They smell so bad

[workindog]

If i throw lawn lyme down, will that help with the smell? Ive only had my coturnix quail for a couple months now (give or take) but the smell is god awful.

Their cages are right next to my bunny hutches. I have 3 double rabbit hutches, 3 of which have does with kits. But this double cot cage, smells worse than the rabbits!

I cant smell them thru the yard just when im near the cages. Its not a bad smell as in sickly animal smell. Its that "bird" smell. Maybe its just me personally but ugh its so gross.

What can i do to cut down on that smell? Their droppings fall to the ground. Would lyme make a difference?

Ty

 

[lastco]

I remove poop accumulations every few days, more often if necessary. I also use sweet PDZ. I had always heard that lawn lime would help, but after reading a lot of posts that contradicted that, I opted to try the sweet PDZ, which got great reviews. I can attest to the fact that it works.

I would recommend "mucking" the area under your pen regularly. It's not glamorous, but it will help. After removing the poop, sprinkle sweet PDZ under it. It's available at feed stores. I think there's some labeled for use in coops, but it's more expensive than the bag labeled for horse stalls. It's the same product, so I go for the better deal.

 

[HUGHES555]

The lime will help but I also add a layer of hay every week and that normally keeps the smell down. Also when it gets wet the smell gets worse so if you can keep the area dry then that will help cut down on the smell.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Wood chips, shavings or stump grindings. Deep litter style or mucking it regularly. Keep a big bin (like a 55 gallon barrel) with shredded wood, maybe shredded dry leaves too, net to the pen with a big scoop. Every time you go out, shake some more carbon down to mix with that nitrogen source from the bird poop. If it gets to be too much material, a pitch fork and a wheel barrow will cart it away to live in your compost pile or your garden beds until it's fully broken down into beautiful black soil.

I suppose you could carry a sachet with you like people in the middle ages, instead. That's also an option.

 

[lastco]

Ohhh, yeah!! I forgot the part about a layer of some type of bedding! I was using pine flakes but switched to hay or straw, because it's so much easier to get up with a pitchfork. Lol.

@ChocolateMouse I've really been wanting to give the bird poop composting a try. I certainly don't have a shortage around here.

@HUGHES555 Have you tried the lime and PDZ? If lime works as well, I'd be happy to switch, as it's much cheaper. I read so much feedback about lime being less effective, that I decided to try PDZ first. It does work much better than I anticipated, but I haven't personally compared the two.

 

[HUGHES555]

Nope never tried PDZ if it works better than the lime I may need to give it a try.

 

[lastco]

I swear, I feel like I have to try something new every week regarding one thing or another. This breed needs this, that species needs that. The chicken smells aren't as bad as the duck smells. I'll be so glad when my younger ducks can join the big ducks that have the run of our yard. They littles are in a 10x20, but confined ducks stink. Spring rain isn't helping with that, but at least my herb garden looks good!

 

[dpenning]

Sweet pdz is great in my chickens coop, doesn't stink at all when I pooper scoop once a week. Not sure how it will work in my quail hutch as I have a solid floor. As chicks they are voracious eaters and poop machines. Hoping it normalizes when they mature. I want to keep breeding groups in my hutch and th rest in the aviary around it. May try the lime since I'll have to do weekly cleaning. I'll report back on the difference if I do. It will be a few weeks since mine are only 2 weeks old and won't move out foe another week.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Bird poop compost is the best and will make your garden beautiful! I compost all my animal waste together Chicken coop, rabbits, brooder bedding.. But what's really nice is the wood chips as deep litter in the chicken pen. You can stand in my chicken pen with your eyes closed and breathe in deeply and you would never know there's chickens there. Wood chips are great.

I know at least one person who suggests aging them first to make sure they're not growing aspergillus fungus. Which makes sense, but I like the fresh ones better as they last longer and smell wonderful.

 

[bigjohn]

If i throw lawn lyme down, will that help with the smell? Ive only had my coturnix quail for a couple months now (give or take) but the smell is god awful.

Their cages are right next to my bunny hutches. I have 3 double rabbit hutches, 3 of which have does with kits. But this double cot cage, smells worse than the rabbits!

I cant smell them thru the yard just when im near the cages. Its not a bad smell as in sickly animal smell. Its that "bird" smell. Maybe its just me personally but ugh its so gross.

What can i do to cut down on that smell? Their droppings fall to the ground. Would lyme make a difference?

Ty