Dirt floor vs wood shavings for coop

I don't think dry wood shavings will break down fast enough without any moisture... so basically too much poop and not enough rot will result in ammonia smell taking over.

I don't know much about the deep litter method, technically. But if you want it to compost you'll need moisture to get it breaking down. If it were me I'd think about adding some straw into the mix as it breaks down pretty quickly.

Each week I rake around in the run, basically turning the composting materials, scoop out stuff that looks nasty, but basically leave it all in there. Then I dump a whole bunch of dry straw in a pile and walk away... the chickens get in the pile and spread it all out. If I use my rake to dig down 4-5 inches it looks a lot like my compost pile!
 
'Deep bedding' is not the same as 'deep litter'.

 TalkALittle's post on DB vs DL: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1075545/can-i-do-deep-litter-method-with-this-coop#post_16440037

Here's a great description of contents and how to manage organic 'bedding' in a run or coop...and there's a great video of what it looks like.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1037998/muddy-run-help-please#post_16017992


Sounds like this may be where the misunderstanding is throughout this thread.

We have DEEP BEDDING in our coop...dry, deep, wood shavings. No break down and gets cleaned out twice a year (spring & fall).

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In the run we have DEEP LITTER, it's a mixture so straw, hay, leaves, grass clippings, landscape debris, pine needles, veggies, fruit, food scrapes & poo. The run is covered but some rain does blow in allowing for break down. This material turns to compost and gets raked out once a year (spring).

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Someone in the UK was able to find it.....but it's called by it's mineral name 'Zeolite', so maybe search using that.


I had no idea that sweet pdz was Zeolite! Plenty of that here although not quite as cheap as sweet pdz, which is odd really since you'd think rebranding (in this case Zeolite) would result in a higher price.

I don't think i need it now as the ammonia smell has gone now, it was literally as simple as not constantly turning over the shavings, they have fully compacted now so most likely more moisture hence better composting
 
I don't think dry wood shavings will break down fast enough without any moisture... so basically too much poop and not enough rot will result in ammonia smell taking over. 

I don't know much about the deep litter method, technically. But if you want it to compost you'll need moisture to get it breaking down. If it were me I'd think about adding some straw into the mix as it breaks down pretty quickly. 

Each week I rake around in the run, basically turning the composting materials, scoop out stuff that looks nasty, but basically leave it all in there. Then I dump a whole bunch of dry straw in a pile and walk away... the chickens get in the pile and spread it all out. If I use my rake to dig down 4-5 inches it looks a lot like my compost pile!

Yeah i think me constantly turning over the shavings trying to dry them out wasn't helping things, i have since left it and the ammonia smell has disappeared. Straw does sound good since it does indeed break down much faster, if i can get my hands on some cheap straw I'll get a bale and start adding that as well.
 
Sounds like this may be where the misunderstanding is throughout this thread.

We have DEEP BEDDING in our coop...dry, deep, wood shavings. No break down and gets cleaned out twice a year (spring & fall).

700


In the run we have DEEP LITTER, it's a mixture so straw, hay, leaves, grass clippings, landscape debris, pine needles, veggies, fruit, food scrapes & poo. The run is covered but some rain does blow in allowing for break down. This material turns to compost and gets raked out once a year (spring).

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Can i ask why you decided to use deep litter in the run, is it just for composting purposes? I only ask as like you my run is covered but the sides are open so some rain does get in but the dirt on the floor never has any smell so i never considered adding anything on top.
 
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^^^ Reply ^^^^^

We decided to go with deep litter to keep down the mud, smell and flies. It's so easy to maintain, I've seen a few bare dirt runs and they were nasty. I also didn't want to see poo sitting on top the bare dirt. We considered sand but our run is large and didn't want to maintain it. Plus it gets cold here and didn't want wet, frozen sand for the chickens during the cold months.

If the run gets wet we can always add additional "litter" or turn it with a stall fork. The hens keep it pretty well turned and fluffed though, The grass, hay, garden debris etc. add bugs, seed & veggies to their diet. We can't free range because of the many predators in our area.

The compost is an added bonus.
 
^^^ Reply ^^^^^

We decided to go with deep litter to keep down the mud, smell and flies. It's so easy to maintain, I've seen a few bare dirt runs and they were nasty. I also didn't want to see poo sitting on top the bare dirt. We considered sand but our run is large and didn't want to maintain it. Plus it gets cold here and didn't want wet, frozen sand for the chickens during the cold months.

If the run gets wet we can always add additional "litter" or turn it with a stall fork. The hens keep it pretty well turned and fluffed though, The grass, hay, garden debris etc. add bugs, seed & veggies to their diet. We can't free range because of the many predators in our area.

The compost is an added bonus.

cool thanks in might try this in our run I too cant free range due to preditors
 

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