Flies and smell

[Liza]

Anyone any good ideas ?

1) I am inundated with flies around the run and they are coming in the house.

2) Can I use Lump wood charcoal ash to help deodorise the run, as the neighbors are making a few comments about the farm yard smell !

The run is on stones/mud and I am washing down with ***** ?

I have a big bag of hemp that I use in the house, can I put this on the floor of the run ? the run is uncovered.

Many thanks

[Suechooks]

I use the fly traps that catch the flies in a bag of water (the expensive one are called Red Top fly catcher - I get a cheaper version from Countrywide) and have done for several years very successfully. You place them away from the run to draw the flies away from it. I'd guess you just might be making the run smell by wetting it so much. I find mine smell worse in the wet weather. In summer the poop dries up very quickly and loses any smell. Could you get hold of any wood chip so you can rake it up and compost it? The other thing I use is Stalosan F which is a powder disinfectant and it takes up the moisture (hygroscopic?). That helps too. Hope that helps. I exect other will be along with more ideas soon.

[Two_Sheds]

My SiL has just got 3 chickens, and they've filled up a fly catcher already (one of the old-fashioned sticky tapes hung from a bush).

As Sue says, the poop is much nicer if left to dry out a bit. Wet poop smells just ghastly *retch*

[Flummery]

Mine are on a hard surface with several inches of hemp bedding. This dries the poo very quickly and you can collect it up in nice neat lumps. I also have a roof over the run so the flooring doesn't get wet. I think Sue is right in saying that wet flooring smells much worse. We have the odd few flies around but not noticable more in the run than out. They also chase and I suspect, eat them! Little monsters!

[lindyloo]

heres a tip that i was told when i lived in rural germany; fill a clear plastic (lg. freezer size) bag with water and hang it up near and in sheds and stables. it keeps the flies away as they think there is a larger predator. it does work. smells- it shouldnt really smell that bad if you dont have a large amount of chicken. keep it well ventilated and shaded. elder repels flies and can provide shade. if they do smell a lot, i would get some eucalyptus, geranium, lavender, citronella essential oil,( neem oil is a great repellent but smells awlful so the nieghbors might not like it either) mix all of the oil with some yylang yylang, and mix in a spray bottle with half oil- any sort- veg. oil will do, and half water. shake before spraying, and i would then spray the outer woodwork of the chicken house and run. it will help to repel flies, and mask the smells. yylang yylang is very strong, so use sparingly.

as everyone else has said, get a deep layer of shavings down to soak up the flop, or even use straw in the outer run- the wet and muck will drop through to lower level so it is not getting trampled into the walking surface

[Liza]

My SiL has just got 3 chickens, and they've filled up a fly catcher already (one of the old-fashioned sticky tapes hung from a bush).

As Sue says, the poop is much nicer if left to dry out a bit. Wet poop smells just ghastly *retch*

Tell me about it, the run is under my kitchen window !

Ive just been out and bought 4 sticky fly catchers.

Flum, I may have to think about covering and then use my hemp.

Thanks Sue will look in to the fly catcher and Stalosan.

My fingers are a stuck together !

[RichmondHens]

I would certainly keep the run dry. Don't keep wetting it. The poo will dry out and disintegrate very quickly in this weather. I can't help feeling that if it is as bad as you say you have the chickens in too small a space and the poo is too concentrated in one area. The run really shouldn't be smelling like you say it is.

[frias]

I poo pick every day as although I only have 7 chooks, that's still approximately 140 poops a day! I find hemcore absorbs any wet ones and stops the smells. I also have 4 red tops fly catchers around the garden. I buy the bait in Spain when I can as it's much cheaper.

[Snadger]

I use Zoflora everywhere.................and the chooks area smells sweet!
No real problems with flies either. I leave any cobwebs I see so the spiders can do their job!

[MrsC]

Got to agree that wet weather and chooks make any smell worse. It shouldn't smell at all at the moment really, hot weather and dried out chicken poo doesn't smell really. I put lemon balm in the house but I do remove any poo every day so also.

[its hilly]

Another vote for dont wet the run and it will smell less. Try Putting a cheap tarpaulin over it in wet weather to keep it dry, and if you can put down paving slabs, then a good thick layer of shavings/hemp/straw (pick your favourite) for scratching in and sprinkle with the disinfectant powder you can get for stables/coops. If you scoop out the worst poo every day, or couple of days its not as hard work as thick litter sounds.

[Liza]

I have let the run dry out and put a thick layer of hemp down, smells almost gone and only a few flies.

Ordered fly catcher.

Frias I am dog sitting/holidaying in Spain for my mum in a couple of weeks, do they sell the bait in the ferreteria ?

Thankyou for your replies !

[frias]

Possibly in ferreteria or garden centre but I buy in the co-operative where locals sell their olives, almonds, carobs etc. There's a small shop inside for farmers to buy essentials. Anyone can shop there. The packet says CEBO CAZAMOSCAS para trampa Redtop. In fact in Spain I put it in a litre plastic bottle, add water (rain water is best) shake then leave a couple of days then shake again and add half to another litre bottle. Make a few holes near the top of the bottle and hang in garden. I don't bother with proper Redtop bag anymore and have lots of these bottle hanging around our finca in Spain where there are a lot more flies than here. When water starts to evaporate, carefully add more water. As bottle fill up the smell of dead flies is horrible but only when you stand close!
Good luck.
Avril

[tlck9]

Zoflora?

Any particular powder disinfectant?

and final question as

I have some fly sticky tapes but worried that a chuck might try and fly up and get stuff to it?

[sheena]

I have some fly sticky tapes but worried that a chuck might try and fly up and get stuff to it?

I was worried about this too, but I hang it from the top of my run (approx 6ft) and I have to say that the girl's haven't even bothered with it.
It hangs down quite a bit, and they have a perch that is 2ft off the floor and haven't used that leverage either (was half expecting it).

I now change the papers daily, as they do love to throw their water around the place and it's making it soggy in that part. Have just upgraded them from a normal drinker to the trough Brambles suggested just today, so we shall see what happens now.