[cejx]

another post on what to put down on the floor.  IN brief!

5 chooks in a hen house 12x6ft with the bedroom upstairs.  The bedroom is easy to keep clean and this is done once a week.  The 'day time' space is on earth, and whilst I poo pick daily, and there is a bit of straw there to pick up excess moisture - it doesn't half stink!  They are allowed out to rampage round the garden when we're at home.  Has anyone any advice on flooring/bedding for their outside bit, as it is a little whiffy.

[Casey76]

Apparantly if you sprinkle stalosan F it helps with the smell.

[Pertelotte]

I have my girls in a shed of similar dimensions, but have covered the wooden flooring with vinyl  and straw (which the girls cover with other stuff). It doesn't prevent smells, but it's really easy to clean and mops down a treat - although I always have a feathered supervisor.

I got the vinyl as an offcut so it wasn't too expensive, with the edges lapping up at the sides, so there are only corners to catch muck. You might want to consider horse bedding at it is really absorbent.

Does this help?

[retribution]

i have this same problem wit the straw, cleaned it up today and boy did it wiff, my run has a roof but the sides alow water in. we have the run on our patio. i haveseen some people recommend wood chips. boy i wish i had brought a coop with a run you could walk in. hands and knees is no fun at all.

[Dickie73]

Hi,
I had a similar problem. We have now tried sand (play sand - two bags worth) on the floor of the run (which had grass for about a week before they scratched it all up) and a bag's worth of wood chips and four weeks in it's really working for us. Not smelly, any rain water drains away well and i don;t really need to poo pick as it all gets trodden into the sand which i just rake over once a week. not sure how we will fair when the weather starts to warm up though but for now it's really good.