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DL will work anywhere. Even on a wood floor.

That's not mold. It's the beginning of the compost process as Beekissed mentioned. I've been collecting fresh woodchips for about 4 years and that always happens. Unless something is peculiar about Mesquite, what you describe seeing is the steam and byproduct of the carbon material breaking down...

the ground.

In my opinion, It won't hurt but if you're going to have a dirt floor, it's redundant as the worms will eventually come into the bedding. Although, for deep litter to do what it does, it needs to be deep. In most cases, the worms will be down far enough that the birds won't get to them. I have...

Deep litter is utilized and highly endorsed by Joel Salatin...

I would think that it would not. A major benefit of deep litter is that it is dry. Dry enough to counter the moisture of the chicken feces. Many times you will see people say that they have to spray water on it occasionally because it is to dry. Even if there is moisture on the ground level I...

The litter should never smell of poo. That is the purpose of the DL method. If it smells, stir it up and add shavings when the old can no longer keep the odor down. Also, a little moisture will not hurt.

Regarding the dryness. As I have recently learned, the litter needs moisture. Not a lot but some. My coop is about 5x12 and I dumped 8 gallons of water in the original layer and mixed it very well. I was going to pull out the original layer and compost it as I thought it was done. You can see it...

I leave mine in...

"cedar I would stay from tho." X2

the water caught up with me...just a short bit ago I went out to check on the critters and the coop had a very strong ammonia smell. So, it took 24 hours to kick in but it did. I raked the litter around and was followed by 3 to 4 birds rustling around in the coop to check things out. I think...

so now I have more litter to manage. I dumped 8 gallons of water in it last night. Mixed it in pretty good and it gave a musty smell this morning. I tried to mix it more but the litter was so dry the water could not penetrate, kinda like peat moss but I know it'll get there eventually. What...

Reading this I get the feeling that some moisture is wanted in the DL? I thought it was suppose to be absolutely dry except for the chicken poo! If this is true then I need to put the litter back and get it damp so it can break down and heat up...wouldn't you say?

Hey gang, I made a quick video on my experience with deep litter. I cleaned the coop out this weekend and took a couple minutes to document it. Hope you enjoy it.

Hey gang, Thought I'd give a short testimony on my experience. My deep litter has broken down into a powder. 99% of the bedding in the coop was wood shavings and over the course of a year it has broken down into a powdery substance. I'm going to have a soil expert test it to determine nutrient...

If you had a smell problem, then there was something wrong.

I can't say specifically without seeing your situation but my experience has been amazing. I began with wood chips last fall and then progressed to deep litter with wood shavings as winter neared. 18 birds spent most of the winter in the coop and this spring I noticed that my coop had a peculiar...

15 out of 16 chicks brooded in deep litter have made it to 3 weeks plus. I lost one last week when it strayed outside the fence and a hawk took advantage of the situation. :( Other than that, all are doing well and growing SOOOOO fast! Thank you for the encouragement.

I let her out of the brooder this morning and I don't think she went back except to drink. The chicks followed her everywhere they could and at the end of the day, she made a new nest to bed down in...right under the old feeder. I have to say that the deep litter is quite handy, 8 inches gives...

Thank you! They are cuties..