Official BYC Poll: How Do You Keep Your Coop Smelling Fresh?

[BYC Project Manager]

One thing any chicken keeper will tell you is that chickens can get messy and keeping the coop clean(ish) and odor-free can be a challenge. So please share with us: How Do You Keep Your Coop Smelling Fresh and odors under control?

Please place your vote above, and please elaborate in a reply below if you chose "Other".

Further Reading:

• Managing Manure: What to do with all the poo
• Some Thoughts On General Coop Hygiene And Ventilation
• Keeping Your Chickens Healthy
• DIY Poopscoop for Poop Boards

Check out more exciting Official BYC Polls HERE!...

 

[Kiki]

Dry dry dry.
Keeping it dry keeps the smell away in my yard.

 

[DobieLover]

A thin layer of Sweet PDZ on the poop boards, poop boards scooped daily, hemp bedding on the coop floor, hemp bedding changed out annually, 22 sq ft of year round ventilation with an additional 22 sq ft opened up for warm weather ventilation and probably most significantly, a predator proof run attached to the coop where the pop door is never closed where the chickens immediately retreat to when coming off the roost.
The run is covered with wood chips that get raked about every other month to even them out and everything cold composts in there. I've never removed material from the run. My brother-in-law commented when he entered the coop for the first time "I can't believe it doesn't smell in here."

 

[3KillerBs]

The coop is absolutely dry and extremely well-ventilated.

My other is Deep Bedding -- which dries the poop out very quickly.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

Deep litter method, dirt floors and very well ventilated. About once a month I hose it all down in the inside to knock down the dust and help the compost along. I live in a dry climate, I can go over a year without cleaning out the bedding. It never smells.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I live in a wet environment, so keeping the coop as dry as possible at all times is the goal. I have around 3 sq ft of ventilation per chicken, so well over the recommended amount of ventilation. Waterer stays out in the run. I use wood chips as bedding with hemp under the roosts and I clean up under roosts each morning. Currently trying to see if I can go a year without doing a full cleanout, and so far so good.

 

[K0k0shka]

Another vote for dry dry dry. And ventilated ventilated ventilated Nothing else, really. I don’t have poop boards and I clean the coop twice a year. It doesn’t smell.

 

[BReeder!]

Poop boards to the rescue! Keeps most of the nasty stuff in one place that's easy to clean.

 

[BDutch]

As dry as possible and lots of ventilation. Cleaning the poop board when it’s starting to smell.

• A huge amount of ventilation. About 30%-35% of the walls is open with hwc.
• Blocking the rain and wind on the west side (our rainy weather direction).
• A poop board for easy cleaning under the roosts. I do that every month or so (depending on the weather)

Chicks taking over the adult roosts . I have dried grass clippings under the roost right now.
There is a window behind the hwc on the right side (east). When temperatures rise to 30C / 90 F in summer I take the window away for even more ventilation. The south side is always open and is connected to a small run.
During winter I close the small hwc openings in the back and left (north and east) against the cold with panels. The soil/sand bottom has a little straw on top. It’s still there from last winter when it was very cold.

I rarely clean the soil/sand in the coop/small run because the chickens don’t poop there. The chickens use the poopboard or go outside to the net covered run for their dirty work.

 

[Savdatatas69]

Baking soda. Sprinkle on dirt floor