Solitary chicken - need advice

[sgregson]

Hi

 

Can anyone offer my some good advice about what to do with my chicken run as it's really smelling. The run is currently on rubber chippings but with all the rain we've had over the last few weeks the smell has become unbearable and the rubber chippings have disappeared into the mud! I gave it a good hose down yesterday but it still really smells.

 

I've read on here that it's good to use a horse bedding or wood chip - does this mean that I need to cover the run with something to keep it dry? And if so, will the chickens have enough air?

 

Any advice would be greatly received as not sure what to do for the best.

 

Chickens have the garlic powder and bokashi bran mixed in with their food so I don't think I can do much more in terms of what they're eating.

 

Any advice would be much appreciated!

 

Thanks, Sal

[xScrunchee]

Horse bedding is great. You will need a roof or cover on your run but the girls will still have enough air.

 

If you have an Eglu run people use plastic sheeting, clear shower curtains or corrugated (however you spell it ) plastic.

[sgregson]

Thanks - think I'll go down the horse bedding route!

 

If we ever get a sunny day ( ) will it not be like a greenhouse in there for the girls if the run is completely covered?

[xScrunchee]

Maybe don't have the plastic coming right down to the ground? Let some air flow around the bottom.

 

Rain will get in no matter what you do to be honest but plastic over the top will keep most of it out.

 

I have a walk in run with a roof but rain blows in the sides, runs in at the bottom, so it still gets wet just not half as much as it would without a roof.

 

Just thought-you could even roll the plastic back on the warm days and just cover it if it rains or looks likely to rain?

[Redwing]

I have woodchip in my Eglu run, I cover the very top with a corrugated plastic sheet and the end where the food and door is I have an Omlet funshade that covers pretty ,much that end so there is airflow

 

The airflow helps with the smell too!

 

As its woodchip it doesnt matter if it gets a bit wet at the sides

 

If you use the horse bedding cover the run more than I do maybe down to where the run falls off so about two thirds of the arch leaving about 6 inches to just under a foot free at the sides to let some air in, the bedding at the very edges will get damp but it should dry again ok, alternatively cover it well leaving the end free and pull up the sides on warm days

 

You can always use dark sunshades like the green omlet ones over the top of the clear plastic to provide shade if there is no natural shade for them

[jlo]

 

I have the shower curtains over the run but have also put picnic waterproof rugs on for shade. It looks a bit like a make shift nuclear fall out shelter but it seems to work. When we had very hot days, I took the plastic curtains off and put wrung out towels on the top to keep them a bit cooler as someone else suggested on here.

 

Sadly, I don't think that this will be necessary for the rest of the summer

[Olly]

Wow, what a huge garden JLo - those trees look enormous!

 

Keeping the run dry is absolutely key to stopping it getting smelly, the girls won't suffocate if you leave some space at the sides, but you need the top covered.

 

Aubiose/hemcore (horsey bedding) is very good at soaking up both rain and poo, the rubber chippings sounded great but quite a few people on here seem to have had problems with them. I don't know if it's better if you keep them dry from the start.

 

The other thing you can do is feed garlic powder mixed in with the pellets or mash, it cuts down on the very acidic smell, but to be honest I suspect your problems are more to do with the wet. I put a thin layer of aubiose in my run, I don't rake or dig it out nearly as often as I should do, but I can say hand on heart that it doesn't smell and I think that's because it is pretty much covered - one Omlet Cube shade, one Omlet Eglu shade, and a clear plastic Ikea shower curtain.

[sjp]

I've just dug my run out it's been down 2or3 months didn't smell of poo just damp wood chips and soil. the runs got a roof but the sides are only mesh so the bedding has been getting a good soaking just lately

[Jennyhenny]

Sal,

 

I have the same problem, I actually raked all the rubber chippings up and put them in a riddle and hosed them down. I put a membrane down in the run and put them back on so hoping with the membrane there would be no mud, god knows how but I'm sure there is some mud back in. The smell is still there also, fellow Omletters have suggested putting Stalosan F down to help with the smell but I am still trying to find some locally but not having much luck.

 

How you doing, have you changed your flooring?

 

Jennyhenny

[teri]

my run had the same problem it stank so bad my kids complained

i dug out all of the mud and dumped it. i dug down about 5" and filled it with wood chip. i have also added a temporary roof using a tarpauling and i have no smell

i am now going to invest in putting a proper roof on using corrugated clear plastic, about (£10 a strip). i'm also going to add guttering and a water butt as i think rain water is better for the girls than tap water.

i have found keeping chickens a great learning curve which i think i am now getting to the the end of!

they don't smell, they are easy to clean and get to stay out for longer...they used to leg it the second the heavens opened!!!

[Plum]

I would take care when using rain water for the chickens. Ok if fresh but I understand the bacteria that colonise it can be quite harmful.

[Sheilaz]

...Can anyone offer my some good advice about what to do with my chicken run as it's really smelling.....

 

Hi, just throwing in a wild card idea; Do your hens have layers mash(rather than pellets)?

Early on, I couldn't bare the smell of our 1st Eglu run, but it wasn't the poop! The scattered mash caused a really foul stench, so it's worth considering if uneaten food could be the root cause?

Just a thought!

[bexbex]

I agree with the above post. Mine are on pellets though and the day we got them I accidently spilt some when was filling up the feeders. A few days later the run was stinky and filled with flies... I had to wash the woodchips down and sprinkly on a good helping of Stalosan F which seemed to do the trick. I've been extra careful since with the feed and can't smell them at all now

Becki

x

[teri]

I would take care when using rain water for the chickens. Ok if fresh but I understand the bacteria that colonise it can be quite harmful.

thanks for the advice i honestly hadn't thought about it being harmful to them ...i'll keep it for the lawn!

[cockadoodle1]

Merrydale poultry in Leicester have StalosanF in stock . Fairly close to Nottingham I think. Website is merrydalepoultry.co.uk

[Olly]

I have to say that although the SuperGlug is always filled with fresh water, the first thing my chickens do when let out of the run is rush to the nearest plant saucer or other container, and slurp down as much dirty water as they can get in their beaks!

 

I suppose if you have a standing container like a waterbutt then bacteria could build up in it, but I don't think rainwater as such is going to be too harmful.

[sgregson]

Thanks for all your replies and advice.

 

The smell was that bad that we decided to completely dig out the run yesterday - there was approx 3" of rubber chippings, poo, mud and food and then we left it for a while in the sun to dry out.

 

 

We've now resorted to putting a heavy duty clear sheet that covers the run over the top down to about 2/3 of the way down and have filled it with wood shavings - is that the same as woodchip?! I went out this morning and the run only smells of freshly cut wood and the chooks seem quite happy with their new floor too!

 

I totally agree with Sheila and think that it's uneaten food that got wet with the rain that was causing the stench and this was being trampled into the mud.

[Steph101]

Hi there.

 

I've had EXACTLY the same problems as you. We spent half of yesterday digging out stinking rubber chippings, and we are getting ready to slab the whole area and put aubiose down in the run instead. My OH is losing the will to live; I've changed my mind som amy times now about how we should keep the chickens and what the set up should be!

[jlo]

Wow, what a huge garden JLo - those trees look enormous!

 

 

I was trying out the panorama effect on my new mobile phone so it looks bigger than it actually is!

 

The question still remains: Why is it that with all that ground to scratch at, my bluebelle still insists on sitting on the patio waiting to be fed!

 

Good points above about the food smelling. I think that that is often the problem with our runs too.