Will baking soda kill chickens?

[Hypnotist_Collectr]

I wasn't sure where to post this, so I did it here...
My chickens are 9.5 weeks old and still in the house as we are finalizing the coop, still.... (Yeah, hubby bought them without a plan, and then had to go out of town for a couple of weeks, and is OOT again...) It is mostly varmint proofing left, and I am guessing they will be out of the house in about 3 more days...but, it is taking me longer to put the finishing touches on their coop... (mis-measuring the chicken escape hatch, adding hardware cloth, etc, is taking me sooo much longer than I thought.. ) and it keeps getting up in the 100's by noon, so I only have 4 hours in the morning and a couple at night...
Anyway, so, I am trying really hard... but my problem is, they STINK SO BAD!

I have changed the entire brooder's, cleaned the brooder with vinegar and soap...went outside to toss the litter into the compost heap... and when I came back in, it still smelled like poop already!!!

I thought maybe I had wafted it into the air, so when I left to go pick up my kids 3 hours later, I opened the door & the house still smelled. Terrible. They are in about 2-3 inches of wood shavings...
So, I just changed it, again, and dusted the bottom with baking soda for the stench... my 10 year old freaked out, and is thinking their guts are going to blow up. (Think Alka Seltzer.)
I mixed the BS around, and it is a very fine film on the bottom of the brooder... do you think this is okay? If I wind up with dead birds, I will be seriously upset...

I don't think they'd really be able to eat a whole bunch of it... but, now I am feeling worried...

 

[redhen]

I honestly dont really know. But i'd think if you put the baking soda under their bedding it shouldnt hurt them. There is also stuff called Stall Dry...(they sell it at a feed stores) that works pretty well also and its safe for animals.

 

[maplesky7]

I doubt they'll blow up.

You put it in your cookies don't you? And do you blow up? Well....I mean eating in moderation and not the whole dozen....

 

[antlers]

Baking soda is an akline. Farmers feed it to cattle to balance acid formation in their digestive tracts. It will not hurt them unless they eat a lot of it. That said, it seems like a costly and only partly a solution. Yes chick do smells. It just does. Problem is more from moisture. Wet manure stinks, dry does not. It is the gasses that are produced from bacterial action on the nutrient rich dodo that smells. No moisture, no bacterial action, no smell. Like the poster above said. Dry stall may be better but nothing is going to solve it entirely. Even a clean dog has an oder......

 

[Slywoody]

You might want to look into getting some DE to sprinkle around in the shavings. I use it and it works great.

 

[GardenWeasel]

I feel for you. DE is a wonderful thing. I was the culprit of the no coop for the chiks until 9 weeks. They lived in the shed, thank god not in the house and graduated from a swimmming pool to a swimming pool plus box condo then an additional box comfort suite. My husband is over the road and rain, delays in getting home made the shed a mess, when I found DE at least the odor was gone. Now they are in their coop and I am left to clean the chick dust out of all my husbands fishing gear, tools and every surface. Don't think the baking soda would kill them. I just bought sweet PDZ as I can't find more DE locally and it works. Good luck getting the house back to pre-chick shape. Don't use your good vacuum, chick dust is lethal.

 

[WindRanch]

I'm certainly not an expert, but based on the little I do "know" (i.e. have read), I'd be very cautious about feeding birds of any sort something that will produce gas. Birds do not have the ability to pass gas. Someone mentioned cattle, but they are ruminants. They belch and yes, even fart! Birds however, (in my experience) do not do either.

I agree with the person who mentioned "wet manure" as an odor producer. DE is your friend in many respects. It helps with drying, its is a natural de-wormer, and in your feed will help prevent bugs from eating it. I use it in my coop bedding, nesting boxes, feed, and in their dust bathing areas. You should be able to find it at a relatively cheap price at a feed store...where they produce feed, not the store fronts.

Vinegar is the BEST odor eliminator I've found. It neutralizes the ammonia (at least I believe that's what I read). I use it to clean up my carpets (esp after a urine or fecal accident), wipe down my counters, even in my rinse cycle for laundry (great fabric softener too!). However, its wet, therefore you cannot use it in your bedding...just for cleaning the area. Its also a natural way to kill germs as it is out of Ph balance with most things.

 

[Kiki]

I'm certainly not an expert, but based on the little I do "know" (i.e. have read), I'd be very cautious about feeding birds of any sort something that will produce gas. Birds do not have the ability to pass gas. Someone mentioned cattle, but they are ruminants. They belch and yes, even fart! Birds however, (in my experience) do not do either.

I agree with the person who mentioned "wet manure" as an odor producer. DE is your friend in many respects. It helps with drying, its is a natural de-wormer, and in your feed will help prevent bugs from eating it. I use it in my coop bedding, nesting boxes, feed, and in their dust bathing areas. You should be able to find it at a relatively cheap price at a feed store...where they produce feed, not the store fronts.

Vinegar is the BEST odor eliminator I've found. It neutralizes the ammonia (at least I believe that's what I read). I use it to clean up my carpets (esp after a urine or fecal accident), wipe down my counters, even in my rinse cycle for laundry (great fabric softener too!). However, its wet, therefore you cannot use it in your bedding...just for cleaning the area. Its also a natural way to kill germs as it is out of Ph balance with most things.

No...DE is not a natural dewormer. That is a myth.

 

[SmallCityChicken]

I'm certainly not an expert, but based on the little I do "know" (i.e. have read), I'd be very cautious about feeding birds of any sort something that will produce gas. Birds do not have the ability to pass gas. Someone mentioned cattle, but they are ruminants. They belch and yes, even fart! Birds however, (in my experience) do not do either.

I agree with the person who mentioned "wet manure" as an odor producer. DE is your friend in many respects. It helps with drying, its is a natural de-wormer, and in your feed will help prevent bugs from eating it. I use it in my coop bedding, nesting boxes, feed, and in their dust bathing areas. You should be able to find it at a relatively cheap price at a feed store...where they produce feed, not the store fronts.

Vinegar is the BEST odor eliminator I've found. It neutralizes the ammonia (at least I believe that's what I read). I use it to clean up my carpets (esp after a urine or fecal accident), wipe down my counters, even in my rinse cycle for laundry (great fabric softener too!). However, its wet, therefore you cannot use it in your bedding...just for cleaning the area. Its also a natural way to kill germs as it is out of Ph balance with most things.

I wonder if powdered vinegar would work the same way?

 

[Myrianni]

I wonder if powdered vinegar would work the same way?

I have a question that stems from this - would the baking soda hurt if i put a bit in the water that everyone drinks?