Ammonia smell in coop-first time owner

[j00lz_12366]

hi

We had torrential rain in the night and when I got up this morning theres a stripe of wet easibed about 2feet wide running right down the length of the run. It hasn't got pools of water or anything but you can see the difference in colour between the wet and dry stuff. Should I shovel it out straight away or leave it to dry today and hope for the best (it seems like a nice sunny day out there now...if necessary I could shovel it out tonight and replace-would they be ok with this 'stripe' for now..?

 

Thanks

[karlotta]

I think i'd leave it for a bit for the top to dry out and then fluff it up with a fork or similar to encourage the underneath bits to dry out.

 

The chickens will be fine with it... in fact they'll probably have great fun digging in it in the hope of finding a worm and do the aerating for you!

[Egluntyne]

I'd leave it to dry out, which it will do quite quickly.

[j00lz_12366]

thats good-if i'd have thought i would have fastened some rubble and compost bags up with bungee ropes to provide a little protection..

 

aah well..i'll rake it later

 

Thanks all!

[teacake]

about 1/3 of the littlemax (like bedmax but little) in our WIR got soaked last night too, it's the first time we've had rain since we got the chooks, I'm hoping it will dry out soon. the girls don't seem to mind, although they were a bit confused at first I think.....

[j00lz_12366]

Ive raked it but its not making much difference I dont think-I let the girls out and they really enjoyed a quick 10 mins 'escape' but ive shooed them back in now..i'll see how it is later

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I would leave it too . If it's not drying out by itself, I'd rake it into the dry stuff which should help soak up the moisture.

[Henchanted]

I have broken mine up (I use Aubiose but I think its very similar) with play sand and small amount of hardwood chips to give it more airiness and on the odd occasion it has got wet so far it seems to dry very quickly.

I suppose you could always try the lesser known hairdryer method

[j00lz_12366]

I was actually considering getting the hairdryer out while my o/h was out...but wasnt sure where there was an extension lead!!

 

I raked it a few times and then got all the deep dry stuff-that'd collected under the feeders and ramps etc and added that to it..seemed a bit better

 

Thanks