Run Stinks

[Wyoyell]

Hi...I have four chickens that are almost 19 weeks old. We have a tiny back yard but we built a coop that is 4 x6 and a run that is 8x8. Is this run to small for four chickens because the run stinks and I make a habit of raking it out every night after they go to bed So I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong. The floor of the run is dirt but here in west Texas we don’t get a lot of rain so it’s dry. What can I do to help with the smell?. Thanks so much for any and all suggestions.

 

[aart]

No...no food on the ground...their feed is hanging in a plastic chicken feeder that we got at TSC....

Waterer near there too?
They can spill/bill out a lot of feed.
Any amount of moisture can 'cook' up a bunch of stink.
Pics of your run would help here.

 

[yakitori]

Feeding mine fermented feed has significant reduced poop odor. I also layer the floor of my run with leaves, and there is no odor (unless they just laid a fresh cecal), I believe you can do the same with pine shavings etc.

 

[3KillerBs]

You need bedding in the coop and run.

Wood chips, wood shavings, straw, pine straw, fall leaves, ... whatever dry, brown, carbon-rich organic material you can readily obtain.

Search "deep litter" and "deep bedding" on these threads to find detailed explanations of how this works.

 

[drinkoj]

No...no plywood, but the run is cinder block fencing on two sides of the run. We built it in the corner of the fence line.

After reading everything I'm wondering if you've created a void of air flow on the ground and most of the ammonia from the poop is lingering due to weird downward swirl of air.

Is it possible to turn a couple of the blocks where the holes are on the side and cover them with some hardware cloth to allow better circulation/ventilation.

Also agree, some pine shavings, leaves, grass clippings mix on the floor of the run would be great.

 

[Mamatomany123]

Hmm, I'm also in west texas and have 11 chickens who have never had a smell in their run. I think its plenty big for 4 chickens. Are you throwing food on the ground?

 

[CluckerFamily]

I also had the thought of food on ground as being the culprit of the smell.

 

[CluckerFamily]

How wet does the run get?
Is it all dirt or did you add sand to the run.

 

[piminuse]

Can you use the shavings in the run.....? And what size, I‘ve read where some people say to use the chunky pine mulch, or just the regular pine shavings from TSC.

You can use either or. It can be cheaper to do big chunky pine as sometimes you can get it free from the city, but it's usually moist and it needs to dry out. The pine shavings are easy to layer if you're interested in the deep-litter method, but hard to contain and the birds will track it everywhere. Pros and cons!

I started with shavings but now use whatever yard debris I have and constantly top it off with new stuff. They like to dig around in it and turn it regularly to keep it clean.

 

[chickenenthusiasts5698]

Can you use the shavings in the run.....? And what size, I‘ve read where some people say to use the chunky pine mulch, or just the regular pine shavings from TSC.

This is what I use. I really like them because they absorb the smell in the run/coop. They run about 4-5$ a bag (in my area).