Odor issues

[jgm0348]

I am starting a small 4 chicken flock and will be having them in my backyard in a neighborhood. I am concerned about odor control. How stinky will be 4 chickens be? Also what is a good product for controlling odor?

Thanks in advance!

 

[3riverschick]

It's called "sweet pdz stall freshener'. they use it to freshen horse stalls. you can get it at Tractor Supply or your feed store. put a layer on the bottom of the coop and then put your chips on top of it . Make the last just thick enough so that you cannot see the texture of the floor underneath. it should look like a smooth film .sweet pdz controls ammonia and moisture.
Karen

 

[mandelyn]

Ditto, plus keeping everything dry and well drained.

 

[ChickityChina]

We live in relatively close proximity to our neighbors (our properties all join at the back corners right where our coop/run is). We have seven hens at the moment, have had them for a bit over a year now and so far no stink whatsoever.

I keep straw or hay spread out in the run to keep mud from occurring. It does a really great job of preventing odor. They love scratching it and it's super easy to just throw a bale in there whenever the current layer gets thin and let them do all the work of spreading it around.

In the coop, I have been using pine shavings which I keep about 8 inches deep and stir up if it gets dirty. I have never had any odor whatsoever coming from the inside. I only change this out once a month.

I will be putting a poop board in there this spring and, as the PP suggested, will be using SweetPDZ for the "sand" on it. Heard the stuff works wonders.

Overall, if you keep the ground from getting soggy and keep the litter fresh, you will not even notice they're there.

 

[ChickityChina]

Also wanted to add that dropping eggs off with neighbors occasionally goes a long way in making any kind of negative attitude disappear lol.

 

[ChickenMammX4]

There is no reason 4 chickens should cause any odor. I have 6 and never have an odor problem.

Use a poopboard with PDZ and sift out the poop regularly (we do daily). Thick covering of pine flakes on the coop floor will catch any other poo. If you're using a run, don't have bare dirt. We use the Deep Litter Method. In our climate, a solid roof over the run is a must, keeps everything dry. We do get some moisture from blowing rain but it helps breakdown the materials into compost.

Some people like to use sand in the coop and run. We don't since all the natural materials we use gets tilled into the garden.