Deep litter method

[Niffer0404]

Question about the deep litter method. This sounds awesome. I'm trying to get my run set up. Can this method be used in the run? What about odor? My land lord has been so over the moon gracious and said we could have chickens but I don't want the neighbors to complain of odor. Any and all ideas are welcome and definitely appreciated.

 

[armorfirelady]

Question about the deep litter method. This sounds awesome. I'm trying to get my run set up. Can this method be used in the run? What about odor? My land lord has been so over the moon gracious and said we could have chickens but I don't want the neighbors to complain of odor. Any and all ideas are welcome and definitely appreciated.

I use it both in the run & the coop. If you ensure you have good ventilation there is little odor. I rake mine around in the winter to get the poop mixed in. I rarely have an odor unless they have been cooped up for a blizzard when I need to close up the coop more.

 

[Beekissed]

This method will help you keep the landlord happy, especially if you are doing it right, which is fairly easy out in a run because the ventilation is assured. This will be a way for you to "get rid" of manure without having to do any work or have it in piles or a compost pile, as it will compost in place and there shouldn't be any odors or even very many flies as the chooks will likely keep the manure turned into the litter for you out in that run. Just vary your materials with shavings, leaves, lawn clippings (not too heavy with those if you live in a hot and humid climate), flower trimmings, weed trimmings, etc. The variety will "feed" the litter well and bind with your manure to provide a healthy soil under the litter.

 

[Arielle]

I let her out of the brooder this morning and I don't think she went back except to drink. The chicks followed her everywhere they could and at the end of the day, she made a new nest to bed down in...right under the old feeder. I have to say that the deep litter is quite handy, 8 inches gives her and the chicks so much to dig through that they got tired and went to sleep early.

 

[goodb]

15 out of 16 chicks brooded in deep litter have made it to 3 weeks plus. I lost one last week when it strayed outside the fence and a hawk took advantage of the situation. Other than that, all are doing well and growing SOOOOO fast! Thank you for the encouragement.

 

[jollygreen23]

You would need 24 cubic feet.

6ft x 8 ft = 48 square feet
x 1/2 (because 6 inches is half a foot)
= 24 cubic feet.

So five bags of 5 cubic feet should cover you.

 

[Arielle]

An observation . . . .

4 muscovey duck hens go broodie all within about 3 weeks of each other. I doled out about 15 eggs to each hen. @ hens picked the same coop with deep litter. 1 hen chose an old coop used by cornish x last year with a bare ground. and 1 hen chose the leaves on sand under a porch.

Oddly the 2 hens together in the coop ( at opposite ends) only produced 1 duckling each. The other hens produced 14 each.

THis has me mulling over why. Did I hold the eggs too long before giving them to the hens? ( staggered set times. Or is there a problem with which are the parents? Clearly the younger parents are the parents of the ducklings based on the coloring. THen I think about the location of the eggs, as so many truely rottend and the hens took away the stinky shells that broke

and left it in the driveway. Double

.

It let me thinking my DL might not be cooking along properly . . .or it just happens to have an organism that is NOT good for incubating eggs . . . . .

Just thought I would share this peculiarity.

 

[MagicChicken]

An observation . . . .

4 muscovey duck hens go broodie all within about 3 weeks of each other. I doled out about 15 eggs to each hen. @ hens picked the same coop with deep litter. 1 hen chose an old coop used by cornish x last year with a bare ground. and 1 hen chose the leaves on sand under a porch.

Oddly the 2 hens together in the coop ( at opposite ends) only produced 1 duckling each. The other hens produced 14 each.

THis has me mulling over why. Did I hold the eggs too long before giving them to the hens? ( staggered set times. Or is there a problem with which are the parents? Clearly the younger parents are the parents of the ducklings based on the coloring. THen I think about the location of the eggs, as so many truely rottend and the hens took away the stinky shells that broke

and left it in the driveway. Double

.

It let me thinking my DL might not be cooking along properly . . .or it just happens to have an organism that is NOT good for incubating eggs . . . . .

Just thought I would share this peculiarity.

Maybe the coop with deep litter is too hot? Or holds too much moisture? Could be a bunch of things. Stinky rotten eggs are no fun. I broke one into a frying pan with five other eggs the other day. Now I know why those old recipes tell you to break the eggs one at a time into a smaller container before adding them to the main cooking pan.

At least I had enough eggs to start the recipe over.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: OMG!!!

I think we have all had a similar incident. ANd that totally explains the " break one at a time" method which I now follow !! Glad you had enough eggs.

Could be any of those possibilities you mentioned as the cause for the rotten eggs. I would like to open this coop up more for greater ventilation anyways.

 

[ChickenPapaCT]

OMG!!!

I think we have all had a similar incident. ANd that totally explains the " break one at a time" method which I now follow !! Glad you had enough eggs.

Could be any of those possibilities you mentioned as the cause for the rotten eggs. I would like to open this coop up more for greater ventilation anyways.

Neither of you test your eggs, I take it? Just before use, place your egg in a cup of water. The ones that sink or float half way are OK. The ones that go straight to the top and float there are bad.