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

[Ducklingguy]

I keep it all dry as much as possible, lay the hay over it all! The poop breaks down beneath it.
The duck coop anyway.
My chickens are honestly not that messy, not compared to the ducks.
I also have a pig, and it can get pretty bad. I do rake it out sometime in his pen. However, I lay hay over some of it, and he kinda places the hay on top of his mess with his snout. I have to give him enough hay.
We buy a lot of hay though!

Here in NC, it can pretty hot—so it’s honestly a every week job to clean and tidy up the coops and pens.

 

[Bella Dominique]

I only have 7 hens so easy to clean up after them. Clean under coop roosts daily, clean up as much poo from run and from range area as I can to keep flies down. Use poop sling under roosts in the run. Use dry stall granules under pine shavings in run. Visitors often are surprised that they don’t smell.

 

[keltown]

Sand in the coop and dropping boards under the roosts. Just scrape the poop off the boards every morning and use a kitty litter scoop to get anything that may be in the sand.

 

[SayChicken]

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."
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Do the hens walk through all the poop on the poop boards?

 

[whatsthequestion]

•Linoleum on my poop boards
•Clean and mop them & roosts daily with
an animal safe disinfect/deodorizer
•Scoop up visible poo on floor
•Keep nesting boxes clean with fresh
bedding as needed.
•Dusting of PDZ weekly
•I compost the chicken manure & pine chips when I change them out.
•Adequate ventilation
•Barn lime for the run with regular hosing and raking up excess manure. They are on a 1/5 of an acre with lots of grass so, only around the coop and feeding area needs regular attention.

For me it's really about quick daily maintenance that keeps it fresh.

 

[Frankiegirl]

Hi! I'm sorry, but I have a question.....what are poop boards?

Dont apologize…there’s a ton to learn! Welcome. Poop boards are something built below your roost bars in the coop. It holds the poop that the chickens poop during the night while they are sleeping. they poop A LOT!!! If you can see the tray under the roost. That is a poop board. I sprinkle sweet PDZ on the board to keep odor down. Good Luck!

 

[DobieLover]

Do the hens walk through all the poop on the poop boards?

No. I scoop the boards in the morning.

 

[LuckiestMamaof3]

Exactly! Except for sand in the run and a chicken tractor on pasture the flock time-shares. Hemp is so expensive, we've considered becoming licensed as growers (I spin fiber, too).

i use First Saturday Lime and a spray freshner, too. The biggest problem is the waterer in the coop, even with the best Dutch horizontal nipples. I scoop wet hemp into a pile to dry out every morning.

Also, here in Florida, my hens drink tons of water (probiotic and fresh), so a lot of their coop poop is watery and even the hemp can get soggy. I use a sifting catbox weekly to remove the worst of it.

In the new coop/run build, which has taken a year but should be ready next month, we are using natural sand/dirt, a Florida perk.

Without the chicken tractor I move daily, I'd be really overwhelmed by all the poop. I compost the coop poop elsewhere on our acreage, and it's enough to cover a 400sqft raised bed annually.

As a chicken tender with a sensitive nose, I also throw all of my herb stems into the nest boxes to create a potpourri, and sprinkle dried oregano by the pound all over the coop.

You just gave me an awesome idea of what to do with all the old herbs in my cupboard and spice rack that are way past expiration dates! Eureka.

 

[Suzz]

I pick up poop every single day

 

[Karen K]

I use sand and keep the coop dry. I clean it out every morning when I let the chickens out.