What to use to make run smell fresh and clean?

[Robert Kazlauski]

I hope someone can help me.

What products can I purchase and apply or put down in the run to make it smell good and clean? Currently I sprinkle a very small layer of First Saturday Lime then a small layer of some product that is chicken friendly (cant remember the name) that is used to absorb urine in horse stalls. Then I add wooden chips and another layer of First Saturday Lime and the horse product for chickens.. I feel as if I am not doing it right. I dont care how many products that I have to purchase and apply, I just want it to smell fragrant and clean.

Please tell me the names of the best products to use and specifically how to use them. I know that there are a lot of products on the market that claim they are good, but many are not. I am looking for personal successful recommendations based on your experiences.

Thank you so much for any suggestions that you can give me. I appreciate your time and effort!

 

[ChicNmom]

You may have unrealistic expectations as to how fragrant and clean a chicken coop will smell.

It sounds like you are using Sweet PDZ. I also use that. I have a dirt/sand floor in my coop. Once a year I'll shovel out some of the top layer and add 25 new bags of sand and sweet PDZ. My coop smells decent for a month or two. I scoop the poops out and rake. But even after a good detailed coop clean out it still smells a little farm like.

I also use Odoban for coop cleaning and disinfecting.

 

[rosemarythyme]

We'd more info to pinpoint the issue - how big's the run? How many chickens? What's your climate and soil type at the location like? Is the run roofed/covered or not? What is your litter currently (sounds like a form of deep litter, but what all is in the mix)?

I don't believe in magical add-ins. Someone just posted a similar thread a day or two ago and I said: Odor comes from a combination of poop, moisture, lack of carbon (for composting) and lack of aeration. Masking it is only a band-aid and won't fix anything.

If drainage is addressed, and you have an appropriate chicken to litter ratio, and the litter is aerated and has a good amount of carbon in it, then you should have no odor issues. My run was a sticky mud pit at one point, and after I added a lot more chunky wood chips it stabilized because aeration and carbon were addressed. I've had people stand right next to the run and think it wasn't in use because they don't smell a thing.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I think your expectations might be a little high as well. I love First Saturday Lime and I often use Sweet PDZ in my coop. I have tried the charcoal stuff for horse stalls in the run (I can't remember the name either) but I find that more space makes for less smell and chicken poop smells but wet chicken poop smells worse. None of the things I've mentioned are remedies for that. Good drainage, however, will help.

 

[Robert Kazlauski]

You may have unrealistic expectations as to how fragrant and clean a chicken coop will smell.

It sounds like you are using Sweet PDZ. I also use that. I have a dirt/sand floor in my coop. Once a year I'll shovel out some of the top layer and add 25 new bags of sand and sweet PDZ. My coop smells decent for a month or two. I scoop the poops out and rake. But even after a good detailed coop clean out it still smells a little farm like.

I also use Odoban for coop cleaning and disinfecting.

Yes, I do use Sweet PDZ. What do
you think of it? Satisfied with it?

 

[Robert Kazlauski]

I think your expectations might be a little high as well. I love First Saturday Lime and I often use Sweet PDZ in my coop. I have tried the charcoal stuff for horse stalls in the run (I can't remember the name either) but I find that more space makes for less smell and chicken poop smells but wet chicken poop smells worse. None of the things I've mentioned are remedies for that. Good drainage, however, will help.

Thank you for your reply. I dont want to mislead you in thinking that my run is gross and horrible. It is not. There is some poop on the dirt run floor and the area needs to be raked and debris removed. I dont know what happened to the wood chips. They seem to be gone but the dirt smells but not horrendous. I just dont want it to get worse and have neighbors complain.

 

[Robert Kazlauski]

Oh, does anyone know the name of the charcoal stuff for horse stalls used in the runs?

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Yeah I didn't get the impression your run was a disaster at all just that you might want it to smell like your chickens eat roses lol. I have been worried about neighbors complaining too especially when it's been raining a lot and I have tried all kinds of things including planting rosemary and lavender on the outside of the run. I think Sweet PDZ is the stall refresher but the charcoal stuff is this (which didn't help me much but maybe in larger quantities). What did help was building up the substrate so it would drain out of the run and adding lots and lots of sand.

 

[Robert Kazlauski]

Yeah I didn't get the impression your run was a disaster at all just that you might want it to smell like your chickens eat roses lol. I have been worried about neighbors complaining too especially when it's been raining a lot and I have tried all kinds of things including planting rosemary and lavender on the outside of the run. I think Sweet PDZ is the stall refresher but the charcoal stuff is this (which didn't help me much but maybe in larger quantities). What did help was building up the substrate so it would drain out of the run and adding lots and lots of sand. View attachment 3934340

So kind of you to respond. What do you mean by building up the substrate so it would drain from run? And what is substrate?

 

[Robert Kazlauski]

Yeah I didn't get the impression your run was a disaster at all just that you might want it to smell like your chickens eat roses lol. I have been worried about neighbors complaining too especially when it's been raining a lot and I have tried all kinds of things including planting rosemary and lavender on the outside of the run. I think Sweet PDZ is the stall refresher but the charcoal stuff is this (which didn't help me much but maybe in larger quantities). What did help was building up the substrate so it would drain out of the run and adding lots and lots of sand. View attachment 3934340

What does everyone else think about this product? Would you recommend or use it? Did you find it helpful or better than other products?