Deep litter method? All sand? Straw? Pineshavings? Help.

[BonnieFierce]

Ok y’all. I need some advice. My 6 chicks are 8 & 6weeks old. I really want them out of the house but I’m also a scared 1st time chicken mommy. My hubby built a 4x8 coop that is insulated. I really don’t like the thought of putting a heat lamp out there just due to fire hazard. Do you use a heat source or will they be ok?


What do you suggest for inside the coop? I’ve been looking into the deep litter method or going all sand seems very appealing... my husband wants to do straw bc it’s warm and cheap but I would really like something that requires less tending to. I’ve also heard straw is not good in the fact that it allows more bugs in and on the chickens. I’ve also heard that straw or pine shavings are way more work you need to clean and keep up weekly.


Please help! What did you do? What did you learn and wish you did if you could start over?


Thanks for any sort of help!!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Where are you? If you modify your profile to show general location we would at least have a clue as to your climate. Are your nighttime lows in the 70's F or below freezing? It could make a difference. For what is is worth I've had chicks 5-1/2 weeks old go through nights in the mid 20's Fahrenheit with no supplemental heat. But those chicks were in a well-ventilated coop with excellent breeze protection down low on their level. Those chicks were raised in an outside brooder (in the main coop) so they had been exposed to colder temperatures so it was not a shock to them. It's not just a matter of age, the conditions they are going into make a difference too. I'm a little concerned about ventilation since you mention insulation. Tell us about your conditions so we can make an educated guess. I heat my brooder in the coop with heat lamps so I'm not as scared of them as some people, but I take special precautions with them. I recommend you do not put heat lamps out there unless it is really well set up for them plus I don't think you even come close to needing them.

If you read enough posts on here you will find that people use sand, dirt, concrete, solid wood or plywood, wire, wood chips, wood shavings, straw, hay, dried leaves, and who knows what else as their coop floor. Some turn their coop floor into a compost pile and toss in all kinds of things including kitchen scraps. There is a tendency with people that whatever they use has to be the best because they really love their chickens and if course would not use anything but the best, but the reality is that any of these can work fine in the right circumstances. You can find someone that will say something bad about any of them.

Again, if you can tell us something about your coop, is it elevated or on the ground, what kind of floor it has, and such as that (some photos might really help) we might be able to make better suggestions. How often you plan to clean it out makes a difference too. I clean mine out once every three or four years (a big walk-in that I keep very dry), some people clean their bedding out weekly. I like our husbands reasoning, especially that straw is cheap there, but I don't know if it is the best or not.

 

[BonnieFierce]

Again, if you can tell us something about your coop, is it elevated or on the ground, what kind of floor it has, and such as that (some photos might really help) we might be able to make better suggestions. How often you plan to clean it out makes a difference too. I clean mine out once every three or four years (a big walk-in that I keep very dry), some people clean their bedding out weekly. I like our husbands reasoning, especially that straw is cheap there, but I don't know if it is the best or not.[/QUOTE]

I am in Colorado. We haven’t had our last frost yet... temps range from 20-80F night/day. It can be beautiful and sunny one day and snow the next... The coop is about 2 feet off the ground w windows at the top for ventilation. I am also a big gardener so the deep litter method sounds appealing (I just don’t really know the basics besides adding more and more pine shavings every month)
Pictures of coop attached.

Thank you thank you!!

 

[chickens really]

I use pine shavings in my Coops and Sand out in the Runs.
I find it easier for me..

 

[SueT]

6-weeks old can handle lows in 20s without heat. Mine did at 5 weeks...They were unfazed by a hard freeze. They have down jackets!

 

[Ridgerunner]

The problem with the deep litter method in that coop is that it will rot the wood. For the deep litter method to work you need to keep the litter slightly damp so it will compost. The same microbes that turn the litter into compost will also turn the wood into compost. So you would either need to protect the wood from rotting or keep is so dry those bugs cannot live. I don't have any real experience with putting litter into an elevated coop. My only elevated coop is my grow-out coop and that has a 1/2" hardware floor so the poop falls through. My two other coops are on the ground with a dirt floor. You can do deep litter in your run if you wish.

Unless you protect the wood (floor and as high as the litter will reach) with a special paint or maybe something like linoleum, I think it will be important to keep that coop pretty dry and be prepared to remove the bedding if it gets wet. I don't know how often you'll need to change out that bedding, hopefully not that often. It's somewhat of a trial and error.

If that were mine I'd be looking for a bedding that is available and not all that expensive. That might be wood shavings, straw, hay, or even dried leaves when they are available. Those can all be composted, maybe just dump them in your run. In something like that I'd stay away from sand because it could get damp enough to rot the wood and you would not know it. Hopefully others with more experience in that kind of coop will chime in with what works fro them.

 

[BonnieFierce]

The problem with the deep litter method in that coop is that it will rot the wood. For the deep litter method to work you need to keep the litter slightly damp so it will compost. The same microbes that turn the litter into compost will also turn the wood into compost. So you would either need to protect the wood from rotting or keep is so dry those bugs cannot live. I don't have any real experience with putting litter into an elevated coop. My only elevated coop is my grow-out coop and that has a 1/2" hardware floor so the poop falls through. My two other coops are on the ground with a dirt floor. You can do deep litter in your run if you wish.

Unless you protect the wood (floor and as high as the litter will reach) with a special paint or maybe something like linoleum, I think it will be important to keep that coop pretty dry and be prepared to remove the bedding if it gets wet. I don't know how often you'll need to change out that bedding, hopefully not that often. It's somewhat of a trial and error.

If that were mine I'd be looking for a bedding that is available and not all that expensive. That might be wood shavings, straw, hay, or even dried leaves when they are available. Those can all be composted, maybe just dump them in your run. In something like that I'd stay away from sand because it could get damp enough to rot the wood and you would not know it. Hopefully others with more experience in that kind of coop will chime in with what works fro them.

Thank you so much!!!