So far chickens are a pain in the butt...

[dretd]

Quote:
I am sorry you are going through a rough patch. I would be terribly frustrated with all of your problems. If the chicks were friendly, it would have redeeming qualities, but it sounds like there's not a lot of positivity here.

How many chicks do you have? I think anything over 3, for me, is too hard to deal with--messy and I wouldn't have the time to handle them all so they get tamed. I also concur with the open coop idea. I have a coop I built with a lot of ventilation and an open half-front covered in 12.5 gauge welded wire so predators can't get in. Even stays open in the winter (-20) because I would rather them have good ventilation. When it gets stinky I know I have to set mouse traps around the preimeter of the coop because the hidden mice/nests really stink up the joint.

I have no idea what kind of flies you have, but, I have a horse and they sell these fly predators http://www.spalding-labs.com/Horses/WhatAreFlyPredators.aspx you can sprinkle around the stable every month that eat the fly larvae. Maybe that would work for you?

Gosh, good luck to you and I hope your luck turns around!

 

[werttyy]

Sell the chicks on ebay or craigslist

(ps. this should be your LAST resort)

 

[snomonkey33]

The "green" solution to the smell and flies is composting. Smell happens when the waste is sitting on the surface, which gives the flies easy access to the "nutrients". Composting might sound like a lot of work, but all the effort is in getting it started. After that all you need is a pitchfork / shovel and a place to keep the pile. I use the open pile method (just a pile of compost) and I turn it over once a month max. For humid, hot weather, you might be better off with a trench method where you dig a long trench, so you can toss your waste in the trench and bury it with 3-6" of soil to let the bugs and worms get to work on it. When I dig up the compost and turn it over, it is pure dirt and humus within 30 days. Probably much quicker than that in Florida.

I have 6 40' oak trees in my yard and I never have yard waste. It all composts down to virtually nothing, which I dig up and spread around the yard.

Here's a thorough article on composting. http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/2006-10-01/Compost-Made-Easy.aspx

 

[ThaJuicyJuice]

Thanks for the replies folks. The chicks are just passed 5 weeks old. I put them out two weeks ago. I know most would say this is too young, but the temperature was definitely warm enough for them, and I used a thermostate controlled heat lamp for the nights. They are not in the coop yet. I juat have to put in the flooring and finish the run. They are currently on wire in a little rabit hutch. So there really hasn't been much bedding except for the first couple weeks when they had hatched. I wanted to go wire flooring, but then had just recently decided to do wire under the roost and solid the other part of the inside. There is a lot of areas for ventilation for the coop. So I know that will not attract more flies. The set up they are in allows the poo to fall right through to the bottom.

I realize it's not for everyone, but I guarantee thousands of flies would be enough to make anyone think twice. I should record a video and post it so that everyone can see what I am talking about. Feeding and watering during the day takes some gusto when you know you are going to walk into the cloud of buzzing.

When you say I can pick DE up at a hardware store? Could I find this at ACE, Home Depot, or Lowes. Othe than that, the closest feed store is an hour away.

As I stated before, I won't be giving up, just wanted to get some ideas for relief. Thanks again.

 

[chics in the sun]

Well, I have no idea what just happened to this post, but in the process I read your reply - mine got erased..... I don't know why you are having quite so many flies, but make sure you are burying the poop every day and see if that helps. I would recomend putting a floor under the roost area and scraping it out, and making sure the run is dirt so you can rake it and they can dust bath in it.

 

[ThaJuicyJuice]

SO if i Make it all solid, should I use a type of bedding or go with just wood?

 

[BrattishTaz]

Quote:
The only DE I could find at the hardware store was "pool grade", do not get this kind as it is harmful to you and the birds. You will need to find "food grade" DE.

I am also in FL and have only had stink and flies when the brooder leaked.

Try putting sand under the wire where the poo drops, it will dry it out and reduce the odor. Stir every other day or so.

 

[Nicole01]

I bought my food grade de on eBay. I've put it in the brooder, since it's in the house and it has helped with the odor. I also clean the brooder 100 times a day, but I'm only planning cleaning the coop once in the morning during summer and twice in the winter. Our coop is in the garage, so I need to keep it clean. I do plan on using the de in the garage also. Make sure you are buying food grade de.

 

[fl_deb]

Stall Dry is at feed stores and silimiar to DE will dry things out to make them less appealling to flies. It is a deterant/

Another deterant is yellow lemon car air trees. Some say the trees can't be beat.


The best method of fly control I have found personally is good cleaning plus the use of fly attractant in reusable jars with twist on lids, that have a special entrance on top, "Captivator" FLY Traps. I have found I use about 1/4 the recommended amount of "bait" that is in a little water soluble bag, saving the remaining for futher use. Add about a cup or 2 of water and Hang by coop out of reach of chiks. Once Jar is full, or 2 days later, whichever comes first, dig a hole, dump contents and cover with dirt immediately. Add water and bait and hang again.

The flies are espesially bad because they need that wet environment to reproduce, since we have not had the rains yet, dog feces and other fit environments are not available, hence many more are flocking to your chicken poop.

Home Depot I believe sells the cativator or I know for sure they sell a fully disposable one.

Good luck

 

[Baymule]

There are pages of people who tried the vanilla Christmas trees car freshner and it WORKS!!

After reading this last summer, I bought some and while it didn't totally eliminate the flies, it sure cut down on their pesky presense. I have a dirt floor to my coop and the girls keep it turned with their scratching, not any build up of poop for flies.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=368487&p=1