REALLY STINKY wet chicken poo in sand run and coop :P

[birdlady79]

@mamabear72... I heard back from my friend. She said that she uses rice hulls as litter and a cloth type "poop hammock" under her roosts to collect the poop then spreads it in her yard. If the deep litter method won't work for you feeding your birds fermented feed will help with the stinky poop.

X2 on the FF...

 

[birdlady79]

First off I have to admit that I'm a naive chicken newbie & NEVER ever imagined how SMELLY wet chicken poo could be 
We have four 11 week old chickens and our run and coop are on a mixture of sand and sweet pdz. Every time I go outside I sift through their sand to clear any poopies. (most days 3-4 times a day)  I've NEVER ever smelled anything, even if I'm only able to scoop once a day but we've had rain the last three days so I haven't been able to scoop like I'm used to and the smell it atrocious. It's way worse in their actual coop but the run area (10 ft by 15 ft) also is pretty stinky. I don't know if the reason the coop itself is so bad is that they still have a heat lamp so it's a warm moist area. There are several hardware cloth windows and venting on the sides so it's not an issue of ventilation. I've been able to scoop in the coop because the light drys out the top layer but the run was left alone for three days of rain.

I thought sand wasn't supposed to smell, am I doing something wrong? I've sprinkled more sweet pdz and raked it in but I'm honestly worried it will always smell this way. I was surprised my girls weren't even phased by the rain, they clucked around like nothing was happening, enjoying stomping through the poo 

sincerely,
Kristen

I've tried both methods.... I like the sand the best..... It does stink when it rains, more so than the DL.... I make sure I scoop all wet sand out, and when it stops raining the smell goes away..... I freaked out after the first rain storm bc it smelled so bad..lol...

 

[Triple Willow]

I've tried both methods.... I like the sand the best..... It does stink when it rains, more so than the DL.... I make sure I scoop all wet sand out, and when it stops raining the smell goes away..... I freaked out after the first rain storm bc it smelled so bad..lol...

The fermented feed really helps me on the poop smell with my birds. Even when it rains the smell is not real bad. The only time it gets bad at all is when I get lazy and run out of fermented feed and just feed dry feed. Then it stinks. Have y'all seen that commercial where they blindfold people and sit them in a room full of garbage- Fabreeze I think. I really believe I could sit somebody in my coop like that and they would never have a clue they were in a coop full of chicken poop. LOL

I haven't used sand and it might be the best thing since sliced bread but a run filled with grass clippings, leaves, pine shavings, a stump or two, etc. is a natural setting for chickens. It gives them something to do and bugs will be attracted that they will eat. It's a plus plus! (But I don't recommend hay or straw because it holds water and will mold.)

Good luck to you all.

 

[birdlady79]

The fermented feed really helps me on the poop smell with my birds. Even when it rains the smell is not real bad. The only time it gets bad at all is when I get lazy and run out of fermented feed and just feed dry feed. Then it stinks. Have y'all seen that commercial where they blindfold people and sit them in a room full of garbage- Fabreeze I think. I really believe I could sit somebody in my coop like that and they would never have a clue they were in a coop full of chicken poop. LOL

I haven't used sand and it might be the best thing since sliced bread but a run filled with grass clippings, leaves, pine shavings, a stump or two, etc. is a natural setting for chickens. It gives them something to do and bugs will be attracted that they will eat. It's a plus plus! (But I don't recommend hay or straw because it holds water and will mold.)

Good luck to you all.

Yes I use ff and I do believe the poo is soooo much better plus the smell..... I've been doing dried this week and can tell a difference.... I started a batch of ff this morning. Lol....

I might try the grass clippings in run... We have a tractor so I think that would work in between movings.....I try raking the run, it's a pain.....grass might help!! Glad you posted that!! I think natural anything is good

 

[Triple Willow]

You're welcome. Some say to "neeeever" give chickens grass clippings or they will get an impacted crop and die. Usually the grass I give mine I mowed with the lawn mower and collected with the grass catcher. So far never a problem. They get all excited when they see it coming. lol They love scratching through it looking for bugs and eat most of it. I'm sure some grit might help them grind it up and digest it better.

 

[cowgirlchicken]

You're welcome. Some say to "neeeever" give chickens grass clippings or they will get an impacted crop and die. Usually the grass I give mine I mowed with the lawn mower and collected with the grass catcher. So far never a problem. They get all excited when they see it coming. lol They love scratching through it looking for bugs and eat most of it. I'm sure some grit might help them grind it up and digest it better.

So should I not put my coop out in the grass????

 

[Triple Willow]

So should I not put my coop out in the grass????

Shoot, my chickens eat grass like they are goats! LOL I believe the "no grass clippings" crowd are more scared of long strands of grass causing a crop impaction. I have seen a few reports of long strands of hay causing an impacted crop.

 

[mamabear72]

Thank you for all the suggestions. I think I'll try FF again. I did it for a very short time but the particular food I was using was heavy in fish meal and the smell was taking over my kitchen

I've since switched over to a nice organic non gmo feed that isn't "fishy". For now I think I'll leave the sand as it's drying and the stench is dissipating. It's still a dust storm when I do my daily scooping but for now I think I'll stick to it as I don't know if I could simply start DLM over the sand and theres NO WAY my hubby would be up for removing the two truckloads of sand that we just recently wheel barrled through trails of river rock.

 

[Triple Willow]

Yeah I have heard that fermenting a feed with meat in it can be really rank smelling. I haven't tried it but several people store their bucket of fermented feed in the coop.