We recently had a new run built for our hens which also encompasses the hen house. This has now made it a permanent site. We have three hens in an area covering 8ft x 12ft and as much as we poo pick and hose down the earth it is still incredibly smelly! We've tried applying stalosan, turning over the earth and even laying small pebbles but to no avail. Is there anything else we can do? I can smell it depending on which way the wind blows and I don't want the neighbours complaining!

chicken poo only smells when it's wet.. so you're probably adding to the problem by hosing down and keeping it wet....I have a deep layer of straw in the run which absorbs the poo and dries it out.....I replace it every couple of weeks and dust the ground with stalosan...I also have a covered run....I don't have smells or flies..

Sand is excellent and will improve drainage. Also, if it is feasible to use 1/2 at a time, it gives the other side time to rest, and you can use stall powder to knock down the odor.

Jannie has beaten me to it, I was going to say that perhaps things are worse by dampening the ground. I've got my hen runs on an allotment, and I use straw on the surface of the runs, especially when weather awful. I do think the straw is a good idea, but it might not suit everyone.

We have a large permanent run for our 4 girls and get hardly any smell at all and we have the girls for 18 months now. We dig it over every week, have added fresh top soil on occasion and removed some soil to the veg patch too. I have also started spraying it with a poultry disinfectant (can't remeber the name of it right now).
Anyway, we also hose it down occasionally, but normally to water the large potted plant that is in the run and when it is exceptionally hot, but we never water the whole run, just a corner of it. Hope that helps...

hi re smell
i poop pick every couple of days but also scatter stalosan f down you can get online from various places it really helps with the smell esp when ground gets wet it seems abit expensive but you dont need much at a time
i didnt have a roof over the coop until april (one of the first thing i would say to anyone starting out is dont make that mistake)and live in town and really worry re smell etc for neighbours

I have woodchip/straw/eucalyptus horse bedding in my run, and so far it doesn't smell (but it is only 3 weeks!) I think the eucalyptus helps, and also deters flies.
I was a bit worried because the girls keep throwing the bedding out of their way so they can dig up the soil, and I was convinced they has mashed up poo in it! But so far, so good.
I just poo-pick what I can find daily, pull down the piles they create, and sprinkle a little more bedding when I think it needs it.
The first week, I raked it all up and composted it, but have stopped doing that weekly as it has been OK. Will just do it if I need to.

doesnt the straw go mouldy at all? wouldnt the straw attract the mice and rats to use it as a nest? i need something for my outside run because i now only have dirt where my newly fresh laid grass was.
sue

srunicorn69 wrote: doesnt the straw go mouldy at all? wouldnt the straw attract the mice and rats to use it as a nest? i need something for my outside run because i now only have dirt where my newly fresh laid grass was.
sue

Hasn't been a problem so far, but don't know how well it will work when the weather gets wet. The girls dig around in the run and mix the bedding with a lot of eath, but it doesn't seem to matter, though it does make it harder to poo-pick.
It's not just straw, there is quite a lot of wood chip in it too, and the eucalyptus def helps cover smells.
If/when it gets yuckky, I'll just rake it out and put it on the garden, and add a new layer of fresh stuff.

the chooks would eat any mice or rats making a nest in it , I use wood chip in my run, never really had a prob with smells

i certainly sounds a good idea. do you get problems with mice or rats? i have my budgies next door to them and quails so i have to be very careful.
sue

Haven't seen any rats or mice (though that doesn't for sure mean they are not there). Know we have had rats in the garden in the past, but not seen any sign of them recently, since we got the chooks.

I use sand in my run but be careful which one you use. I remember reading only sharp sand or children's play sand can be used and I think its to do with lime. Sharp sand has grit in it which helps with drainage and they love dust bathing in it. My run is covered so it stays dry and I poop pick daily and sprinkle with stalaston F once a week and just rake it. I do take out the odd bag full and top up with fresh sharp sand. If I was to dig it over then yes it would smell but if I just rake it then it is fine. The stalaston F keeps the flies away. I wouldnt water the run if I were you.

such a choice to choose from. i think i will try all and see which one suits me best.
thanks
sue