My neighbor said my coop smelled like a porta potty at a Georgia summer fair, so I changed one thing
My neighbor Dave walked past my coop back in June and said it smelled like a porta potty at a Georgia summer fair, and honestly he was right. I was deep bedding with pine shavings and only cleaning the coop out every 6 weeks, thinking it was fine. Switched to the deep litter method with wood chips, stirred it twice a week, and added a cheap box fan aimed at the vent. Three weeks later the smell was gone and my 5 hens stopped sneezing. What's your go to bedding setup where you live?
Adding a fan is really what did it, not the bedding swap. Air moving through the coop matters way more than what you put on the floor, and I'd bet money your old setup would've been fine too if you'd had that same breeze going. Six weeks between cleanouts with wet shavings is what got you, and pine holds moisture a lot longer than people realize. I run plain pine pellets in my coop here in western NC and stir them every few days, no fan needed because my vents are cut low and high on both sides so it pulls air through on its own.