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

[PopoMyers]

I have never seen my chickens eating shavings. But I wonder if eat the shavings because they are hungry or because they are curious. Who knows what goes on in a chicken brain?

FWIW, I keep a hanging DIY 5 Gallon PVC bucket feeder in the coop with feed available 24/7. I don't know if that would keep them from eating shavings, but at least I know they are not eating shavings because they are hungry. My chickens will get all crazy and fight over kitchen scraps I throw out in the morning, but I have never seen them fight to eat feed from the hanging feeder.

They are like us, in that respect. If we have cookies every meal, we won't fight over them if they are on a buffet table. But some favorite food that we don't get often? You bet. We'd eat that first. Prime rib, king crab, whatever you think.

 

[M Brennen]

I have had chickens for over 15 years.

 

[chickmamato7]

I keep things clean & dry to prevent odors. I use PDZ on top of stall lime in the coop & a sand/ PDZ mix in the run. I rake & scoop the coop & run as often as I am in it (usually 2-3 times a day). It only takes a few minutes & I never have to do a big clean-out. Poop goes in a small pail that gets dumped in the garbage daily.

 

[8CityChicks]

Keeping the house dry and Ventilated are essential. Those are met by my house design. Twice daily I clean the litter bin under the roost and removed material goes to a leaf/litter compost pile. I then spritz the bin and soiled areas with bleach, toss in a small amount of fragrant cat litter and cover with fresh pine shavings. Keeping odor down is important as the fence between my and my neighbor's yards is only 10 feet away. Chickens are not in the house during cleaning except those laying. They free-range in the afternoon, so no exposure to chemical odors which disappear fairly quickly. And no, pure bleach spritzed in small amounts will not hurt anything and will keep down odors, salmonella and other microbial pests. It even works for mites by spraying their day-time hiding places( cracks, joints, dark places, floor openings, etc) - more frequently in warm weather. Never once have had a complaint from neighbors, birds are healthy and laying well, & I have cleanings down to 10 minutes each time. It takes longer to water & feed than to clean since only a day's amount is put out to control waste and cost. Feed has gone up 30% or more in the last few months so waste is not allowed.

 

[ChickChalk]

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".

View attachment 2714044

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!...

We basically keep our hens in a chicken tractor and move it as needed. It keeps things fresh without scooping bedding and adds fertilizer to the fields. In the winter they stay in one spot and get a deep litter bedding and then we move the coop in the spring to a new location.

 

[Oisian]

First Saturday Lime on floors, dry as possible, Herbs in the bedding, lots of ventilation.

 

[Jtrahan1]

All my chickens are perfect little ladies. Their poop doesn’t smell.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

All my chickens are perfect little ladies. Their poop doesn’t smell.

I love it, and I love your hens

 

[Stellasmomma]

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".

View attachment 2714044

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!...

I use both powdered coop fresh and spray down the walls and empty nest boxes with I think its called coop clean when I do this I leave all the coop doors open so it can dry which it does quickly I also use it around my goat pen as it says its safe around chickens and other animals and it really makes a difference! Since I have been using this no fly's around the chicken coop!! I also clean it once a week so that may contribute!

 

[HappyHippyChick]

I've never heard of powdered coop fresh nor pdz. I looked it up and can't find it. Anybody know where to get some of these?