Am I letting my deep litter go too long w/o turning?

[gandalf_of_chickens]

Hello all,

I'm working with my first flock - eight Golden Comet hens. I've got a 5x6 coop, am attempting the deep litter method, and have a general question and then a specific question.

General question: my chickens don't seem to be turning the litter themselves. Is this normal? They don't spend all that much time in the coop (yet? I bought them as pullets and they haven't started laying) because they spend most of the day free-ranging. At sundown they come into the coop and roost on the bars, and then their poop piles up in straight lines under the roosting bars. Should I be expecting them to do more turning or am I supposed to do most of that myself?

I've been turning about once a week. Is this often enough? I'm attaching pictures of what it looked like before and after I turned today. Does the litter look deep enough?

Before turning:

After turning:

 

[SmiYa0126]

Hi! Is there an odor in their coop? I had to abandon my deep litter because it stank. If you can't take a deep breath on the coop it may not be working.

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC. from the NC sandhills.

Inside a coop with a floor you are almost certainly using Deep Bedding, not Deep Litter -- which requires moisture to promote the active composting.

Here is my article on Deep Bedding: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/using-deep-bedding-in-a-small-coop.76343/ You'll see that I give a list of conditions that will tell you it's time to change your bedding.

One way to encourage the chickens to turn the bedding for you is to throw a handful of scratch into the bedding for them to hunt for, but manure is crusting under the roost they might not be able to readily turn it themselves.

How's the ventilation in your coop? We here in the Steamy Southeast often require more than the usual recommendation of 1 square foot per adult, standard-size hen to keep it cool enough in our blistering summers and dry in our soggy winters. Here's my article on coop ventilation: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/

 

[Happy hen lover]

3 killers has a great article. I love this deep bedding method.
I put up a poop board under roost since that's where the majority of the poop ends up.
Otherwise I turn bedding about once a month mostly to fluff it up during the cold . It never smells I change once a year in spring.

 

[gandalf_of_chickens]

Hi! Is there an odor in their coop? I had to abandon my deep litter because it stank. If you can't take a deep breath on the coop it may not be working.

Hello! Thanks for the reply. There was a slight odor this time (kind of a sharp/sour odor), but it went away when I turned the litter/bedding and added a fresh layer.

Welcome to BYC. from the NC sandhills.

Inside a coop with a floor you are almost certainly using Deep Bedding, not Deep Litter -- which requires moisture to promote the active composting.

Here is my article on Deep Bedding: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/using-deep-bedding-in-a-small-coop.76343/ You'll see that I give a list of conditions that will tell you it's time to change your bedding.

One way to encourage the chickens to turn the bedding for you is to throw a handful of scratch into the bedding for them to hunt for, but manure is crusting under the roost they might not be able to readily turn it themselves.

How's the ventilation in your coop? We here in the Steamy Southeast often require more than the usual recommendation of 1 square foot per adult, standard-size hen to keep it cool enough in our blistering summers and dry in our soggy winters. Here's my article on coop ventilation: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/

Thank you for all the helpful info. I grew up in Central NC!

I'm reading and re-reading these two articles. My initial thoughts/questions:

To be honest, I thought I was doing Deep Litter. I was not aware of the distinction until now and was under the impression that active composting would take place with the approach I'm using of turning/burying the manure in the wood chips. The point about soil helping jump-start the compost process makes sense, though...so I guess I'm actually just doing Deep Litter like you said? Ultimately it doesn't matter too much. My goal was more to reduce maintenance. It sounds like if I'm interested in composting (I am) I can add the bedding to a compost heap in my backyard when it comes time to do a clean-out.

As for ventilation, there is some but nothing like what you recommend. The eaves are open (no soffit) and the roof isn't quite flush with the wall, so there is a gap of about 1/2" on one side and about 1" on the other. On one side there are also two 12" x 18" windows, one of which I open on dry days. I've been meaning to leave them both open and cover the screened area with hardware cloth for added security. The plans I used to build the coop also have recommendations for vents, but I don't think they're large enough to meet your recommendations (16" x 4"). On the other hand, maybe it could work if I were to install 5-6 of them? I currently have 8 hens.

I've added pictures of those gaps below (taken at night with a flashlight - sorry!) and pictures from the plans of what the windows look like, and the vents recommended in the plans.

Windows. I currently have these but don't keep them open all the time because I need to add hardware cloth over the openings (which are screened but the screen is weak).

