[Pig Cat]

Recently my chicken run has started smelling strange. It has a strong sickly-sweet scent to it that is not at all pleasant. I have five hens who are laying pretty well and appear healthy and happy. My only idea as to the cause would be their diet. I give them layers pellets in the morning and either scraps or corn in the afternoon. Has anybody experienced this kind of smell before? Let me know if you need more information. Thanks in advance!

[poohpouri]

is it like ammonia smell?

[ANHBUC]

Hi Pig Cat, what surface do you have in your run and how often do you poo pick or clean it out?  Is the run covered as when their poo gets wet it does smell worse. 

[helens-hens]

Hi there

Not sure about the smell but you mention that they have layers pellets in the morning - they should be available to them all day as the main part of a balanced diet. I am sure most of us give our birds a few scraps or a handful of corn etc but they should be able to access the pellets throughout the day.

What sort of flooring do you have in their run?

[Pig Cat]

The smell isn't ammonia. It's hard to describe exactly but is kind of sweet and makes me feel a bit sick.

The run is soil and has been since we moved here in October. Previously the hens were also in a soil run but for the three years we've had them I've never smelled that smell before. The soil at our old place was very clay but here is is much more of a normal type of top-soil, though I doubt that makes a difference.

I take the point about the pellets. I need to make a sheltered spot where I can put a food dispenser for the hens. That said I've had this routine ever since we got them so nothing has changed. I think the most likely cause is something in the poo of one or more of the hens. The smell has only been around a few days. It has been dry here for a long time up until a few days ago. It's possible the problem has been present for a while but is only noticeable since the ground has become muddy.

[ANHBUC]

Is their food in a feeder or do you throw it onto the ground for them to peck at.  If so any that has not been eaten will quickly go off and smell when wet.

You can use stalosan f on the soil which should help.

www.chicken-house.co.uk/acatalog/Stalosan_F_1_KG_bag.html

[kegs]

Have I read on here that putting garlic cloves in the chickens drinking water will stop their poo from smelling?        Or did I dream it???   

[ehs284]

A common cause of sweet odours in houses is a dead mouse - almost a boiled cabbage like odour. Any chance a nest has been destroyed or babies died when parents killed? Usually goes within a week. Another common cause is spilled liquid weed/pest killer; any chance a bottle has leaked somewhere near the run?

[Pig Cat]

Well thanks guys, some useful replies. After discussing this with my wife too (she's more sensible than me), I am starting to think that part of the smell is just the soil itself. Having moved here in the Autumn I am only just getting the smell of fresh soil, and that plus the chicken poo and a few remaining vegetable scraps is most likely causing it.

One thing I intend to do is ensure after reading this thread is that the hens get a constant supply of pellets. I shall construct a small shelter and hang a feeder inside it that I'll keep topped up.

[ANHBUC]

Any vegetable scraps that they leave are best binned as soon as possible so they don't eat rotting veg.     

[shetan]

if your run is fixed/stationary, you may find that the soil the run is kept on has turned 'sour'.

after wet winters we found there to be a more pungent smell in the run area and believe it to be the poo + rain water trampled into the ground. turning the soil helped but this turned out to be a temporary fix.

you might want to consider moving the run and allowing the ground to rest or if this isn't an option, putting something down to absorb the moisture. i'm sure someone will be able to suggest something suitable.

we have permanently solved the problem by putting the runs on slabs and hosing them down every week. hope that helps.

[kopperdrake]

If you can give the chickens a temporary run somewhere else you could lime the ground to help neutralise the odours and ph of the soil, which might help.

[Tony H]

Hi i had the same problem and found that when i covered the run compleatly the smell was much better 

[Flossiej]

I've noticed that our run smells since we've had the heavy rain recently.

I've allowed the soil to dry out as much as possible as it was like a bog a few days ago despite the run being covered with tarpaulin and have sprinkled a good amount of stalosan F over the soil and covered this with a layer of ComfyBed ( fine wood chippings for horses) which has freshened everything up nicely.

My girls are now in there rearranging all my hard work!

[ManicMum]

I recommend a treadle feeder - since I got one, my chickens have had free access to pellets all day but the feed is safe from rats & wild birds etc.