Poop smell??

[hisandhernandez]

I am going to get 3 chickens very soon!!! (So excited!) I have asked the neighbors that I see but one set is never home so I can't ask them, I'm figuring they won't care either since they are never home... Anyway... My husband was telling his buddies about us getting some Birds and one of his friends said he was gonna try and convince me not too cause they are smelly!!! I guess he had some as a kid but I don't know how many. Like I said, I'm only getting 3 so how messy can they be really? And if I don't have a compost bin, how can I compost the poop with out a bad smell for the neighbors??
As you can tell, I'm a newbie! Message me of anyone wants to be my chicken mentor! Haha

 

[farm_mom]

No, I can't imagine that the smell would be a problem with only 3 birds and good care. Composting chicken waste is indeed possible. I have large gardens here and I use chopped straw as bedding so I can incorporate it back into the gardens as fertilizer. All you really need is a bin (can even just be a square made out of pallets) or a nice place in the yard to create a pile. Good luck on your new adventure and welcome to BYC!

 

[4 the Birds]

I have a couple dozen chickens and I have a hard time smelling anything at all inside the coop! Neighbors may not like the sounds of clucking or crowing but it would be a real stretch if they object to any smell from chickens. Use plenty of pine chips to keep things dry and make a small compost bin. Very simple to do. You could certainly bag up the poo and set it out to trash. 3 chickens will not generate enough waste for any issues. As long as your neighborhood allows chickens then I would not worry.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

They are no more smelly than any other animal too closely confined. Give them lots of space and ventilation and they won't cause any problems. If they are closely confined and not cleaned up after is where the problems come in. Imagine 3 humans living in a small box with no bathroom facilities. The chickens would say "wow those humans are some stinky animals".
People that grew up with chickens and are against them are unfamiliar with small flocks of well managed backyard chickens. They remember that coop out back with 100 chickens in it that no one ever cleaned.

Chicken manure/bedding material compost isn't smelly either. It needs to be moist but not wet and turned often to keep the aerobic bacteria doing their thing. If it isn't turned and gets too wet the anaerobic bacteria takes over in the oxygen free environment and really stinks.

I had a local news team visit my place to do a story on chickens where I have 7 housing units with anywhere from 2 to 12 LF chickens in each. When I opened one of the coops the reporter stuck his head in and got a weird look on his face. I asked what was wrong and he said incredulously "There's no smell!" I said, "Of course there's no smell. There's never a smell with well cared for chickens that aren't too closely confined."

I mention ventilation because IMO one of the biggest mistakes newbies make is worrying that their chickens will be cold and close them up in a tight coop with inadequate ventilation. They should have about 1 square foot per bird. They'll die from bad air - not cold.

 

[Ridgerunner]

They are no more smelly than any other animal too closely confined. Give them lots of space and ventilation and they won't cause any problems.  If they are closely confined and not cleaned up after is where the problems come in. Imagine 3 humans living in a small box with no bathroom facilities. The chickens would say "wow those humans are some stinky animals".
People that grew up with chickens and are against them are unfamiliar with small flocks of well managed backyard chickens. They remember that coop out back with 100 chickens in it that no one ever cleaned.

Chicken manure/bedding material compost isn't smelly either. It needs to be moist but not wet and turned often to keep the aerobic bacteria doing their thing. If it isn't turned and gets too wet the anaerobic bacteria takes over in the oxygen free environment and really stinks.

I had a local news team visit my place to do a story on chickens where I have 7 housing units with anywhere from 2 to 12 LF chickens in each. When I opened one of the coops the reporter stuck his head in and got a weird look on his face. I asked what was wrong and he said incredulously "There's no smell!" I said, "Of course there's no smell. There's never a smell with well cared for chickens that aren't too closely confined."

I mention ventilation because IMO one of the biggest mistakes newbies make is worrying that their chickens will be cold and close them up in a tight coop with inadequate ventilation. They should have about 1 square foot per bird. They'll die from bad air - not cold.

Good post.

I'll just add that the reason you get smell is practically always that the poop gets wet. Good ventilation so the poop can dry but in a way to keep rain out, managing the poop so it doesn't build up, and positioning the coop and run so water doesn't run into it in a rain from the ground are all important. I think that building it bigger rather shoe-horning them in the tiniest space possible also helps a lot.

I’ll give you links to a couple of articles that may really help you with this. Good luck!

Pat’s Big Ol' Ventilation Page
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-VENTILATION

Pat’s Big Ol' Mud Page (fixing muddy runs):
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-fix-a-muddy-run

 

[cary 1973]

Sand in coop on poop boardsand flooring no worry about smells

 

[hisandhernandez]

Thanks everyone!! I am going to have a chicken tractor to help manage the build up of poop. I figure if I'm moving it, I'll clean it. My "hood" doesn't allow chickens HOWEVER I've gotten my actual neighbors to say its ok, so I figure what can the neighborhood say? (I actually haven't been able to track down my back neighbors, but my husband says, if we can't find them to ask, they probably won't be around to care... I've also done LOTS of praying on the subject (I'm a big prayer of things... even chickens) and my husband, who was anti the idea (he's from inner city chicago, city boy through and through) wants to go for it... even with the hood saying we shouldn't. I take that as a sign from above.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Many people fly under the radar.
I only caution you to be prepared for the letter from the subdivision or the city giving you a deadline to get rid of your chickens. Don't let yourself get too attached to them in case that happens.

 

[Mattemma]

There are different types of poo.I know there is a listing with pics on this site. There are some poos that happen every so often that STINK. It was one of the reasons I moved them to the far back yard during the summer.Overall I would say their was no major issue when I had just 3 hens.Smells were no worse than any other animal.The dogs poo makes me gag far more than cleaning the chicken coop. If you have a small coop just clean often.No issue.

Consider moving if you are restricted.Who wants to live where you have to ask permission from neighbors right? If things don't work out just rehome on craigs.I see postings all the time.

Best wishes!

 

[hisandhernandez]

ok well now you guys have me nervous!!!! Gonna re think getting them now, cause I can't move.