Stinky Run…

[ChickNhood]

Have you considered adding sand to your run...,maybe 3 to 4 inches in depth so you could scoop it daily with litter scoop... Then throw dropping in compost

 

[Lmoreau70]

Your run looks about the same size as mine. I have 15 chics and 6 guineas. My coop has a sand floor and my run was grassy and more black dirt now after they have tore it up. It was really starting to stink this past weekend. I took my garden mantis and tilled the whole run area up. I thru down some ash from the wood stove and raked it all level and that seemed to really help. They loved the fresh dug up soil and picked bugs an worms out for hours.

 

[lolita117]

Have you considered adding sand to your run...,maybe 3 to 4 inches in depth so you could scoop it daily with litter scoop... Then throw dropping in compost

My run is 18 feet wide and around 40 feet long, maybe longer. Not really sure. So around 720 sq feet. Putting 3 inches of sand would be $300-$400 dollars, and scoping it out everyday... Not my idea of chicken keeping.

Your run looks about the same size as mine. I have 15 chics and 6 guineas. My coop has a sand floor and my run was grassy and more black dirt now after they have tore it up. It was really starting to stink this past weekend. I took my garden mantis and tilled the whole run area up. I thru down some ash from the wood stove and raked it all level and that seemed to really help. They loved the fresh dug up soil and picked bugs an worms out for hours.

I have a tiller. That is something I could definitely do!!!!! Thanks for the tip.

 

[Red Barn Farms]

The ground in my run area is part dirt part sand and is used by 20+ chickens. It's 8 x 16 foot. I let my chickens out in the evening to free range a few hours before roost time. I've never had a problem with any type of foul smell in the run.


This is how the ground looks in my run area because I hand rake it once a week and hoe it every two weeks with my hand hoe or a tiller. Turning the dirt over at least once a month helps a lot.

 

[JML72]

Just a thought - there is a product out called WYSIWASH (you can google it). It's basically a chlorine cartridge sprayer that attaches to your hose. It's plant-safe, so I would think it would be chicken safe. It's low-level chemical (smells vaguely like a pool while you're using it). I raise dogs and have a gravel run for them - about once a week I use the wysiwash and hose the gravel down. Takes me 10 minutes or so (really get it good and cleaned) and it eliminates ALL smell for several days at a time.

Might that be something you could try?

 

[lolita117]

Just a thought - there is a product out called WYSIWASH (you can google it). It's basically a chlorine cartridge sprayer that attaches to your hose. It's plant-safe, so I would think it would be chicken safe. It's low-level chemical (smells vaguely like a pool while you're using it). I raise dogs and have a gravel run for them - about once a week I use the wysiwash and hose the gravel down. Takes me 10 minutes or so (really get it good and cleaned) and it eliminates ALL smell for several days at a time.

Might that be something you could try?

Definitely going to look that up. I have dog kennels also with dirt runs and even though we let our dogs out everyday, sometimes they do eliminate the theirs runs which can be stinky. So I may have to get some of that stuff anyways. Thanks!