The Smell...THE SMELL!!

[off-grid hen]

Do you have adequate ventilation? (In Texas I'm sure you do- but you didn't really say.) If you have a fan running and not enough ventilation, it could just be blowing the nasty air all around without getting rid of it?

I use pine shavings in the coop and no droppings board. Every morning, I scrape the roosts off, turn the pine shavings over, and open all the windows. If in an hour when I go back to the coop- if it still smells a bit, it's time to change the shavings.

Also- I noticed a big change in droppings smell when I switched feed brands.

I just installed a droppings board yesterday, which I plan to scrape off every morning. I'm hoping this will allow me to change the shavings less frequently.

If you use sand, how long has it been since you changed the sand? You could have droppings dust build-up that's causing the smell.
Just some things to think about, I guess.

 

[Blue]

Adams does smell good. We use it on our dogs sometimes for the smell alone. I may try that in my coop sometime.

 

[ParadiseChickens]

The smell is poopy type. I have yet to experience ammonia and hope not to. And yes there is lots of ventilation in the 12 x 12 coop, there are two windows and one long door plus the whole top 12" of the front wall is ventilation, all that is covered with screen right now with plans to able to close it during our brief freezing days this winter. I am rethinking that now with the smell, it may just stay open. The sand has been down about 4 months now, I did think about adding some fresh bags to see if that helps. I do have some sweet PDZ tho as I use that to dry out horse stalls sometimes so I can try that.

 

[Cindy in PA]

Quote:
Why would there be "wet food" in the coop? I have my food & water in the coop & never had wet feed. It stays in a 30 lb. hanging feeder until the chickens eat it. Outside I can see wet food.

 

[stilldeb]

I don't think anything stinks worse than wet feed. If they throw it around and it gets wet it just really stinks and flies get in it, too. It's just gross. We also use the pine tree shaped vanilla air fresheners as well as an all natural yard spray with cinnamon in it that keeps flies away and smells wonderful (you hook it on your hose and spray the whole yard - got it at Petsmart)

We use the pine shavings inside and sand outside, too. The pine shavings get turned over and then changed as needed. Dampness and ventilation determine quite a lot. I mix DE in with the pine shavings before I put it in the coop so it is well distributed. Agricultural lime will help with odor, too, on the ground outside.

 

[Chemguy]

My coop will start to smell bad if there is any dampness. The humidity doesn't cause this but the occasional water spill does. Once that happens, it's game over. Since I suspend my waterer, and since my chicks are still growing, I've found that adjusting the height upward every so often is a great way to avoid spills (and smell).

 

[Animalian]

I sift all my sand through a fine collander every few months to get the fine, broken up bits of poop the kitty scoop misses. Maybe that's it, fine poop.

 

[Kuntry Klucker]

Ok, I think I may be cleaning my coop way toooooo often.
I have 13 hens and 1 roo. I turn the bedding just about daily
or I put some scratch in the coop and let the ladies turn the bedding
for me.

Anyway, I take out the shavings and put new in once a month.
Am I cleaning way too often?

Others here only clean twice a year.

 

[CMV]

Quote:
It's all a matter of personal choice. Some folks use the deep litter method which involves only changing out the coop 1-2X per year and just keeping the bedding turned the rest of the time. I clean my coops regularly and often. I have mite issues fairly often where I am at, so I don't have the luxury of being able to let the coop bedding stay for any length of time. Use whatever method works for you.

 

[moetrout]

I don't think I'd like the cost of changing out the litter every month. Like said above it is personal preference. Personally I prefer to not clean so often. It's a chicken coup, it does have a little smell to it, but it doesn't knock you over! If you are putting in 3-4 inches of litter and changing that every month then I'd say yes you are probably doing it too often OR you are doing that because you have too many chickens in a small coup and it needs to be done that often. I have 10 chickens in a 6' x 8' coup. DLM works great for me.