timhenman Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 finally the chickens are due to arrive within the next week (hurrah) thanks to all you guys at omlet who helped me out and made my dream of poultry keeping possible but............ Neighbours are all happy except one..... He is afraid that the smell will be to strong to bear personally I don’t think there should be any problem but some reassurance would be very nice. The enclosure is 14 squared approximately anti fox fence is up complete with one foot under ground trench (boy did that digging take it out on me), no special ground is down yet though only loose earth My main dilemma is will there de an over powering smell, if so how should i best avoid it and what sort of ground should i put down Any help would be much appreciated Thank you all once again for all the help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandychick Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 They are really very easy to keep smell free I would definatly reccomend Auboise or hemcore to go in the run. It keeps it smelling nice as it absorbes and dries out the poo - also makes life easier for cleaning out etc. If you do use this though, the run would need to be covered as it can get quite smelly if it gets wet in the rain. Also, adding garlic powder to their pellets makes a big difference in making their poo less smelly! I think your neighbour will be surprised at how much they don't smell. I have asked my neighbours and neither of them can smell anything at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 With good husbandry there should be no problem. Sprinkling a bit of garden lime on the ground where they range ill sweeten it up if it does get a bit whiffy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurmurf Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 How many are you planning to get? I've got 6 and it doesn't smell as all until I lift out the poo trays and put them in the compost, then the lid shuts and it's done. I have used garlic powder and bokashi from the beginning and I do poo-pick in the garden every couple of days but I don't think I've gone out of my way to keep smells at bay... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beach chick Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 mine dont smell at all, and I am the sluttiest chicken mummy!! I clean out the eglu once a week (or 10 days if weather doesnt suit), I dont poo pick, I only gave them bokashi the once, umm, but they still dont smell - if you stick your head inside the porthole the day before cleaning, well yes - but outside in the fresh air? no way! good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 I've only got 3 but don't get any smells at all. I don't even notice a smell from the poo tray when it's full . I use garlic powder & bokashi bran in their feed, hemcore/easibed, garden lime and Stalosan F in the run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keyhole kate Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 mine dont smell at all, and I am the sluttiest chicken mummy!! I clean out the eglu once a week (or 10 days if weather doesnt suit), I dont poo pick, I only gave them bokashi the once, umm, but they still dont smell - if you stick your head inside the porthole the day before cleaning, well yes - but outside in the fresh air? no way! good luck. same here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Watch Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 Mine don't smell. - Garlic powder, and sometimes bokashi, in their feed. - Aubiose (which is horse bedding, or Hemcore is another brand) in the run as it soaks up poo amazingly. On the very, very occasional wet, humid, warm day I can smell a slight "farmyardy" smell if I get close to the run. But I don't smell it from the back door or in the garden generally, just up close in their area. But I think that's only been maybe 2 days that I can think of this year on really warm PLUS wet days. Warm days are OK. Wet days are OK. It seems to be a combination thing. I doubt though that your neighbours would notice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 I've only got 3 but don't get any smells at all. I don't even notice a smell from the poo tray when it's full . I use garlic powder & bokashi bran in their feed, hemcore/easibed, garden lime and Stalosan F in the run. Neither do mine - I've got 3 in a cube and extended run. I also put a bit of Stalosan F in the poo trays - but even if you stick your head in the cube, it doesn't smell. I've been pleasantly surprised! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timhenman Posted October 11, 2008 Author Share Posted October 11, 2008 Thanks to all you guys once again Should be relatively simple to get the ho"Ooops, word censored!" bedding And thanks for the great advice: mrgreen: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bokbokbok Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 I'm coming to this one a bit late, hope you still need some help. I started off with *all of the above* - hemcore down, bokashi in food etc. After a couple of weeks I found the hemcore refused to dry out so we put slab paving down with hemcore over the top. That has helped a lot and I would recommend it to anyone who is thinking of putting hemcore in their run as it will soak up from the bottom as much as soak down from the top. I have had a spot of bad smells this week though and have to say that chickens CAN smell. I think I keep on top of the cleaning regime as best I can but the run is decidedly pongy at the moment. I think I'm down to the last layer of the hemcore (after removing poo over some time) and it needs totally removed and replaced and I am hoping to get that done as soon as possible. I don't think the neighbour who would be close enough to smell them would be close enough to really worry about it - they would only catch a whiff as they get in to their car. But yes - they can smell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timhenman Posted October 12, 2008 Author Share Posted October 12, 2008 thank you onece again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timhenman Posted October 12, 2008 Author Share Posted October 12, 2008 i hope to get some pictures up when the ladies arive should be about half term time! i cant wait! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 Bokbokbok, have you tried Stalosan F on your slabs? You don't need lime as your run's not on soil but Stalosan is supposed to help keep niffs down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
