- Nov 18, 2011
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Frist, I’m new to raising chickens so I apologize if this post sounds a little silly. A couple of days ago the owner of the gym that I frequent approached me and asked if I could watch over his friends flock (7 hens and 1 bantam rooster). I have a decent size coop, which could handle another 50 birds without issue, so I told him I’d look after his flock. I told another friend what I was going to do and he told me I was crazy to bring any chickens into my coop. So, thankfully I did some quick reading and decided against bringing them into my main coop. Since I committed to taking care of this man’s flock I built a 16’x16’ coop to house the birds. While I was completing the coop an elderly man arrived with his birds, so I placed them in my trailer to keep them safe until I finished this new coop. Now, to the issue: Those birds have a stench! I have 38 chickens in my coop and have never had a stench come off my birds like what came out of that trailer. I removed the birds from the trailer (2 hours enclosed); the following morning I returned, and they still stink!! This flock is about 1 year old; they don’t appear to have anything physically wrong with them, nor does their poo look bad. They are RIR’s probably 5-8 pounds, very skittish, don’t perch, lay eggs anywhere, and sleep in a pile. The elderly man gave me a couple of bags of lay crumble (New Mexico brand), no other type of foods. I built them a 16’x16’ coop, 24’ perch, 4’x6’ nesting box, with a dirt floor…just until I get a minute to install a wooden floor. My friend told me they may have mites, so yesterday I dusted the birds, and everything in and around both coops. The birds have fresh food, water, and some fresh fruits/veggies from the garden. I know that I treat my birds like pets and this may be common, but this smell is horrible. Thank you for any assistance. J
