What can I "re-pave" my run with? SMELLY!

[pawsplus]

Hi all--I haven't been around for a while, but I've still got my 3 hens, Clarice, Olivia and Svetlana.

They have a HUGE henhouse, attached to a 10x10 chainlink dog run. See pic below (smaller house inside run has been removed).

When I put the run up 5 years ago it was grass. They killed that and it became dirt. Now it's SUPER smelly, SUPER muddy mud. NASTY. I clean the henhouse but it's hard to clean DIRT. I'm just not sure how to fix this. ???

Should I put in a new substrate? If so, what? Gravel? Sand?? Something else? Is there a safe de-odorizer I can use?

Thanks for any help anyone has!

 

[mrslb333]

I sprinkle baking soda over to get rid of the smell

 

[kuntrygirl]

I use sand in my peacock aviary and I will be using sand in all of my chicken runs.

We are talking about using sand in another thread. I posted pics of sand in my peacock aviary and pics of where I will use it in my chicken runs.

As stated in another post, this is why I want to use sand in my chicken runs.

I am from South Louisiana and our temps are much, much warmer than where you are, so we wouldn't have to worry about "heat" so to speak. I can surely understand your location's temperature and the pine shavings creating heat. Makes sense to me and I agree with what you are currently using. Everyone won't be able to use sand because of many factors (location/temps/soil/cost, etc.)

I'm a flock owner with a large flock (150 chickens). At this moment, my chicken runs are a dirt floor. There are no "wooden or tile floors" in the chicken runs. I will be switching to sand because it seems to work well with my peacocks. To clean my chicken runs, I have to go in and rake the poop up, along with some of the dirt and I didn't like removing some of the dirt. I use my poop for fertilizer for my garden and I give tons of poop away to the local community gardens. My chickens were digging dirt bath holes in their run and digging pretty deep in the ground, so by me placing the sand in the run will save my dirt and the girls won't be able to dig holes in the ground. In a year or so, I think my girls would have dug themselves a grave. That is how deep they were digging.

You can go to this thread and look for Post #50 for more information. I hope that this helps.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=444759&p=5​

 

[dsqard]

You can use Stall Dry or Sweet PDZ in the run. You can also use lime but you need to make sure you get the agrilime not the hydrated lime. The agrilime is not caustic to the skin.

 

[suzettex5]

I use ALOT of DE (diamataceaus earth)- its a wonderful drying agent and it really helps keep the smell down. Its much easier to rake up the poo when its dried and in clumps from the DE.

I imagine sand or gravel would help with the actual ground part, but I would think each has its draw backs and its positives. Alot of my main run is dirt, so I know how it can get. DE works for me most of the time and I can use it in the coop and just about everywhere else they poop.

 

[Chicken.Lytle]

Sounds like you need to muck out your chicken run .

 

[pawsplus]

Just found the muck out your chicken run page. Very helpful. I guess I'll plan to get some gravel and sand and just renovate entirely.

Good to know that Sweet PDZ is safe! I have used it for horses but wasn't sure if it was safe for the chix.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Of all the drying products (Stall Dry, DE, Sweet PDZ and ag. lime), I much prefer the Sweet PDZ. If the pen is really nasty and smelly, I recommend sprinkling a pretty good bit of Sweet PDZ over the mud. Let it set and absorb for a few hours, then check to see the condition. Hoe it in, and if there is still odor, put down more. Once you have the odor removed and the pen floor reasonably dry, put in several inches of sand, topped with either shavings or rice hull bedding, and some Sweet PDZ mixed in. Then just keep on top of it. Do make sure that water from outside the run is not draining into it.

 

[pawsplus]

Quote:
?? It's a RUN--it's outside and not covered. There is a tarp over part of it, but of course water gets in. I can't prevent that. I won't put shavings or rice hull bedding outside--it would just be a mess. I use Equine Pine (pelletted bedding, "exploded" in water) inside the henhouse, but that would just become mud outside!

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
?? It's a RUN--it's outside and not covered. There is a tarp over part of it, but of course water gets in. I can't prevent that. I won't put shavings or rice hull bedding outside--it would just be a mess. I use Equine Pine (pelletted bedding, "exploded" in water) inside the henhouse, but that would just become mud outside!

My sand run is also outside and not covered. No problems at all.