Solitary chicken - need advice

[margotthechicken]

Well, they've settled in, most are now laying, the fox appears to be kept at bay, but just when you think you're getting the hang of it, you're sat in the garden and you get drifts of whiff. My girls were originally going to be moved around the garden on a weekly basis, but I felt so sorry for them, sat in their tiny run, so we made them a bigger permenant (fox proof) run, wih a bigger enclosure for when we're home. But, the small run is beginning to smell. I rake it out regularly, and the actual coop is cleaned out daily, but can you give me some advice on what I can put down on the ground that will absorb the poo, without breaking the bank, and will need changing less often than every day!

 

Look forward to your help. Thanks.

[Redwing]

What is on the ground in the run at the moment (apart from chickens!)

[jomaxsmith]

Are you working on the smell from within? I mean, are you giving the hens any supplements to make their poo less smelly? Garlic powder and bokashi bran added to their food has this function.

 

Jo

[margotthechicken]

They have Garlic and Bokashi, and it's not the lovely smell of the girls themselves, it's the gound they're walking on all morning whilst I am at work. The area is around 5x2 metres, in the enclosed run, and it is sheltered under some beech trees, and the ground has turned a bit muddy, that mixed with poo and voila, a right old whiff! The add on high fenced run is much bigger at around 10x2 and that has remained dry and doesn't smell at all. The girls have scratched lots of earth up and made a loose flooring to it, but the sheer footfall of the girls in the smaller enclosure during the mornings is causing a bit of a problem. I can't let them into the bigger enclosure whilst I am at work as we have a family of three foxes that play on the green in front of the house, as soon as I get in they are opened up into the big run and when the children come home they are free range in the garden, which is approximately 1/3 acre. I can't move the runs as after Mr Fox came calling in February, we put up 6 foot chain link fencing to make the bigger run!

[Ain't Nobody Here]

As well as the bokashi and garlic, I would use Stalosan F and garden lime in the whiffy part of the run. They will disinfect the ground and help keep whiffs at bay . Do you use some sort of bedding in the whiffy bit? Hemcore or Easibed (kept dry with a roof cover) will absorb all the poo and keep it nice and dry and pong free!

[Busybird]

My girls are in an eglu run + extension on mud (used to be grass). It got very whiffy when I first got them - especially when it rained.

 

Now I dig the mud over about once a month and add garden lime. When I have raked that into the dug over earth I sprinkle Stalosan F on top. This seems to have helped a lot with the whiffs.

 

You are very vigilant if you clean their house every day. I empty the poo tray daily but the house only gets cleaned weekly

 

I give the girls bokashi bran a couple of times a week and garlic powder - which they hate - when I can add it to particularly yummy treats that I know they will eat anyway. I can't say that I have noticed that either of these cut down the smell but the bokashi firms up the poo so makes it easier to remove.

 

It seems that most people here use bedding in the run. I don't as my run is not fully covered and I didn't want to end up with a soggy mess.

[lizh]

Hi there,

 

I have a wooden coop and similar set up to you ie, a covered enclosed run and an extended open run through our borders. Over the past couple of weeks I noticed that although I clean the coop out thoroughly each week with poultry shield and diatom, it was starting to give off a slight smell and the same for both runs. So on a visit to the local supply shop I picked up some Stalosan F and got round to using it yesterday. I really can't believe the difference!! Fantastic product, dries up damp patches and really deodorises the whiffs!! I would highly recommend it, I bought the 8kg box for £11.50 and although it is a bit of an expensive product you only need a handful sprinkled over each square metre and I plan to use it as I feel its needed (maybe once a month) so hopefully it will last for quite some time.

 

Best wishes

Liz

[WitchHazel]

Chicken poo and mud is a smelly combo.

 

If your run is covered then you might want to try Hemcore or Aubiose, which are both horse bedding. This absorbs the poo and the smells, and only needs changing (well, based on my experience) every 8 weeks or so.

 

If the run is open, then you might want to try rubber chippings. There's another thread about that. They are available from here http://www.chickenkeeper.co.uk/shop/64-mud-management.html Alison will work out the depth you need and the cost is about £10 per square metre plus delivery. The plus side is that they don't need replacing, you just need to hose them down.

 

Hope that helps!

[chelsea]

I agree with the above - something on the floor of the run such as aubiose, hemcore, eazibed, or similar will help tremendously with the smell as instead of the poos getting trodden into the mud (and going nowhere) the poo will get absorbed into the bedding on the floor and then you can just rake out the run and the poos go with it!

 

As a tip I use an old yellow duster which is hung up from the rafters of my walk in run (like a little chicken flag!) . I make up in a garden sprayer a concoction of water, a few drops of lavender oil, eucalyptus oil and citronella oil - shake it up and 2-3 times a week (particularly in warm weather) I spray the rag till its damp with the sweet smelling solution. It makes the run smell fresh and also keeps away flies.