The Smell...THE SMELL!!

[olderoo]

I've seen a lot of pine shavings being used - there's your tip: deep litter...

You can also use straw, coarse grass clipping, leaves, and other similar organic material.
Sprinkle on wood ash once a week or so.

 

[bobbi-j]

Chickens poop, poop smells. You can try deep litter, that will help some. Fifty chicks in a small space is going to create some odor,though.

 

[olderoo]

Chickens poop, poop smells. You can try deep litter, that will help some. Fifty chicks in a small space is going to create some odor,though. 

50?! Oh, dear, I missed that.
In a 12x12 coop and run?

Yeah that's gonna be tough. 70% of a chickens food comes out the back end as waste,

Do the math and double the wood ashes.

 

[bobbi-j]

50?! Oh, dear, I missed that.
In a 12x12 coop and run?

Yeah that's gonna be tough. 70% of a chickens food comes out the back end as waste,

Do the math and double the wood ashes.

I think you and I were answering different posts. This thread is over 2 1/2 years old, if you were answering the OP. I was just responding to a post from yesterday.

 

[calliescluckers]

i was gonna say where did 12x12 come from? haha! switching to fermented food. that will probably help

 

[olderoo]

Hmm I better look closer !

 

[Cacique500]

I know this is an old thread - but for any new people reading it...

We use PDZ (100% of the coop floor and in 2 of the 3 sections of run...last run section is not sheltered so we use sand there). I can't say how many pounds of pdz I've used...but it's significant.

The good news is there's ZERO smell in the coop and the poop gets dried up very quickly, even in rainy humid conditions. A kitty litter scoop picks up the poop easily since the poop almost turns into little rocks it's so dehydrated. PDZ is also supposed to capture the ammonia.

I add a few more bags of PDZ every few months, or when they've kicked out a good portion of it from digging to china.

 

[calliescluckers]

whats PDZ??? I need some....

 

[Cacique500]

Here ya go...

http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp...ory_rn=&top_category=&urlLangId=&cm_vc=-10005

 

[distincthead]

Deep litter helped for me, as well as making sure they all have ample coop space and excellent ventilation. But by far, fermenting feed has been the best stink reducer I've ever utilized. They seem to poop less, and it doesn't smell nearly as bad as when they were getting dry feed.

And as mentioned above, sweet PDZ is awesome. I have yet to build a poop board that holds it like a sandbox though. It's definitely on the list!