My Yard STINKS!

[tamiep]

I have a coop and a pen, but let the chickens and ducks free-range in my fenced in backyard. The ducks make a huge mess and the food that gets wet and is laying around due to their messiness sometimes starts to smell, but not horrible and I can get it under control, but we've had a lot of rain lately and my backyard is like a giant mud swamp and it stinks! What can I do?

 

[lazy gardener]

How many birds do you have, how big is the back yard? I would suggest that you provide between 10 - 20 s.f./bird in an enclosed run. Turn that into a deep litter run, so you can give the rest of your back yard a break from their attention.

Sounds like you may have a drainage problem in your yard. Can you address that with a gutter system to collect rain water from your roof(s) and divert that water to the ditch?

Do you perhaps need to decrease your stocking density?

As for food spilling, you might consider switching to fermented feed. There is a FAQ article in my signature. You can paste it into a search bar for more information about this method.

 

[HeiHeisMom]

Clove oil. Sprinkle it around and it's fabreeze for the yard.

 

[ChickNanny13]

2x lazy gardener

 

[tamiep]

How many birds do you have, how big is the back yard? I would suggest that you provide between 10 - 20 s.f./bird in an enclosed run. Turn that into a deep litter run, so you can give the rest of your back yard a break from their attention.

Sounds like you may have a drainage problem in your yard. Can you address that with a gutter system to collect rain water from your roof(s) and divert that water to the ditch?

Do you perhaps need to decrease your stocking density?

As for food spilling, you might consider switching to fermented feed. There is a FAQ article in my signature. You can paste it into a search bar for more information about this method.

I have 8 chickens and 3 ducks. I am renting and the yard was mostly weeds when I moved in and it slops. I am going to section off the yard and try to grow some grass. If that works, I will do it to the other side. It usually does not smell like this, but I think the rain is causing the problem. I do not know the footage of the yard, but it is pretty big. Even split in 2, they will have a lot of space. I just don't want a neighbor to smell this. The front yard has grass issues, too. I don't think anyone ever took care of the yard, so it's going to take time and a lot of seed to get it looking decent.

 

[tamiep]

Clove oil. Sprinkle it around and it's fabreeze for the yard.

Thank you, I will give that a try. I think after it dries up, it will be better, because I have never had this happen before.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Judge much?

You misunderstood. Something like "x2" or "this" means the person agrees with an earlier post. In this case ChickNanny13 saying they agreed with USER lazy gardener's post above - they weren't calling you a lazy gardener, they're saying they agree with lazy gardener's comment.

 

[tamiep]

You misunderstood. Something like "x2" or "this" means the person agrees with an earlier post. In this case ChickNanny13 saying they agreed with USER lazy gardener's post above - they weren't calling you a lazy gardener, they're saying they agree with lazy gardener's comment.

OH, I thought I was being called a lazy gardener! Sorry about that! I was like, that's so rude! LOL I thought that was kind of weird since there usually aren't any trolls on here. LOL

 

[tamiep]

You misunderstood. Something like "x2" or "this" means the person agrees with an earlier post. In this case ChickNanny13 saying they agreed with USER lazy gardener's post above - they weren't calling you a lazy gardener, they're saying they agree with lazy gardener's comment.

I deleted it.

 

[Krazyquilts]

Judge much?

"Lazy gardener" is the username of the person who posted earlier in the thread, not a comment on your set up.

Regarding your question, I have the same problem every time it rains too. We chose a very bad spot for our winter duck pasture and it is now a gross, wet, stinky place. As soon as it is dry enough, we will be moving the pasture to someplace drier.