Stinky dirt....

[gemd]

What can I add to the dirt floor of the run/coop to keep down on stench especially when it gets muddy? Pellets? Sand? It's hard to clean out some parts of the coop and luckily last year was hot and dry so I kinda just let the coop floor....just be and the dry heat kept down on the smell.

 

[WallyG74]

I use pine shavings. The chickens scratch around in it and keep it tilled up real nice.

 

[rosemarythyme]

You need some form of litter, though what will work best for you depends on your set up and climate. The two most commonly mentioned options are sand (if you can keep things dry and scoop poop regularly) and deep litter (which is a composting set up that requires some moisture to work).

 

[3KillerBs]

Any dry organic material will work, however coarse wood chips -- the kind you get from a tree-trimming service, are usually considered the gold standard for the control of mud and odor.

Straw, pine straw, wood chips, wood shavings, dry leaves, yard waste, ground corncob, rice hulls, shredded paper, and so on.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/using-deep-bedding-in-a-small-coop.76343/

 

[SandyRiverChick]

With my big coop, I started with dirt/sand floor but this is why I eventually installed a plywood floor. I have an abunance of sand but it smelled awful. I tried a few different bedding options. All were okay, but it's just alot less work now with the plywood floor and poop boards. If not in the cards I can just say that hay was worst experiment and likely wood chips is best but it's really hard to completely remove and replace woods chips daily or frequently so you'd either leave it for the deep litter thing or use shavings if you're doing frequent daily clean out.