Using deep litter method.. But it still stinks!

[Beekissed]

I agree with what everyone has said here....it sounds like it's much too warm and no ventilation in your coop that is creating your humidity levels.

After you have corrected these things, you might also want to throw some BOSS or some other kind of treat grain in amongst your litter to keep your chooks turning your bedding for you. They do a much better job than do we with this chore and it also gives them something to do while in the coop.

I have also incorporated shredded paper from my office into my bedding and it seems to absorb more than the chips. The birds work it right into the bedding and it will make some great mulching later.

My litter is now about 8-10 in. deep and there is no smell at all. Of course, I don't heat my coop and have plenty of ventilation.

Tell hubby to put on a down and feather, full body suit and walk around in 50 degree heat....he'll get the picture!

 

[Chieftain]

I'm going to add my 2 cents worth on this one; even though I don't know squat about raising chickens, I do know how to control that ammonia.

My daughter got me started raising ferrets several years ago, and I have had my own boodle ever since. If you know ferrets, you know they eat, they play, and they poop. A lot. Currently I have four (rescue!) ferrets in a two-tier "Ferret Nation" cage. It strikes me that I have been using a modified "mini deep litter" method for my ferrets for some time, but we also add in an ammonia neutralizer, baking soda.

Every night I do a "mini cleanup" of their cage. They come out in their room to play, and I add a layer of litter to their litter box, and a layer of paper to the pan of the bottom section of the cage. They sleep up top and they poop on the lower level.

Once a week I do a complete cleaning of the cage, tossing everything into a big trashcan lined with a plastic bag, and the whole mess goes into the trash. I wash the pans out in the kitchen sink, and then set them back up from scratch.

First, I sprinkle a good cup of baking soda all over the pan, then add a thin layer of compressed newspaper pellet litter; over the top of that are three or four layers of newspaper. Their litterbox goes in one corner to hold things down. The baking soda helps neutralize the ammonia in the ferret urine (uric acid) and it keeps the cage cleaner and smelling a lot fresher. If you raise ferrets you know they are poop machines, and getting a week out of a cage with four ferrets is doing pretty good.

The same process is going to apply to your chickens. Chickens excrete ammonia via uric acid in their urine, and if you can absorb and neutralize that acid, you immediately reduce the smell. Pretty simple chemistry, really.

The powdered lime does the same thing in a chicken coop that baking soda does in my ferret cage, and that is absorb and neutralize ammonia in the form of uric acid. It seems to me that it would be equally important to use a good dusting of powdered lime in the coop along with DE. There is a difference between powdered lime and the "Soil Sweet" pelletized lime sold for your yard. I'm not sure if the pellets would be as effective as the powder is, so I would stick with the powder.

I have a feedstore I frequent that's about 10 miles up the road in the middle of the County, and they have chicken supplies, horse tack, all kinds of livestock raising supplies; and I think I'll see about picking up a 50 pound sack of lime in the near future. 2 5 gallon buckets with tight fitting lids will hold 50 pounds of almost anything, so storage won't be a problem.

I think the key here is adding something that will neutralize the ammonia in your thawing coops, and the powdered lime is chemically the exact right answer to the problem. Here, it I smell the lightest bit of ammonia in the ferret room I know I've let the cage go way too far and an immediate cleaning is due. I've tried going without the baking soda and the cage just reeks after 3 days or so. I may try some lime in their cage just to see if it works better than the baking soda.

In any case, when I set up the Chicken McMansion for the chooks, I think a good dusting of lime under the litter is definitely indicated.

 

[Elite Silkies]

I wonder if the baking soda would be okay for the chickens, in case they eat it. Sounds like a good idea. I just put a new bag of shavings in their coop and DE and Stall Dry and 4 days later it stinks! The ammonia smell is really strong. But, they are younger and haven't wanted to venture outside too much, so they stay in the coop most of the time.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Only problem I ever had with deep litter method is when I tried to use it with my quail. Those little buggers poop more than a flock of chickens ever will!!

Sounds like you have sprung a leak somewhere.

I have a dirt floor in my coup. When we have heavey rain it does get a bit wet. I just toss in some scratch along with some DE. The girls take care of turn everything themselves.

 

[joebryant]

Four square feet per chicken in a coop is only for when you have another ten feet per chicken in the run. If you have a 10 x 12 coop, and chickens are being kept in it 24/7, you should not have more than 12 chickens (ten would be better). I keep my hens and roosters in a newly-remodeled 12- x 24-foot section in the barn 24/7 during the winter, and I keep a rooster with three hens in each of three 4- x 10-foot section, and four is pushing it. Did have two hens with a rooster per unit (four units) before I rearranged it this week. Anyone want to pick up a FREE young blue Orpington rooster?

EDIT, I use deep litter of wood chips and DE and lots of ventilation.

 

[SC_Hugh]

I would add that the deep litter method also involves fluffing the litter on a routine basis to allow the aeration to help dry out the wet areas. As others have mentioned, throwing some scratch into the coop will encourage the chickens to flip the litter as well.

I noticed a little smell today when I turned and fluffed the litter, now the smell is gone.

--Hugh

 

[snowflake]

We live in Mi. We have 13 large breed birds in an 8 by 16 coop , we do not heat although the coop is insulated, deep litter pine shavings and hay no DE nothing but the litter and we have no smell. the only wet area I have found is near the water. raised wood floor covered with stall mats I would say venting and to much heat is most likely your problem. I thought you said your birds go outside during the day as do mine. I had a heat lamp early in the winter but it provided 24 hour light(red lamp) they seemed much happier after I turned it off and let them adjust to the temps. you may need to lower your heat a little at a time, or pick a mild day to turn it off completely..

 

[jerseygirl1]

My DH and I found out today that the smell was from, a waterer leaking and getting the feed wet, freezingm then thawing out, and also - I really had way too much pine shavings in there. My first year, and Oh, I have learned so much from everyone on here.

 

[Beekissed]

jersey, love your sig line!

 

[steelersfan43]

Quote:
We have the same problem. I finally decided I don't really like this method. I guess that just means more to till in for our garden