Deep litter method

[Beekissed]

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.

 

[goodb]

We havent started our coop yet. The area we are putting it has good hard packed gravel. Would we be better off not putting a wood floor if I am going to DL?

DL will work anywhere. Even on a wood floor.

 

[Latestarter]

Just one comment... if you are doing DL on a wood floor, you REALLY need to seal that wood against any moisture BEFORE doing DL on it. I am using, and highly recommend Blackjack #57 from Lowes as it's a water based (easy clean up after application) rubberized (flexible for temp swings) roofing sealant and has done an excellent job for me. Then put in the dirt/leaves/weeds/kitchen scraps/wood chips/etc. and let them poop all over it all!

 

[Elaine Wright]

I sealed my wood floor with a high quality stair paint. I have a tarp stretched over it to make litter removal easier this fall.

 

[Elaine Wright]

This has probably been asked a hundred times, but can you deep litter a run... In England? Clearly not the driest part of the world? Would it just mean putting a roof on the run or would that not be enough?

I'm in North west washington state. The climate is very similar to England. I'm using the DLM this year. We've already had a nasty little storm. The rain came in the chicken door. When I clean the coop, I'm adding a higher lip to help keep out the rain. This is my first year.

 

[Beekissed]

I sealed my wood floor with a high quality stair paint. I have a tarp stretched over it to make litter removal easier this fall.

I'd plan on leaving it in the coop unless you just have to remove it because it's too deep and isn't composting down. You'll need a good, cultured deep litter this winter and starting over in the fall won't get you there soon enough.

This has probably been asked a hundred times, but can you deep litter a run... In England? Clearly not the driest part of the world? Would it just mean putting a roof on the run or would that not be enough?

I'd not roof that run at all, but just keep your DL there nice and deep...like 10 in. or higher...so you might add some sides to your run to contain it. The DL will absorb and utilize all that rain in the best way possible. Imagine your run as the floor of a rain forest...healthy, rich, rotting material that attracts bugs and worms and acts as a filter for the rain to wash all the manure into the soil underneath where it can be utilized the most. Consider the alternative to this...a run that is hardpacked, dirty water in puddles, slick with manure and attracting flies and putting out a stench, chickens with dirty, wet feet and feathers and nowhere to step without getting muddy.

In a place like that I'd build a DL with plenty of variety of materials: twigs, pine needles and cones, leaves, leaves, leaves, wood chips, woody weed stems, etc. I'd build it deep and build it well, with plenty of air spaces between the particles produced by the twigs, wood chips and pine cones and such.

I'm in North west washington state. The climate is very similar to England. I'm using the DLM this year. We've already had a nasty little storm. The rain came in the chicken door. When I clean the coop, I'm adding a higher lip to help keep out the rain. This is my first year.

I'm always happy for more moisture in the DL, so I intentionally let the rain into my coop for that, particularly back where the concentration of manure is highest. Then I throw dry DL on top of that from the front of the coop to hold that moisture in to the bottom layers...GOOD for composting! Don't get too busy keeping out any and all the moisture from your climate, as it can be your best friend if you just manage it well.

 

[Elaine Wright]

I'd plan on leaving it in the coop unless you just have to remove it because it's too deep and isn't composting down.  You'll need a good, cultured deep litter this winter and starting over in the fall won't get you there soon enough. 


I'd not roof that run at all, but just keep your DL there nice and deep...like 10 in. or higher...so you might add some sides to your run to contain it.  The DL will absorb and utilize all that rain in the best way possible.  Imagine your run as the floor of a rain forest...healthy, rich, rotting material that attracts bugs and worms and acts as a filter for the rain to wash all the manure into the soil underneath where it can be utilized the most.  Consider the alternative to this...a run that is hardpacked, dirty water in puddles, slick with manure and attracting flies and putting out a stench, chickens with dirty, wet feet and feathers and nowhere to step without getting muddy. 

In a place like that I'd build a DL with plenty of variety of materials:  twigs, pine needles and cones, leaves, leaves, leaves, wood chips, woody weed stems, etc.  I'd build it deep and build it well, with plenty of air spaces between the particles produced by the twigs, wood chips and pine cones and such. 

I'm always happy for more moisture in the DL, so I intentionally let the rain into my coop for that, particularly back where the concentration of manure is highest.  Then I throw dry DL on top of that from the front of the coop to hold that moisture in to the bottom layers...GOOD for composting!    Don't get too busy keeping out any and all the moisture from your climate, as it can be your best friend if you just manage it well. 

I have an electrician coming to hard-wire a light & plug in. The shouldn't have to work in the litter. The chickens will be fine when I replace the chips. Everything I've read about humidity says it's not good for chickens. We have weeks of 99% humidity in the winter. Standing water at the door can't be good.

 

[Beekissed]

That's the world in which you live if you have 99% humidity all through the winter, so maybe going with a different DL material than wood shavings....they take a long, long, long time to decompose and until then they just take up room and don't absorb much humidity. Could keep you from cleaning out DL often. Standing water in the coop isn't ideal, that's for sure.

 

[Elaine Wright]

That's the world in which you live if you have 99% humidity all through the winter, so maybe going with a different DL material than wood shavings....they take a long, long, long time to decompose and until then they just take up room and don't absorb much humidity.  Could keep you from cleaning out DL often.  Standing water in the coop isn't ideal, that's for sure. 

Weeks of 90% humidity, not all winter. Lows in high 30f, highs in the high 40f. Compost still happens, just slowly. Mid 70s for the next 2-3 weeks.

 

[Latestarter]

I sealed my wood floor with a high quality stair paint. I have a tarp stretched over it to make litter removal easier this fall.

I have an electrician coming to hard-wire a light & plug in. The shouldn't have to work in the litter. The chickens will be fine when I replace the chips. Everything I've read about humidity says it's not good for chickens. We have weeks of 99% humidity in the winter. Standing water at the door can't be good.

Greetings Elaine and

and the thread! Lots of great information here to assimilate

(My big word for the day).

I would highly recommend that you remove that tarp as it will trap that 99% humidity under it and despite the stair paint, it will eventually cause wood rot in the floor. You need the moisture to be able to work on/with your deep litter to cause IT to compost rather than the wood floor. The whole idea behind deep litter is to leave it in place and build on it to allow for decomposition and make you beautiful compost. That takes time, and no amount of time will be enough without some moisture. You'll get dust instead. You can always sweep the litter aside while the electrician is there. The chooks will spread it back out after he/she leaves.

I have wood floors in my coops (raised 24" off ground), coated with the Blackjack I posted about, and my litter inside had been building for over a year. It is now almost 2 feet deep. When I dig down into it, it is like good garden dirt. I will most likely remove 1/2 to 3/4 of it mid fall for the garden to get the garden soil ready for next spring's plantings.

Humidity itself is neither good or bad for the chickens. Moisture IS needed in order for the DL method to work. Humidity is really only bad for the birds when the temp is near or below freezing, as it causes frost bite on their combs and wattles as well as their toes if they have no way to settle down on their feet and cover them (toes) with feathers.