Neighbor Complaint- Stinky Yard. Advice??

[Hayduke27]

Hi everyone,

I have an urban flock, and my neighbors have been very tolerant of my antics for many years now. Today I came home to a note from one neighbor that explained the smell from my yard was getting strong, and he was hoping there was something I could do to "refresh" things a bit.

Now my backyard, the chicken yard, is all dirt minus a compost pile. The compost is made up primarily of yard trimmings, weeds from the garden, and it's also where I dump the pine shavings when I clean my coop out. The compost pile is the only thing out there that really has a smell, and I suspect it is my culprit. This spring when I dug into it to get some compost for the gardens I noticed it smelled a long stronger than in the past, though I'm not exactly sure why. I think all the poopy pine shavings composting is my best bet.

Has anybody ever dealt with this before? Does anyone have any advice for a way or ways I might go about "refreshing" my yard? I thought maybe if I give the whole compost pile area a good soaking with the hose? Maybe some of that DE stall deodorizer? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

 

[aart]

Sounds like you are not managing your compost pile well enough, it can take some work.

Or it may also be chicken poop on bare dirt in your 'chicken yard'.
Once my run turned from grass to dirt it stunk until I started putting wood chippings and dry plant matter in there.

Pics of your yard and how many birds you have might help.

 

[Fishkeeper]

I'd cover that compost pile over with whatever you can, and start adding more plant matter. If nothing else, a tarp over it may contain some of the stink.

And apologize to your neighbor via free eggs. That should go a long way towards him putting up with you figuring things out. Just let him know you're working on the smell thing. Maybe consider explaining what the problem is and what you're doing, if he seems interested at all.

You could also consider planting things (protected from the chickens) to help hide the smlel.

 

[Verbon30]

There are some things you can buy to help with smell have not tried it myself but been thinking about it. I don't think my coop is that smelly but I try to keep in mind that people become nose blind to every day smells.summer heat tend to make smells worst I live in Florida so I know this well. Try planting nice smelling plant I started some mint around mine. If you got to many chicken for your space you might want to down size your flock. It might be hard but your flock will be healthier.

 

[PirateGirl]

If you aren't getting the right balance of greens and browns in your compost and it stinks you may need to look at what's going into it. You said you didn't have the problem in the past, so it could even have to do with weather (temp and moisture both). To appease your neighbors, a compost tumbler might be in your future.

 

[The Moonshiner]

I'd.get rid of the compost pile altogether.
IMO it wouldn't be worth having it if it's causing concerns and my chickens were getting the blame.
Then again though I'm a huge fan of chickens and not a compost fan at all.

 

[Fishkeeper]

Depending on the size of the chicken area, you could try deep litter, and just have that instead of your compost pile.

 

[wyoDreamer]

First step is to turn your compost.
Mix it all together. Make sure to get it loosened up so there is alot of air in there for the bacteria. If the compost pile is allowed to get too wet and compacted, the only bacteria working is anaerobic and those are the ones that smell bad. Know how when you lift a pile of grass clippings that was left too ling and it is slimy and gross - that is anaerobic bacteria at work.
You probably have too much nitrogen in your compost pile - that will make it smell also. You need to maintain an even mix of nitrogen and carbon - by weight - to have a healthy compost pile. Nitrogen sources are coop cleanings, fresh cut grass, kitchen scraps. Carbon sources would be dry leaves, shredded newspaper, wood chips. Notice how nitrogen sources tend to be dense and heavy, but carbon is much lighter - if you go by volume (fill a box), you need about 7 times more carbon than nitrogen.
Can you get some shredded paper, dead leaves or hay to mix into the compost pile - maybe make a thin layer of it on top after mixing a bunch of it into the pile. Mixing it will also add oxygen to the pile and will help get rid of bad smell caused by anaerobic bacteria.
Make sure it is damp, but not soaking wet.

 

[Mrs. K]

I too think too much green. Kick, or toss that apart and top it with sawdust, or old hay, or straw, anything to get it dried out. WET increases smell big time, dry decreases it.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Often the culprit in a compost heap is too much moisture, so no, don't wet it! Instead, turn it. If it's black, slimy, and smelly, add something dry like old hay or straw in layers, ending with a thick layer of the hay or straw. After a week or so, turn it and it should be nice and dry inside. Moist and steamy that is, but not slimy and black and stinky. Repeat if needed.