We are building our 16 girls a new coop and was wondering about the DL method. Since its a brand new coop how does one START the DL method? The coop is 12x16 with a wood floor. Do I try to DL the whole coop floor or just under the roosts??
Your chickens are going to spread it all over the coop anyway, so I'd do the whole coop....you'll need the DL in the dryer areas of the coop to flip over onto the DL under the roosts to cover poop. Then the chickens will rearrange all that for you on occasion until you need to move the DL again. It's a lovely cycle of moving the DL around until it all gets some manure to mix with.
I'd find some rich, mulchy soil to lay down on the floor before you place your DL in the new coop...it should have some great nematodes and microorganisms enough to jump start your DL. I'd use a variety of materials, but lean towards those that compost quickly....in a wood floor coop you'll need things to compost down well or you'll be cleaning out the DL before you really would like to, just to have room for more. Leaves, pine needles, dried grass, woody weed trimmings, corn shucks, etc. seem to compost quicker and wood shavings take the longest...VERY long.