Reducing smell

[Grophens]

I live in a neighborhood without an HOA. Our property is ~3 acres. We have a great space for our chickens and I keep the coop cleaned out weekly. BUT our neighbors still complain about the odor. It’s very minimal but I want to be a good neighbor. Suggestions?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Maybe it is their imagination.
I never have a smell among 5 coops unless I let the compost pile get too wet without turning.

 

[gtaus]

I use wood chips as a dry deep litter in my coop. It never smells. I only clean out the coop maybe twice a year, once in the spring after the snow melts, and then in late fall before the snow comes again. To keep things fresh, I might stir up the wood chips every month. If I start to detect any smell, I'll add some fresh wood chips and stir it up. Most of the time, in my coop, I can get by with tossing some chicken scratch in the coop and just let the chickens scratch and turn over the wood chips themselves.

At any rate, I'm a really big fan of using wood chips because my coop never smells and I only clean it out twice a year. In the past, I have used things like sand and straw, but had to constantly clean the coop to keep it from smelling.

Finally, let me say, I suspect your neighbors are complaining of a smell that is probably only in their mind. If you care for your chickens and your finely tuned nose does not detect any offensive smell, then I highly doubt your neighbors can either. Chances are they might think that you having chickens is somehow devaluing their property values. Also, some neighbors might be more upset about a rooster crowing early in the morning, so maybe they are complaining about smell as a way to put pressure on the chicken owner. Lots of residential areas have bans on roosters.

 

[3KillerBs]

I find that using the Deep Bedding method keeps my coop odor-free in even the hottest and/or wettest weather. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/using-deep-bedding-in-a-small-coop.76343/

 

[LaFleche]

Where exactly are your coop and the compost pile situated? And what climate do you have?

Cleaning the poop board every morning helps to reduce the smell. And you could add lavender cuttings to the soft wood shavings as well.

Sometimes the chicken feed is the culprit, what do you feed them?

 

[neo71665]

Do you have a lack of ventilation issue? I find that is the cause of smell most of the time.

 

[Grophens]

Maybe it is their imagination.
I never have a smell among 5 coops unless I let the compost pile get too wet without turning.

To some degree I think you’re right!! It’s a love hate relationship

 

[3KillerBs]

To some degree I think you’re right!! It’s a love hate relationship

Are you occasionally gifting them the best and freshest eggs on earth?

 

[JedJackson]

Get a few cows. Your neighbors will forget all about your chickens.

 

[neo71665]

Get a few cows. Your neighbors will forget all about your chickens.

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