I can't handle the stench!

[QChickieMama]

I have 31 1-wk-old chicks in my living room. It was 7* outside last night. What have I done?

I can put them in the garage in a week or so. Waiting for the weather to warm up some and for the chicks to grow more feathers. And trying to sell some of these cuties.

But, until then, how can I manage the odor? Wow. No doors on the living room. Small house. Stinky!

 

[ChickenGoesRuff]

Fresh bedding and removing soiled or wet bedding helps a bit. Is it an ammonia-like odor (if it is, they need more bedding (oxygen) to help neutralize the nitrogen in their feces)? Also making sure the water isn't leaking and that the bedding from their sleeping area (where they sleep, usually in a corner near the heat source) is clean.

 

[donrae]

No offense, but I think you're insane

Brooding in the house is just

to me anyway. I'd go ahead and move them out to the garage today. Set up more heat lamps if you need, to keep them warm. A garage is going to be out of the wind and wet, that's the biggest challenges for littles. Use the big heat lamps, or maybe try a few heating pad caves. But yes, I'd get them out of the houses ASAP. That's too much ick for you to be breathing in.

if you're determined to keep them in the house, you'll just need to scoop and refresh bedding probably multiple times a day. Likely a full time job for the next week or so.

 

[AutumnHens]

I agree, I'd put them in the garage unless it is in a bad enough state of disrepair that they're likely to get wet or the wind blows through. Otherwise put an extra heat lamp or MHP out for them. Also what are you using for bedding? We used puppy pads the first 3 days to make sure they were finding the food and grit and not wood chips to eat but then we switched because they had settled in nicely. The puppy pads did nothing for the smell of 17 chicks but the wood chips are much better. To be fair we also reduced by half because eight of our chicks headed to their final destination on Saturday.

 

[junebuggena]

Depending on the size of the brooder, you are going to need to clean it a lot with 31 chicks. I can't stand 6 at a time in the house! 31, OMG! The smaller the space they are in, the faster the poo builds up and stinks.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

OMG, and you should see the dust on the walls after brooding indoors!

You already got good advice. So I want to add that you should bring a dish of dirt from your yard in (if it isn't frozen solid). Right now their immunity is best and it will allow them to build some immunity to your soil. Besides, they will be super happy to play in the dirt!

Are you using water nipples? Or changing water 1000 times a day? With the kind of smell you describe, Cocci might happen fast. When I had a bigger brood, the shavings looked dry on top... but I discovered they were wetter and trampled down more than I realized. Of course as someone mentioned size of brooder does have an effect. But I'm not envisioning a giant brooder inside a described small house...

Don't know about brooder use... but in my coop and goat barn, I use Sweet PDZ to help dry things out and it absorbs or neutralizes smell.

 

[LadyVictorian]

With just my 4 chicks I spot clean every day and check the shavings. Like said above they can feel or look dry on top but they can be wet underneath. I avoided water spilling by putting the waterer on a plate so if they splash it goes on the plate and I can just dry it off every day. I also spot clean every morning and scoop out all the poop then deep clean every week where I dump all the shavings and scrub with water/vinegar mix. The vinegar really eats up the smell even if it smells a little like vinegar afterwards but I am Hungarian German and most of our food has vinegar in it so it's not too bad for me. I know some people don't like the smell so sometimes putting citrus peels in the mix can make it smell more like lemons or oranges. Even lavender oil works. With 31 chicks it probably gets messy fast and they probably spill a LOT of water so check on that. Even just my 4 were spilling water the first two days until I made a little holder to keep it held against the wall of the brooder. People have mentioned hanging it works too if you have a mesh lid on your brooder.

 

[QChickieMama]

No offense, but I think you're insane

Brooding in the house is just

to me anyway. I'd go ahead and move them out to the garage today. Set up more heat lamps if you need, to keep them warm. A garage is going to be out of the wind and wet, that's the biggest challenges for littles. Use the big heat lamps, or maybe try a few heating pad caves. But yes, I'd get them out of the houses ASAP. That's too much ick for you to be breathing in.

if you're determined to keep them in the house, you'll just need to scoop and refresh bedding probably multiple times a day. Likely a full time job for the next week or so.

Oh, gosh. I think I'm insane, too.

The problem w/the garage: our golf cart and ATV are in there, so people are always opening the door and driving in and out. Super hard to keep it warm in there. Think they'll live? With heat lamps but with frequent temp changes?

 

[junebuggena]

The whole brooder does not need to be warmed, just the spot under the heat lamp.

 

[QChickieMama]

OMG, and you should see the dust on the walls after brooding indoors!

You already got good advice. So I want to add that you should bring a dish of dirt from your yard in (if it isn't frozen solid). Right now their immunity is best and it will allow them to build some immunity to your soil. Besides, they will be super happy to play in the dirt!

Are you using water nipples? Or changing water 1000 times a day? With the kind of smell you describe, Cocci might happen fast. When I had a bigger brood, the shavings looked dry on top... but I discovered they were wetter and trampled down more than I realized. Of course as someone mentioned size of brooder does have an effect. But I'm not envisioning a giant brooder inside a described small house...

Don't know about brooder use... but in my coop and goat barn, I use Sweet PDZ to help dry things out and it absorbs or neutralizes smell.

Dirt is a good idea, but yep--it's frozen right now. I'll get some when it warms up!

I'm using hay for bedding. They don't kick through it much though, so it just mats down w/their lovely poo.