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