Smelly run, not co'op

[lovemyzoo]

I havea covered run attached to my co'op(trying to get photos). The run is where their food and water is. The run is starting to have a smell but the coop doesn't at all. It is basically freezing or near freezing here. With the last warm up yesterday I noticed the smell. could it be from everything thawing quickly?Any tips on what to do to cut the smell out? It smells like poop more then anything.

 

[mrslb333]

Bicarbonate of soda sprinkled on works a treat. I use a ground sanitizer powder which is specially designed for chicken runs but not sure if it would be available where you are. I've seen something called Simple Solution

Yard Odor Away which is available in the US which may be worth a try

 

[chicmom]

It's from them spilling food on the dirt in your run, and then it's rotting. I've had that same problem, so now my food is kept in the coop, water still outside. I literally had to scrape a layer of yucky dirt/food off of the ground. Learned my lesson quick! No food outside!

Sharon

 

[lovemyzoo]

I wonder if my coop is big enough for food. seems it would be in the way. I just cleaned it out really good and it helped some. It was always freezing then thawing a bit here was wondering if that was part of it. DH said it smelled like the barn in the spring.

 

[DDRanch]

My covered run has a dirt floor which is layered with gravel and then a few flakes of straw. Periodically, I have to replace about 3 inches of the gravel/dirt because it begins to smell from poop. I do not have food outside in the my run. Add a little rain, and whew......The straw overlay is cleared away on a regular basis and replaced with new straw. I seem to notice a smell more in the winter when the ground is damp.

 

[SC_Hugh]

The uncovered part of my run is loaded with dry leaves (3"-5") and detaches from the permanent run with only two screws. I like how the poop, leaves and food scraps all become a healthy composting pile which then get fed to my composting redworms. It has been a very dry fall this year in my area of CA, so leaves are still mostly dry, but also breaking down slowly too. No smell at all, so if it smells then dig it out and transfer to the compost pile. Try adding a few inches of leaves to the run, toss some scratch in there and the chickens will tear up those leaves. Bug treats down in there too.

Before I resupplied the run this fall, I dug it out 6" to remove all the old soil and poop, so now I prefer to keep the poop and the leaves from getting too mixed with the ground below.