Nervous about the smell coop again this summer.

Something is amiss.

I have 25 birds in a 10' by 16' coop, use drop boards with PDZ, deep bedding of pine shavings with some straw (6-8" deep, DLM is something else entirely and generally does not work on a wood floor). I clean the boards each morning. I went for over a year without changing the bedding and no smell whatsoever. I changed the bedding for two reasons: buildup of "dust" (actually droppings that break down) and I was dealing with mites. My coop is a Woods KD style with excellent ventilation.

Is the bedding damp or wet?
 
Something is amiss.

I have 25 birds in a 10' by 16' coop, use drop boards with PDZ, deep bedding of pine shavings with some straw (6-8" deep, DLM is something else entirely and generally does not work on a wood floor). I clean the boards each morning. I went for over a year without changing the bedding and no smell whatsoever. I changed the bedding for two reasons: buildup of "dust" (actually droppings that break down) and I was dealing with mites. My coop is a Woods KD style with excellent ventilation.

Is the bedding damp or wet?

I don't know what I did wrong last summer. But with all these answers I will double check nothing is getting wet, and if I get the odor again I'll just take out all the bedding and try again.

I am proud of my coop I built but I made a lot of mistakes. The first being it is 2 feet away from my house 😳😭
 
I am proud of my coop I built but I made a lot of mistakes. The first being it is 2 feet away from my house 😳😭
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Can you move the fan up, maybe on a board and tied down so it won't blow over?

What side of the house is it on? Mine is right on my back deck against my house, and it's ok, Its on the North side of the house, and it gets sun that shines in the coop, but very little sun on the coop to bake all day. Heat up and smell. Don't be discouraged.
 
Here are some suggestions:

Stop feeding bread, it causes stinky, slimy poop and diarrhea.

Install a poop board and clean it every day.

Clean the bedding as needed and exchange at least monthly.

Add some apple cidre vinegar to their water. Exchange water at least every other day and scrub the waterer thoroughly before refilling.

In case the digestive tract of your chickens is out of balance, you could feed them Moro's carrot soup for some 4-5 consecutive days to clear out the detrimental bacteria that could be causing the stink.
 
Can I just shove the bedding into my run if I need to clean it out or do I need to put it at the edge of my property.

I am trying to promote DLM, I just moved the bedding into the run. I have not yet achieved composting, too soon I am guessing as I expanded my run a couple of months back and it is winter.

If you end up with red mites you are best to burn the bedding when you change it out to clean the coop.
 
I am proud of my coop I built but I made a lot of mistakes. The first being it is 2 feet away from my house 😳😭

Can you move the fan up, maybe on a board and tied down so it won't blow over?

What side of the house is it on? Mine is right on my back deck against my house, and it's ok, Its on the North side of the house, and it gets sun that shines in the coop, but very little sun on the coop to bake all day. Heat up and smell. Don't be discouraged.
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The coop is at the back of my house, right by the living room. Im not sure which direction it is but it doesn't get the evening sun if that helps at all lol
 
Something is amiss.

I have 25 birds in a 10' by 16' coop, use drop boards with PDZ, deep bedding of pine shavings with some straw (6-8" deep, DLM is something else entirely and generally does not work on a wood floor). I clean the boards each morning. I went for over a year without changing the bedding and no smell whatsoever. I changed the bedding for two reasons: buildup of "dust" (actually droppings that break down) and I was dealing with mites. My coop is a Woods KD style with excellent ventilation.

Is the bedding damp or wet?
Poop boards are key.
Plus you have HUGE ventilation.
 
I know this can be a touchy subject to some people....but I'm going to share my experience. In my old house, I had a 4' x 6' coop for 6 birds. I lived in a subdivision with a privacy fenced back yard which the birds had full use as their run. But needless to say, I was very cognizant of the smell because I did NOT want my neighbors complaining. I used pine shavings as bedding inside the coop....and despite my constant attempts to keep it clean, it STANK to high heaven. I would get so many flies in the house because of the coop that I would joke that Beelzebub had come to visit.

This past February I bought a new house and built a new 8' x 10' coop to house 35+ birds. This time I used a mix of masonry sand and screenings (small gravel often used for driveways). I have been AMAZED at the difference. I really wish I had found this option before now.... There is literally NO SMELL at all. No flies. No mess. Each weekend, I take 20 minutes or so to sift through the sand with a cheap kitty litter scoop. Throw the poop in a bucket which I dump in the compost pile.

Did I mention that I live in Central Arkansas where summer temps are often 90+ degrees? And still...no smell. No flies.
 
I am proud of my coop I built but I made a lot of mistakes. The first being it is 2 feet away from my house 😳😭

Can you move the fan up, maybe on a board and tied down so it won't blow over?

What side of the house is it on? Mine is right on my back deck against my house, and it's ok, Its on the North side of the house, and it gets sun that shines in the coop, but very little sun on the coop to bake all day. Heat up and smell. Don't be discouraged.
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Also the fan is secure and it's basically right against my house so it gets no wind. I forget how we installed it though
 

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