Odor control (for chicks in the kitchen)?

[reedyfork]

So my first chicks are almost a week old now. We have them in our eat-in kitchen/mudroom/laundry room inside a rabbit cage for easy viewing with the kids.

What do you all do about the odor - besides keeping everything clean and changing out the litter regularly? Is there a particular product, cover scent, or type of litter that would help reduce or mask this "chick odor"? I am using ~ 2-3" of pine shavings, rake it around every day, and just cleaned it out and replaced all the litter today (after 5 days).

It's not terrible, but my wife would certainly be happier if we could cut down on the smell a little...

Ron

 

[greyhorsewoman]

They will also produce a fine light dust. Covering the top of the rabbit cage will help that a little. Raising the chicks indoors is a stinky business, especially in colder months. I couldn't wait to move mine into our basement~~!

 

[ging3rhoffman]

I keep mine in the basement with a heat lamp and change out the
paper towel 3 times a day. What really helps is putting them in a hugh
cardboard box. I taped cardboared boxes together until i had a 5 X 5 area
for 6 chicks. After two week i started using shavings and laying paper towels
on top of the shavings and it stayed pretty nice. Changing it out several times
a day is the secret...a pain but it does work and is better for the chicks also.

I also put their waterer on a plastic tray so it the shavings and cardboard didnt
get wet.

 

[Sissy]

PDZ is the best thing invented. its also used for horses.

about 40# for 12.00 ? it also goes a long way .it drys out a wet coop.
I also use the deep litter wood shavings and only
Clean out my coops 2x a year.

I use it all the time great to keep
flys away in the warm months.





spelling gone haywire LoL

 

[newchickmom09]

I really don't think there is much you can do but clean clean clean and put an air freshener by it.

My brooder was under my dining room table. I mixed up the pine shavings everyday and after no more then three days I changed everything out. I cleaned there feeder adn waterer at that time. You would be amazed how stinky the feeder and waterer can get.

They are getting to the age that you will have to clean out everything sooner because they are going to start making a lot bigger mess.

You don't want to use cedar or anything with scents because it can hurt there respitory systems.

 

[chickenwhisperer123]

Ours are in our Kitchen Too!! 8 Quail Chicks (hatched yesterday) and Chicken Chicks are hatching as I type.

Ours are on a towel, to keep them from eating shavings. They dont smell yet...

 

[newchickmom09]

When my chicks were under a week old I kept them on paper towels over the shavings and changed those once or twice a day. Kept the smell away great and cut down on washing towels.

After a week I took away the paper towels and just kept them on pine bedding.

 

[kristen2678]

I found the best thing to do is spot clean many times each day. Pull out as many poop clumps as you can. Changing the litter entirely every 5 days or so and adding a bit to the top layer every couple of days.

 

[chickenwhisperer123]

Quote:
I was planning on paper towels, but the TINY little quail could get under them.

 

[~*Sweet Cheeks*~]

Wood pellets are the way to go. They smell good, dry out the poo within minutes, don't get kicked up in the waterer or feeder as much.

Instead of paper towels for the first few days, I used puppy pads. They are larger in size, so cover a larger area. I layered them and then twice a day I just folded the dirty one up exposing the clean ones.

Once those babies really start growing and scratching, you are going to have one dusty mess. You may want to find a new area to put them.

When I first started with the baby chicks back in Feb, I started them in the living room then moved them to the enclosed sunroom.

With my 2nd set of banties I had them in the garage. With my 3rd set they were out in the insulated shop.

The best so far, is my broody hen raising 4 chicks out in the coop with the rest of the layers. No mess or smell from them and my little Momma is doing all the work and she's happily raising them and I'm happy because I don't have to clean up after them.