Chicken Building odor?

[CJ]

We were out property hunting again today. We did a driveby on a small farm we're going to go see next weekend. I waypointed the end of the drive, and when we got back to the RV I pulled it up in Google Earth.

It's a 40 acre piece, all in pasture. I've circled it in yellow. See those big chicken buildings over on the left? With only a thin line of trees as a buffer, how odiferous are they going to be? Having never lived near any... I do know how awful they smell as we ride by them on our motorcycles all the time.

[okiemom]

I the winter you will get the winds from the NW I could be very strong or if they keep everything clean it won't be bad. Now would be a good time to see if the buildings smell while on the property.

[hunter63]

Are the big green circles sewage ponds, I see one on each property?

[jamala]

We have 6 chicken houses and my brother has 8 within 1000 feet of our home. When we have little birds the smell is not bad at all. But when our birds are big selling age birds the smell can get bad if the hummity is bad ( in south MS its always bad) Summer is worse than winter. In fact there are 60 chicken houses in a 5 mile radius of our home which is fine because all our friends are chicken growers and we can all help one another. DH says it smells like money to him but the non-grower neighbors dont feel that way. My advice is to go walk around the property several different days to see if you smell them.

[Cheribelle]

We have a neighbor that raises pigs. Not a huge pig farm, but some show pigs. They are North of us, so we almost never get any odor. The wind comes from the south and east in the summer, not from his place. Winter winds do not carry odors from there, so we are happy campers. I would never move to the north (wind from the south) of a hog farm, or any kind of big stink.

[wogglebug]

Remember that, even if it's okay now, they could expand their operations. You can't complain about people doing country things in the country. They're entitled - could you live with it?

[Country Lady]

Originally Posted by jamala

We have 6 chicken houses and my brother has 8 within 1000 feet of our home. When we have little birds the smell is not bad at all. But when our birds are big selling age birds the smell can get bad if the hummity is bad ( in south MS its always bad) Summer is worse than winter. In fact there are 60 chicken houses in a 5 mile radius of our home which is fine because all our friends are chicken growers and we can all help one another. DH says it smells like money to him but the non-grower neighbors dont feel that way. My advice is to go walk around the property several different days to see if you smell them.

I'm in MS also. We have neighbors across from us that have 4 chicken houses. I agree with what Jamala says. We chose to build where we have because we inherited this acreage from my parents. Otherwise, I'm not sure I would have bought here. We had a good buffer of trees before Hurricane Katrina. Now, we don't have that much. However, when the chicks are little, it's no problem, but when they get large and the wind is from that direction and the humidity is bad, I wish I lived some place else.

[Country Lady]

Originally Posted by wogglebug

Remember that, even if it's okay now, they could expand their operations. You can't complain about people doing country things in the country. They're entitled - could you live with it?

In our area, they have to build so far away from the property line, unless the adjoining property owner gives their signed consent. I didn't live around here when the neighbors houses were built, but I'm guess my dad gave his consent.

[EDDIE BUCK]

The chicken and turkey houses here as long as the waste is kept in a dry state its not so bad, but if its an open lagoon, I would not live within ten miles of the houses. I lived about three mi. from a chicken waste lagoon and the smell was mighty bad especially if the air was real humid.I've never understood why lagoons are used because if they wanted it gone, keep it as dry as possible and the public gardeners and farmers would take it away. Making everyone happy. Or bag it and sell it. Eddie

[Alice In TX/MO]

We visited some friends who are commercial chicken producers. It was the FLIES that got to me.

[glenn amolenaar]

CJ,
We live in Lawrence Co. S/W MO. been here since 1979. This was before all the big chicken farms. They cover all this area, for the most part the smell comes from the cleanout about once a year. The real stink is from the compost buildings this is where the dead birds are dumped. If processed properly this is usually not to bad. Yes the flies are bad but I think the weather is just right for them as they seldom go away, but they were bad before the chicken farms. Like I said there are days that really stink we have more good days (no stink) thats what counts. Plus this is farm country. Glenn

[CJ]

Mmmm... good points everyone. I'm not sure which direction the prevailing winds come from here. Those buildings are NW of the house, as you can see.

The green "spots" are ponds, not lagoons.

And no, if the smell is constant or even frequent, we absolutely would not want to live with it. If it's only occasional, that's alright, nothing is perfect all the time.

We'll likely pass on this place mostly due to it's being all in pasture, there are no woods at all on the 40 acres. But I think we'll go take a peek at it.

The flies are something I didn't even think of, thanks for pointing that out!

Yep, it had occurred to me that those buildings could expand right behind the house.

[agmantoo]

I would keep looking. Those houses are approximately 420 ft long so that puts them within 800 ft of the buildings on the 40 acres. Here in NC the summer winds come mainly from the SW and in winter from the NW. The flies comes from where every they choose. If the chicken houses were on the other side of the 40 acres I may try to tolerate the flies. This stigma will always cloud the farm. You may want to resale in the future. I am a former swine facility and layer house owner, smelling cattle manure now. I do not want anything to do with any type of confinement housing operation anymore.

[Windy in Kansas]

I used to have farmland that had laying houses on two side. If the wind was in the wrong direction when I went to farm I either had to stop for the day or move to another field. Much worse than hogs, and they stink when there are a lot of them.

I wouldn't consider the property for a another second if it were me.

There are odor control products now available, but are you willing to pay for them to be used? I can't see that it would be the responsibility of the other land owner to use them at his expense.

[CJ]

Thanks everyone, we've decided to keep looking.

[Country Lady]

Originally Posted by CJ

Thanks everyone, we've decided to keep looking.

Good decision. I think eventually there will be some type government controls on air pollution from these buildings, but most likely not in the near future.

[rambler]

Here in MN the hog barns are worse smelling, the poultry barns have more of a musty smell, not as harsh.

Poultry outfits 'here' can incinerate their dead birds, and _that_ is a real bummer of a smell a couple times a week.......

--->Paul

[EDDIE BUCK]

Originally Posted by Country Lady

Good decision. I think eventually there will be some type government controls on air pollution from these buildings, but most likely not in the near future.

I agree but, if those controls on air are no better than the ones on our creeks and rivers, might as well drop all the control measures. Eddie

[michiganfarmer]

....but how much is it selling for?

The stink of a poultry farm would be a good thing. It will keep non homesteading/farming people away. It would be a great place to live.

If its $500/acre, I think its a mistake to pass it up.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Yeah, we ended up with some chicken houses a little closer than I wanted, you couldn't see them from our property, they didn't smell the days we went out to look at it, and there were no handy dandy airial photos of the area. They are probably 1/4-1/2 mile SW of the property, and it has never been more than a slight odor, however I would have prefered none. All said though, it probably wouldn't have changed my decision to buy the property. Somebody may have already said this, but unless the area has zoning restrictions that prevent chicken houses, hog parlors, ect, any property you buy may end up with one plopped down next door. Just a thought...