Turning the stinky dirt in the run.

[Kusanar]

Have you considered adding lime? That' s what i used to add. It is amazing!

I would be careful about adding too much lime to the coup and run. Lime is a caustic and having that on their feet all day can cause chemical burns if you mess up and add too much. When we lime horse fields we do it right before a rain if possible and don't let the animals back on it until it has rained on it and dried back out to keep it off of the horses skin and out of their mouths, I would assume the same would hold true for chickens since they scratch and peck around on the ground

 

[aart]

I found early on that even tossing down a thin layer of straw can greatly help with the odors,

Jusst fyi, this spring the run was so muddy that I put down 4 bales of straw. It seemed to work great, but then 2 hens died... enter sour crop and impacted crop. They were ingesting the straw and it was coiling in their crops and clogging up the works. I raked out the straw as fast as I could!

Yes, thin layer is key. Too much of any one ingredient can cause problems.

 

[dunnmom]

I would like to hear from folks that have dirt and/or sand in their run, since it's what I have. I do understand why the DL method is popular, however I'm too paranoid about mold to even try it. My mold allergy can be debilitating. I can't even eat blue cheese. Lol!

 

[aart]

I would like to hear from folks that have dirt and/or sand in their run, since it's what I have. I do understand why the DL method is popular, however I'm too paranoid about mold to even try it. My mold allergy can be debilitating. I can't even eat blue cheese. Lol!

I had sandy dirt(well, still do under the semi-DL)...it was very, very stinky when wet,
both after a rain and even worse during spring snow melt.
Molds are everywhere and the changing environment of a deep litter could cause you problems if a mold bloom happened, it would normally even out if you had the right mix of ingredients, but you might not want to risk that. I don't 'see' mold, but that means nothing for your sensitivity.

I found early on that even tossing down a thin layer of straw can greatly help with the odors, but some mold could happen then too. No one can predict what would work for you in your environment.....a mask might be necessary when working in your run.

 

[ChickenMammX4]

Another agreeing with Deep Litter. Our run is covered so it stays dry for the most part but rain/snow does blow in. The chickens keep it turned so mold hasn't been an issue. We do clean it out each spring to till into the garden.

 

[AnnieSantiago]

I live in Oregon where we have liquid sunshine and my run's never had a mold issue.

 

[debid]

I pile in dried leaves (which we have in abundance) and it really works well to get us through the wet seasons. The resulting soil has significantly better drainage properties than the clay we normally have. Add in the slope and there's no standing water. Smell is not at all a problem. All great, IMO.

As for mold, there will be leaf mold on leaves and other organic products. That's natural and unavoidable. IMO, being exposed to leaf mold is much less risk than that of accumulated bacteria and ammonia from feces. If it's enough that you're bothered by the smell, it's pretty rough on the birds.

Personally, I'm allergic to the dust in the coop so I take an antihistamine on cleaning day and just change clothes and shower afterward. I make the husband empty the central vac canister, though, because that particular job causes a major reaction. The difference is the concentration of the allergen.

 

[aart]

One thing to be aware of with DL is it works best with a level run floor. my coop/run is on a slight slope so all the organic matter i throw in the run ends up piles at the low side of the run and the high side is bare. I didn't even realize it was a slope until the setup was already installed and I found them scratching everything to the lower side by default.
So now I just add to the high side and remove from the low side, I use hay mostly but other things as i get them.

Same here, tho I knew I had a slope...the migration of the added materials still kind of amazes me.

 

[emkawa]

Thanks for the advice here! will be adding grass clippings to the run later today!

 

[User395221]

Thanks for the advice here! will be adding grass clippings to the run later today!

If it's damp, be careful of too many fresh grass clippings. Mix them up with something else, some bark chips or something so they don't all clump up and go gross, or spread them out and rake them in a bit.

Also, the usual "fix" for stinky and slimy is to rake in some garden lime.