Picture of vents as suggested by plans. I don't have these yet:

 

[WallyG74]

Maybe they will learn. Mine do an excellent job turning the bedding. The outside might be too exciting for them. Give it some time. Until then, you’re doing a great job.

 

[rosemarythyme]

To be honest, I thought I was doing Deep Litter. I was not aware of the distinction until now and was under the impression that active composting would take place with the approach I'm using of turning/burying the manure in the wood chips. The point about soil helping jump-start the compost process makes sense, though...so I guess I'm actually just doing Deep Litter like you said? Ultimately I suppose it doesn't matter. My goal in starting this approach was to reduce maintenance load. It sounds like if I'm interested in composting (which I mean) I can add the bedding to a compost heap in my backyard when it comes time to do a clean-out.

As for ventilation, there is some but nothing like what you recommend. The eaves are open (no soffit) and the roof isn't quite flush with the wall, so there is a gap of about 1/2" on one side and about 1" on the other. On one side there are also two 12" x 18" windows, one of which I open on dry days. I've been meaning to leave them both open and cover the screened area with hardware cloth for added security. The plans I used to build the coop also have recommendations for vents, but I don't think they're large enough to meet your recommendations (16" x 4"). On the other hand, maybe it could work if I were to install 5-6 of them? I currently have 8 hens.

It's not the same, so given the fact that you're underventilated I'd recommend sticking with deep bedding over trying deep litter. Deep litter needs moisture... and moisture is the thing you do not want in your coop. Successful deep litter coops usually have a dirt floor (as the decomposition can affect a wood floor, and the dirt adds microbes from the soil and ground moisture) and extra ventilation to compensate for the added moisture.

Take a look at 3KillerBs coop, as she's closer to your area: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hot-climate-chicken-housing-and-care.77263/ This is the kind of set up that best works with deep litter.

As far as the ventilation, a few covered vents can help in spots that can't be protected from wind/rain, but you really want some bigger, open ventilation. Might need to look into awnings or buffers to help protect larger openings from the weather.

 

[gandalf_of_chickens]

As far as the ventilation, a few covered vents can help in spots that can't be protected from wind/rain, but you really want some bigger, open ventilation. Might need to look into awnings or buffers to help protect larger openings from the weather.

Thanks, I will take some better pictures of my coop tomorrow. For now, it sounds like I need to look into:

• pull off the existing ridge shingles and add a ridge vent
• add covered vents to front and back of coop where there's not much roof overhang
• on the sides where there is more roof over hang, cut out a rectangular portion of the top of the wall and replace with wire
• maybe cut out the windows all together and replace that section of the wall with wire??

 

[3KillerBs]

I was not aware of the distinction until now and was under the impression that active composting would take place with the approach I'm using of turning/burying the manure in the wood chips.

The two systems are commonly confused. That's why I started the article with a definition of terms.

I've added pictures of those gaps below (taken at night with a flashlight - sorry!) and pictures from the plans of what the windows look like, and the vents recommended in the plans.

My first thought on seeing this is that you could probably cut out a strip of siding at least 3-4" down and replace that with wire.

As far as the ventilation, a few covered vents can help in spots that can't be protected from wind/rain, but you really want some bigger, open ventilation. Might need to look into awnings or buffers to help protect larger openings from the weather.

Thanks for linking my article.

Top-hinged vent covers are fairly easily made for vents that need shelter.

Thanks, I will take some better pictures of my coop tomorrow. For now, it sounds like I need to look into:

• pull off the existing ridge shingles and add a ridge vent
• add covered vents to front and back of coop where there's not much roof overhang
• on the sides where there is more roof over hang, cut out a rectangular portion of the top of the wall and replace with wire
• maybe cut out the windows all together and replace that section of the wall with wire??

It sounds like you've got a solid plan in place.

Unfortunately, most coop plans are designed by carpenters according to what looks good rather than by chicken farmers according to chickens' actual needs and most of the ones that are designed for chickens' needs are designed for temperate and severe winter areas.

Here is the Steamy Southeast, heat rather than cold is our main concern and hurricanes are more likely than blizzards.

 

[gandalf_of_chickens]

One way to encourage the chickens to turn the bedding for you is to throw a handful of scratch into the bedding for them to hunt for, but manure is crusting under the roost they might not be able to readily turn it themselves.

I've been wondering about this part because we're having a fairly heavy rain with some intermittent lightning and thunder today. I was thinking we might just go through some scratch into the coop and keep them in there until the storm passes. Are there no sanitary issues here if they are stepping around in their poop / scratching for food in it?