The smell help!!

[Bluerosesd]

Ok I live in the city and have 14 Chickens. I noticed they are starting to smell!! What can I do to help with the smell?!? I live away from everyone and so far no complaints but I am scared. I use to live in the country and quiet a ways away from the next person so the smell wasnt a problem. I am kind of freaking out!

 

[SueT]

What size coop for 14 chickens, what bedding, how often cleaning?

 

[OhZark Biddies]

Many use and recommend "Sweet PDZ" to remove the ammonia smell :

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/sweet-pdz-stall-refresher-25-lb

 

[boskelli1571]

If it is starting to smell, you need to clean it out. The smell will attract flies, scavengers etc. A coop should not 'smell' that bad. If you can smell it what about the poor hens that live in it? PDZ masks odor but it doesn't replace cleaning the coop....

 

[OhZark Biddies]

PDZ masks odor but it doesn't replace cleaning the coop....

My understanding of PDZ is that it absorbs and/or breaks down ammonia, it doesn't mask it. I think it helps absorb moisture as well. Removing ammonia and moisture does a lot to keep the air in the coop healthy between cleanings, but indeed it does not replace the need to clean the coop from time to time. "Time to time" of course varies depending on the way the coop is designed, how many birds are in it, the regional humidity, etc.

 

[Bluerosesd]

Its not the house they stay in it is the run I wrote it wrong. I am sorry. Their cook I clean out and put pine shaving in. Its their lot. It stinks. Smells sour. Its a 15 x 30 but they are not grown yet They are like 3-4 months old. I am going to be moving some out to a different lot soon.

 

[NNYchick]

Its not the house they stay in it is the run I wrote it wrong. I am sorry. Their cook I clean out and put pine shaving in. Its their lot. It stinks. Smells sour. Its a 15 x 30 but they are not grown yet They are like 3-4 months old. I am going to be moving some out to a different lot soon.

I had that problem last year when the run was bare ground, even raking it out everyday didn’t help with smell or flies. I added dried leaves, grass clippings etc it helped tremendously. I would go out and stir it up once a week or after rain in between the chickens scratching around help keep it turned.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Definitely do deep litter in a run to eliminate smells.

 

[RUNuts]

Add carbon or brown stuff. Leaves, wood chips, hay, pine needles, compost or other. I had the same issue after the rain kept everything wet. I added more wood chips and things improved. I keep a lot of wood chips in there now. Trying the deep litter method, but I need more chips.

I don't stir it. I toss BOSS or bird seeds and let the hens work. They really like digging through leaves and wood chips to get all the tasty bits.

 

[LittleCheepers]

In our run we first put down a layer of sand and then a layer of wood chips on top of the sand. Never a smell at all and always seems clean. The wood chips eventually decompose and turn into what looks like dirt, so you will have to add more once or twice a year. It has been great for us, although if you have a lot of chickens in a small space it probably wouldn’t work as well.