Stinky Coop Problems

[Eggcellent8]

So, we have our coop in our garage. Had to move the chicks in before it was finished, so we have do not have a run or window to outside right now. Every day in the morning I go out to open the garage door for ventilation (we have two vents inside of the garage) but that dreadful smell always greets me!

I know that installing the window and building the run would probably help, but is there anything I can do in the mean time? We use sand for bedding and I clean the coop with the kitty litter scoop every day, but it STILL STINKS!

Any suggestions? I know that chickens do have a smell, but is it really this bad?

Thanks

 

[mmerritt]

Are you familiar with the deep litter method? I'm just learning about it, and we're becoming BFF's. If you're not, read about it here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...e-easiest-way-to-deal-with-chicken-litter-dlm. I'm using hardwood pellets I got from Lowe's, though they can be a little trickier to find in the summer because they're for use in pellet-burning wood stoves. I started with a layer about 4 inches deep, then I rake it down every couple days. Obviously, the more ventilation the better, but I expect something like this would help a lot. Sand isn't going to do much for the smell. The best part is that you only need to completely clean the bedding every 6-12 months with the DLM, depending on your situation.

 

[Caity]

Hi Eggcellent! A lot of people seem to use a material called Sweet PDZ in theircoops or on their poop boards. It's essentially a sandy, chicken-safe version of kitty litter that dries the poop out and absorbs smells--just search "sweet PDZ" and you can see a lot of threads about it--here's the one that I heard about it https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/621363/poop-board-convert-warning-graphic-gross-poop-pictures. Just a caveat, I'm only building my first coop so have only done research--I'm not the voice of experience!

 

[Kjf18]

My guess (and it is only a guess) is that you do not have adequate ventilation during the night, and as a result ammonia and moisture are building up in the air until you open the door. Chickens produce enormous amounts of moisture and ammonia. You likely need to add a fair amount of 24-hour ventilation.

KJF

 

[CorinneP]

With out good circulation and ventalation .. your bound to have the odor sorry ..

 

[Eggcellent8]

Thanks for advice everyone! I need to hustle and get that window in.

Caity, that's a great idea about the Sweet PDZ. I've heard about it before, but right now we only have a temporary roost and no poop boards. Once we build their permanent roosts though, I hope to do exactly what you were talking about.

Mmerritt, I have heard of the deep litter method before, but it doesn't really work with sand. How expensive are those pellets? Right now, sand works, but if it gets too bad, it's good to have other options.

Thanks Again!

 

[mmerritt]

Eggscellent8 - Each 40 lb bag was around $5 and change. I started with 8 bags, which was plenty for 4' x 8', and I shouldn't need more for a good long while.

 

[amenfarm]

You can sprinkle sweet PDZ under and over the floor litter. I have only 2 solid walls and 2 hardware cloth walls for our temporary coop. Plenty of ventilation but still have the smell of chicken poop until I used the sweetPDZ. Now , with the poop deck and deep litter with it's sprinkling, the girls turn it every morning in the hunt for BOSS/ or scratch and I have no poopy smell. I don't see why adding a several cups of PDZ to the sand would not help.
If you want to try it directly under the roosts and see. I use it in the donkey's stall in the only place he urinates when the weathers bad outside, it's right under the shavings in that one section.

 

[Eggcellent8]

Eggscellent8 - Each 40 lb bag was around $5 and change. I started with 8 bags, which was plenty for 4' x 8', and I shouldn't need more for a good long while.

What is the brand? I was looking around on Lowe's website and could not see what you were talking about.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

So, we have our coop in our garage. Had to move the chicks in before it was finished, so we have do not have a run or window to outside right now. Every day in the morning I go out to open the garage door for ventilation (we have two vents inside of the garage) but that dreadful smell always greets me!

I know that installing the window and building the run would probably help, but is there anything I can do in the mean time? We use sand for bedding and I clean the coop with the kitty litter scoop every day, but it STILL STINKS!

Any suggestions? I know that chickens do have a smell, but is it really this bad?

Thanks

Could you post an image of how you are keeping your chicks...

There are no absorbancy qualities in sand. Sand does not make for a good media keeping smells down with chicks. Infact, after time there will be such an accumulation of waiste mixed in the sand that you will start to have anarobic decay...it will produce a very strong horrible rotten egg smell. You might seriously consider using woodshavings. I kept my chicks on paper when we first got them, again not a good media for keeping down smells...but once everyone was eating and drinking I quickly switched over to woodshavings. Keep the shavings dry and add shavimgs to the mix as there is an accumulation of waiste in the brooder. The chicks will start scratching around and keep everything well mixed.

We have both chicks and ducks...Ducks love water; they play in the waterer; and they make such a gawd awful mess with the water. I finally had to separate the ducks from the chicks. The ducks were so messy with the waterer, I just could not stand the smell any more. The ducks now don't get water at night, they have to wait till day break when they all go outside for the day...While at night, the chicks get all the water and feed they can handle.

The smell is gone. I'm happy, my wife is very happy...and I think she'll keep me.