Is it normal?

[rancher hicks]

So I recently purchased some chickens of a breed I had been looking for and couldn't find close. It was a long drive.
The thing is this it was a dirty place. I realize that chickens eat every bit of green, but is it normal to have a smelly run and stinky birds?
Why would anyone think that?
I have 20 chickens and they don't smell bad. I drove six hours, 3 each way, only to find stinky birds.
I'm kinda upset, I have plans to make another drive to another place and now I want to ask him if his birds smell and are clean. He has 100 birds and want $15 ea.
Anyhow is it normal for people to keep stinky coops.
Good garden o' peas, why can't they just have a compost pile and grow some veggies. Then they can clean their coop more often and not have smelly birds.
Finally can I wash these birds? They are quarantined and will be for quite awhile cause I'm paying attention to the experts here.

 

[Judy]

Sure, you can wash them. Go very easy on the soap, but it's OK if they soak a while, and be sure they don't get chilled til dry.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
To some that sounds like a lot of work. These are just chickens, after all, in their minds. They don't rate any better.

Is it normal? Depends on the person. Luckily, not for you - you seem to understand.
But some people consider chicken cleanliness as an afterthought. They were taught, or learned wrongly, that chickens and filth go together. That's no surprise - many people believe that. It's one of those 'urban legends' we must work to dispel.

Of course, the tendency to overcrowd is common, too,so filth isn't far behind. Couple that with permanent siting and all of a chicken's nastier habits... and things can get funky, fast. Naturally, disease is also part and parcel under such conditions. So you are right to isolate them for a few weeks.

The trick is no trick at all - keep the right number of birds for the space and rotate that space. Then keep it clean, dry, fresh and tidy. I mean, if you're going to live with and around them, probably eat them or their eggs, why would you let them live in a poo-hole?

As you've noted, not everyone sees things this way.

 

[speckledhen]

You are right. Healthy chickens in healthy conditions rarely smell bad, unless they've just been pooped on from above or something.

 

[azelgin]

Actually, my carport smells worse that the coop, or run. I think they hold it in all night, waiting until the morning when we turn them loose, just so the can run in the carport and take a dump.

 

[Mahonri]

I sometimes wonder if it's the feed?

I once got some chickens that my kids said were stinky.

After they had been in our pens on our feed they got healthy real quickly.

 

[Me + Peeps]

LAst week i went to a person selling chickens i got there and oh my god he must have had over 800 chickens some were in cages and some weren't and behing the large multiple chicken cages was a pile of dead chickens the only reason i bought those chickens was to save them but they are doing great now and they smell much better after a few dust baths

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
I like your cool avatar, Cyn. I thought, "Oh cool, a new 'chick' " ....then I saw your name.

 

[rancher hicks]

well these birds are or were white so it was obvious they were dirty and they smelled like sewage. I'm new at this stuff and I just wondered.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Possibly, egg farm cast offs. What breed did the seller claim they are?
Got any pics?