How to get rid of odours in your coop naturally

[lookintochooks]

is it just me or does anyone's coop smell, mine smells more in the winter I clean the coop out all the time but it still has a bad smell is there anyway I can get rid of this smell with out affecting my chooks???

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

is it just me or does anyone's coop smell, mine smells more in the winter I clean the coop out all the time but it still has a bad smell is there anyway I can get rid of this smell with out affecting my chooks???

A well maintained coop will have a natural "chicken" smell to it, but it should not be a bad or unpleasant odor - similar to how dogs have a natural "dog" smell, but when it becomes an unpleasant odor you know there is something amiss. Very common causes of stink in a coop setup are moisture and poor ventilation (the poor ventilation contributing to the moisture).
What size is your coop? How is it bedded? When you say you clean it out regularly, how often are you doing so and what process are you using for cleaning? How many birds are in the area? What is the smell you are detecting - is it a strong amonia smell, a musty/damp smell, etc? Are your food and water stations inside the coop or outside? Can you take and post a couple of photos of your coop to show things like ventilation, location, etc -- it is often easier to spot things that may be contributing to a problem or potential changes when we can physically see the coop in question.
Sometimes less is more - when I say a "well maintained" coop that may bring to mind one where constant, daily cleaning is involved -- and actually, one approach to coop keeping is quite the opposite. I use DLM (deep litter method) inside my coop - which means I actually "clean" my coop 1-2 times a year (if that), with a little spot maintenance as needed. There is a scent to the coop, but it is a pleasant scent - as noted by non-chicken visitors to our place who have been out there and immediately comment, "It doesn't stink, I expected it to smell bad". DLM is not for everyone or workable in every coop, but for situations where it is a workable option I highly recommend it.

 

[mrswes1988]

My coop just recently developed a smell. I'm curious to see where this leads!

 

[ygritte]

I love deep litter method as described above. When it's working as it should it smells like fresh garden dirt, sweet but not overly so... If that makes any sense. It smells how really high quality compost should smell like... Because that's exactly what it is!
And it's as low maintenance as you can get... I ignore mine except to add leaves every once in a while and some seeds or scratch to keep the chickies, scratching digging and turning it so I don't have to
below was my most recent addition (over a month ago now) I was out of leaves so I added grass clippings. Very happy chickens.

 

[aart]

I use a poop board under the roost with sand and PDZ(which absorbs ammonia) and sift it clean every few days, poop goes to compost.
Coop floor is vinyl and has kiln dried pine shavings a couple inches thick, totally change these out once a year(to compost).
Run is just dirt.

There is usually very little odor in the coop unless it is very humid, or someone has just dropped a fresh cecal poop, or I've been giving them too much fruit making for wetter poops, or it's very hot and they drink more water again making for wetter poops.

Run can get pretty stinky during snow melt season or heavy rain events. I just throw some dry organic matter out there and that helps dry things up.

Dry is the key to stink....keep things dry and they'll stink less.

 

[lookintochooks]

I found the problem it was poor ventilation so I opened the widow and I leave the chicken door open in day time thank you.

 

[enola]

Do you have someone that could help you put in more ventilating holes at the top of the walls? That way you would have ventilation even when you shut your coop up at night.