Run litter and maintainence Help! I have stinky sand!

[phicri72]

So, I had the great idea to put pavers under the coop and cover them with a nice layer of sand. The attached covered run has just dirt. So, far I have noticed that the sand area is a bit smellier than the rest of the run. How do I go about cleaning it/maintaining it? I guess I didn't think this part through. If it was in the open, rain would wash the poo away and leave me with cleanish sand, but since it's under the coop, that's not going to happen. I really don't want to have to crawl under there and pull out 4x6 worth of pavers, but may end up having to do that if the smell gets worse. Any ideas for a better alternative for litter under there?

 

[mnferalkitty]

I think it is because it is not drying out enough and stay moist. How high is the coop that is above the sand and pavers? Is there anyway you can get a rake of sorts under the coop to stir things up a bit?

 

[phicri72]

only about 18 inches. but I do have a door and can also access from one side of run. I'll try the raking and see if it helps. Thanks!

 

[prettychicks]

Some people use poop boards under the roosts.

 

[joan1708]

Ditto on the poop board idea. If you have a small coop and not many chickens you could scoop most of the poop up in the am when you let them out or check on them. Also get some PDZ - it will cut down on the smell.

 

[jwatts]

Ditto on the poop board idea. If you have a small coop and not many chickens you could scoop most of the   poop up in the am when you let them out or check on them. Also get some PDZ - it will cut down on the smell.

. Sorry, what's PDZ??

 

[AhyokaAcres]

Quote:
It's a sand/dust-like substance that you put in horse stalls to take down ammonia fumes. If it works for our horses, i would have to bet it would work pretty awesome for chickens, too. I have yet to try it in the coops, but plan to soon.

 

[canesisters]

There is a long thread about using PDZ in coops - called something like "poop board convert".
People RAVE about how wonderful it is.