they absolutely reek! they smell so bad! do i bathe them and if so ....... how? what can i do to make them smell better if not good?

 

[cavemanrich]

Give them an opportunity to dust bathe. Get a small swimming pool like those at department stores. 10 inches deep and about 5 feed diameter. Put in a mixture of peat moss , sand, and top soil. You don't have to have that pool, but it does contain the mixture better than if just on the ground.
AND ALSO

 

[aart]

It's probably not the chicks that stink, it's probably the bedding in the brooder.

Explain how you are housing and bedding them, pics would be a plus.

 

[cavemanrich]

It's probably not the chicks that stink, it's probably the bedding in the brooder.

Explain how you are housing and bedding them, pics would be a plus.

I agree with the source of stink coming from the brooder. But the result can be stinky chicks. They need to dust bathe... I am quite sure that you have encountered people that came from smoking households. They smell like cigarettes even though they themselves do not smoke. A bath does them good.

 

[allpeepedout]

Chicks, chickens, or coop overall should not smell. Keeping things dry is key. If you have a number of chicks in a small space, you may need to change out all bedding daily. At the very least remove soiled / damp areas and add fresh bedding daily, mixing it in to ensure the bedding overall dries out rapidly. If they smell, they are not being kept clean enough or you have some disease problem.

 

[aart]

Quote: I'm smoking in my house right now....I'm sure I need to be bathed.

 

[Monguire]

I'm smoking in my house right now....I'm sure I need to be bathed.

Would you like some DE in your "bath" or are you okay with just sand, potting soil and a smidge of charcoal?

 

[aart]

Quote: LOL! I don't have bugs, I just stink!

 

[HighStreetCoop]

Hello,

I have seven week old chicks and they absolutely reek! they smell so bad! do i bathe them and if so ....... how? what can i do to make them smell better if not good?

I'm with everyone else. Clean the brooder or coop more often and give them a dust bath. Mine never smelled at all when they were in the house (which amazed my friends) and the coop and run don't smell now that they're outside (and the chickens themselves don't stink either, they just smell kinda dusty). I used a big rubber tub in the brooder. Worked great. They would go crazy every week when I refreshed it and it was a great place to scatter grit for them as well.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Chicks, chickens, or coop overall should not smell. Keeping things dry is key. If you have a number of chicks in a small space, you may need to change out all bedding daily. At the very least remove soiled / damp areas and add fresh bedding daily, mixing it in to ensure the bedding overall dries out rapidly. If they smell, they are not being kept clean enough or you have some disease problem.

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A well maintained, dry chicken housing unit with healthy chickens in it (be it brooder or coop/run) will not have a foul odor.