Soggy stench of death, help

[gemd]

We had 5 inches of rain in a few days and it was that side ways stuff so the roof didn't protect the floor of my chicken run. So it's an inch of slime with shavings and leaves and poo and mud that smells worse than death. Never smelt anything worse. It's gonna attract vermin etc. And be a health hazard for the chickens and my family.

So we need to figure out a solution like yesterday.

I can't easily rake up the slimy stench as I have asthma to so I don't want to get sick. Can I just add agriculture lime on top and if so how.

Excuse lack of certain punctuation btw as my phone has some how rebooted and only includes periods and commas.

 

[the_peanut_coop]

We had 5 inches of rain in a few days and it was that side ways stuff so the roof didn't protect the floor of my chicken run. So it's an inch of slime with shavings and leaves and poo and mud that smells worse than death. Never smelt anything worse. It's gonna attract vermin etc. And be a health hazard for the chickens and my family.

So we need to figure out a solution like yesterday.

I can't easily rake up the slimy stench as I have asthma to so I don't want to get sick. Can I just add agriculture lime on top and if so how.

Excuse lack of certain punctuation btw as my phone has some how rebooted and only includes periods and commas.

Wear one of those face masks that we all got during covid...

 

[the_peanut_coop]

Wear one of those face masks that we all got during covid...

And then scrape it out!

 

[Tonyroo]

Using lime takes time to take affect and also make your run very alkaline, with the ph being 8 to 9.
If you need to clear it soon, you'll need to shovel it out and let it dry out a bit then reapply your usual substrate.
Just use gloves, mask, and a wheelbarrow.

 

[rosemarythyme]

If you can get a friend or neighbor to help clean it out, that would be much better for you.

In the meantime, if you have some pallets lying around, you can throw those down for the chickens to have some drier spots to walk on.

What is (was) your run litter? Just shavings and leaves? Can you get some wood chips, chunky, preferably, and add that in? It'll help with the mud issue and can help with drainage, as long as drainage isn't normally an issue in that spot.

 

[3KillerBs]

Add a lot of fresh, dry bedding to help soak up the excess water.

As @rosemarythyme said, chunky wood chips are one of the best options, but any dry organic material will help -- soaking up the water and composting together with the manure.

 

[PippinTheChicken]

add a cover to your run next time.
I use hemp chips bedding in my coop and run

 

[PippinTheChicken]

I think adding sand will make it less sludgy and easier to scoop up