Deep litter

ChickenMammX4 said:

I have 6 chickens, we do a clean-out once a year. There is a poopboard under the roost to catch poop, that is sifted out everyday or two. Takes about 5 minutes.

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do you have pics of your "poopboar"? I would like to do this in my chicken coop. right now I have roosting sticks/boards above a row of nesting boxes, I guess I should move the roosting sticks/boards to a different spot. but I'm not sure if I have enough room to do this. I have to do something different. Any suggestions?

QueenMisha said:

Pine shavings is ideal. You can use some natural material such as pine needles or dry leaves as well. I personally like to keep mine 1-2 feet deep in my large coop and 6-8 inches deep in my small coop.

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Hi, I am wondering if this type of deep litter would work in my duck house that has a river rock floor. I currently have a deep layer of straw down. I started with a thin layer of straw and each day I go out there and spread a thin layer of straw on top of the poop. It is about 3-4inches deep now and I started about 1 month ago. I'm afraid it is going to be very difficult to get the straw up without grabbing the river rock with it!!
Then I saw that you and others mentioned using natural litter, e.g. pine needles, leaves, sticks.... I have plenty of those materials all around us on our property/52 acres full of pine trees and brush.
Thanks for any input.

CyndiD said:

Hi, can this be used in a Duck House for ducks? I would think so. Only one difference, my floor is rock/river rock, about 1/2" diameter. This would be difficult to scoop up and clean once a year without picking up some of the river rock, huh? or do you think the litter would make its own layer and be lifted up and away from the river rock??? Ducks are much more wetter than chickens??? Thanks

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I don't know enough about ducks to know if this system would work well for you. You might post over in the forum for ducks because I'd feel terrible if I told you something that turned out not to be true. I do know that very wet litter plus feces equals ammonia, so that might be an issue for you given the ducks use of water compared to the chickens. I'm afraid that when you tried to pick up the litter, you'd lose some of the rock base as well...just no way to sort it that thoroughly. I'm sorry I couldn't answer your question in a more concrete way, but I'm smart enough to know when I ain't smart enough to know!

KeMe said:

I have a 10X10 resin shed with a thick waterproofed floor for the chickens coop.
I been keeping about a 3" deep pine shaving layer inside the coop, but I have about 12" layer of pine shavings on their play yard. Otherwise they would be wading in mud. They also like to scratch in it and kick it around.

I cleaned out the floor of their coop once when there wasn't but about 6" of litter on the floor. So, do you think that it's okay to add more pine shavings to the coop. It would certainly help with the oder problem.
With the wood shaving, how can I get them the grit and oyster shell that they need? It gets lost in the shavings if I put it on their floor.
Would they get enough when they free range in the afternoons?

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I put the oyster shell in a separate container rather than on the floor of the run or coop. I have always done it that way. I don't mind if they miss some scratch or BOSS in the litter - they'll dig around and find it and that helps turn the litter. But I want to KNOW they are getting oyster shell and keep track of when to replenish, and the only way that can be done is with a separate container. I just use a little metal rabbit feeder that clips on the wires of the run, but others use tuna fish cans, etc.

You can absolutely add more pine shavings to the coop. It refreshes and helps absorb the moisture leading to the ammonia smell. But here's the thing - if you smell ammonia, then the chickens are breathing it in with every inhalation and that isn't good for their respiratory systems. They are more sensitive to it than we are. So as soon as you refresh the coop, I'd sure be looking to make sure there's enough ventilation in the coop. We tend to want to close them up for the winter so they can stay warm, when in reality the more air flow you have in winter when they are spending much of their time inside the better off they are! Just make sure there is no wind coming in directly on them as they roost, but I can't stress ventilation enough.

They can get grit when they free range, but most of us have grassy lawns that can make that difficult sometimes. That's my situation. So I just add some to the dust bath bin summer and winter. They find it and take what they need.

Blooie, Thanks for your advice. It sounds good and I'll try it.