Keeping smell down?

[baldie]

Hello!! Been in your shoes before. What we did was ask the town workers who were cutting the trees if they could drop off the chips at our house...Lo and behold they said yes!! Yay! Now we have a pen the smell like rootbeer..lol. They must have cut a lot of rootbeer trees down. But it works, smells great, keeps the mud down AND gives the chickens something to dig through. We just dump a huge pile in the pen and they spread it out themselves!!

 

[Quillgirl]

lots of sand, peat moss, and possibly some wood shavings. Hay will just get slimy. DE will just get wet and not work. Sand will create drainage and loosen the dirt so that it doesn't become so muddy. Peat does the same thing, but breaks down and keeps things looser and doesn't get slimy. wood chips sit on top and keep feet from standing in moisture. A little layer of lime mixed in will keep down smell. Eventually you will have a nice loose mixture in the run that will be better than the hard packed dirt that turns into poop-mud.

You do need to rake this from time to time to get the trash and poop off. If it stops raining it will dry off pretty quickly. Just rake off old chips and throw in another thin layer of clean.

 

[Equus5O]

The only time I noticed a smell was the first month I had the beasties, and we had torrential rain for the entire month.

Since then, I rake the run, and sprinkle Stall Dry weekly. I also have quite a bit of my son's sandbox sand (construction sand) in the run. I think that's helped with keeping the mud down.

We also worked on the grade around the run, to cut down on the rain run off into the area.

August was pretty hot around here, and we had our fair share of humidity. I didn't notice a stink at all.

Also, my husband got a huge tarp. He framed the top of most of the run, and secured the tarp to the framing. Now, I have a peaked roof over more than half the length of the run. I have photos, but I haven't uploaded them, yet. It definitely helps keep a portion of the run dry when it rains. And now I don't have to cover their sandbox when it rains.

 

[kcfuerst]

Contrary to popular beliefs, DE does not dissolve when wet and works just as good as when dry. If it dissolved when wet, then it would be ineffective as an internal parasite control.

I agree keeping the place dry will help a lot. Sand is terrific for the run. Oyster shell lime will sweeten the area, neutralize the poo chemicals and make the smell go away. DE always is a plus.

 

[Kezzie]

We spread straw in the run and have a removable cover to minimize the impact of the rain. On sunny days, I pull the cover off so the run can dry.

 

[msjones]

I'm in the rainy NW, are new to this (got the girls 2 weeks ago), and also have a small-ish coop/run.

We added a bigger, covered run to our tiny coop/run, so now it's about 24 square feet for the 3 birds in the run.

Last weekend, I put sand in the run. This made a difference in the smelliness immediately. I'm totally sold on sand.

I clean under their roosts every morning (it just takes a minute to scoop out the soiled shavings), and keep wood shavings in the henhouse -- that works great -- almost no stink in there.

If your run isn't covered, I don't see how you can avoid a mess this fall/winter/spring.

Good luck!

 

[lindabean]

I have had trouble finding DE, but heard about Stall Dry on another thread in BYC. You can get it at Tractor Supply in a 40 pound bag. I bought one about 3 months ago and have used it in the hen nest area (they seem to poop ALOT in there!) and around their pen. When I first got it, I would sprinkle it on every pile of poo I found. The stall dry has DE in it and also a clay. It is designed to use in Horse Stalls. I've been very happy with how it has worked. A big HOWEVER - I have not tried it in wet situations, as we have had a major drought here forever. We seemed to have hit a wet spot, just this week, so I'll have a chance to see how it does. The clay mixed with the DE seems to work well, and has definitely kept the smell down in the hen house. I do clean it out about once a month, sprinkle out some fresh Stall Dry, add new shavings and start over. I shovel out poo spots from the nests and sprinkle on some more Stall Dry on the spot, and that really helps.
The store help at Tractor Supply had no clue what Stall Dry was, so I had to scour the store for it. Finally found it on a top shelf in Horse Tack. I know they must sell lots of it, as I got coupons for $1 off each month in my TSC ad.
Good Luck

 

[hippichick]

Quote:
I've never had mold or mildew in the mulch in my runs. The chickens keep it stirred up really well. Just throw some scratch in there and they get busy. I agree, you do need somewhere for the water to go-some sort of drainage. I have ditches in my chicken yard to help water drain out of the runs and pens. Believe me, I was sloshing around in mud every time it rained. It was disgusting, and the smell was just horrible. I hated going in there after a rain. The sand and mulch have taken care of this problem. I've had several people comment that my chicken yard doesn't smell at all. And trust me, I've got lots of chickens in there.

 

[RunningChicken]

I'm also a new northwest member. Prechickens we used to pile fallen leaves in the corner that is now their pen. The leaves are now a thick loam that they love to scratch and nest in. We're thinking that we can keep piling leaves there this fall - should give the chickens entertainment, keep the mud down, and gives us a place to stash our leaves.

In our covered pen area we have grass hay, and in the coop a type of stall-dry mixed with shavings. So far we are ok on smell- but also so far no rain. I think coop ventilation will be a factor this winter.

 

[spammy]

My run is close to a woods. I noted my chickens like leaves from the maple trees. I trim small branches from the maple trees and put in the run. After doing this for several months and leaving the stripped branches in the run, when it rains it forms a floating mat. No poopmud problems. A side benefit--bugs like to hide under the branches, chickens like bugs.