the coop smells all of the time!!! help

[patandchickens]

Yes, that is what happens when you have dampness plus an organic substrate such as hay.

I would suggest quit using the hay, and do what you reasonably can to keep water out of the run better. See my 'fixing a muddy run' page (link in .sig below) for a buncha suggestsions -- it should probably be called "fixing a muddy OR STINKY run" LOL

Also note that the more chickens you have in the less space, the worse the problem is.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[sassifrassi]

You can put a threshold around the perimeter of the run to keep the sand in.

On a side note...have noticed that my composter reeks! And I believe it has something to do with the wood shavings breaking down. Something jogs my memory about pulp and paper mills reeking too.

 

[bryan99705]

Pull the cedar shavings, pine better and won't be harmful to them.

Keep trying with the sand over crushed gravel, maybe a terrace would help. Sounds like you're holding in moisture cause even a pile of poo doesn't stink much, IF it's dry.

Worse case, go with just the dirt and rake it, as long as erosion is not a issue

 

[CupOJoe42]

DE is useless when wet. Construction sand has different size grit in it, making it coarser than play sand.

 

[colebarnhart]

Try large wood chips, the tree bark kind or sand, or a combo of the two. Home Depot, Lowe's, or anywhere will have them by the other mulch type stuff. The link below has a video of the "chicken whisperer" from the poultry section on the tractor supply website recommending the large wood chips.

http://s7d5.scene7.com/s7/video/flash_video.jsp?movie=Video/Masters/CW - Maintenance_640x352_H263.flv&company=TractorSupplyCompany&config=TractorSupplyCompany/TSC_VID1&locale=en&method=prog

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Sometimes a board along the edge is enough to contain sand, but for a steeper hill you might have to do some terracing. It will be worth it, if it stops your run from smelling. Sand can be raked or scooped to clean it. Keeping rain out of the run will help a lot with smell, too. Without rain running through there, sand might stay in place better even without terracing.