Deep litter method

[Latestarter]

Just to add a note to what Bee and Talk said. There IS such a thing as "too dry". If the litter is too dry, it can't compost and will create dust instead. When it's too wet, you can add dry stuff to fix it, but if it's too dry, don't be afraid to hose it down and add moisture or add a LOT of wet ingredients.

 

[jmdarrow]

You can but you may have to put a bit of good, rich soil down first.  I'd ditch the sand...it's no good for composting or healthy worm and bug life.  You'll need any and all poop you can get in your mix to provide the nitrogen to bind with your carbons, so poop slings, boards, boxes and such just have no real purpose in this method. 

Let us know how it all goes? 

 

[RonP]

Just to add a note to what Bee and Talk said. There IS such a thing as "too dry". If the litter is too dry, it can't compost and will create dust instead. When it's too wet, you can add dry stuff to fix it, but if it's too dry, don't be afraid to hose it down and add moisture or add a LOT of wet ingredients.

I find humidity to be the enemy inside a coop, even well ventilated.

My coop has a wooden floor. I keep 8-10 inches deep pine shavings.

My floor never sees the moisture, always dry.

About once per year, I remove the shavings, and put it in the outdoor very deep litter (12-24") uncovered run.

Within 6 months, the pine shavings finish decomposing into rich compost.

Yes, there is plenty of dust.

I would rather deal with the dust, than humidity and odors, which would be especially bad during the colder season.

Click here for my new solution to rid my coop of the dust.

 

[jmdarrow]

Beekissed, hello!! I have a coupe questions for you. I have been cleaning out my coop all summer and have the stuff in a pile outside my coop. I haven't turned it or anthing, the girls are doing that for me. Should I put some back into the coop for winter? My coop is currently off the ground by 3Dr or so.
Also, I love in a heavily wooded area, mostly pine. Could I take that up and put that into the coop as well? I really want a warm cozy place for my chickens for the winter. North of Syracuse NY gets a lot of snow and below 0 weather.
Thanks!
Jackie

 

[jmdarrow]

Beekussed, I'm still trying to figure this forum out, so would you please look at my questions from me?
Thanks, again!

 

[Beekissed]

Beekissed, hello!! I have a coupe questions for you. I have been cleaning out my coop all summer and have the stuff in a pile outside my coop. I haven't turned it or anthing, the girls are doing that for me. Should I put some back into the coop for winter? My coop is currently off the ground by 3Dr or so.
Also, I love in a heavily wooded area, mostly pine. Could I take that up and put that into the coop as well? I really want a warm cozy place for my chickens for the winter. North of Syracuse NY gets a lot of snow and below 0 weather.
Thanks!
Jackie

I love the other way you typed it(Beekussed)....MUCH more appropriate on this forum!!!! I do get "kussed" quite frequently under folks' breath, I imagine.

I wouldn't bother putting it back into your coop....maybe you could put it in your run if not there already? Pine needles are great but I wouldn't use just the needles....leaves are great for a large quantity of things to put in the litter, as they break down very quickly and compost really well. You could pretty much rake up anything out of your yard and woodline and use for DL there and it would be great. When you clean the straw/hay out of the nest boxes, just throw it in the coop floor for added variety and texture, etc.

Just add it as you go along and try to keep it at least 8-10 deep, try not to disturb the bottom layers too much....put a little of that forest soil in the bottom of the coop DL to give you something to jump start your DL's composting. Try to trap the moisture from the manure and more moist bedding into the bottom layers as well...you may even benefit from throwing water into the bedding before you add additional dry bedding this fall, though I'd forego that this winter.

This winter feel of your litter as you go along....cold is fine, cold and wet, not so good...that's a good time to add a dry layer of leaves, a sprinkling of hay, or whatever you've stored from the yard to add to the DL.

Remember that, even in winter, ventilation at all levels is the key to success with the DL...if you want them warm and dry, open up that coop and let the humidity the birds and DL generate out of the coop.

Here's a vid that shows DL in the winter...and the open areas of the coop during that time. We got snow and teens below zero when that vid was taken and you'll see how open that coop is, even with all that. Hope this helps!

 

[jmdarrow]

Haha! I realized i spelled that wrong after I submitted it! Don't worry, I get kussed at alot, rather loudly, at times.
Anyway thank you for the advise. Im rather new to this chicken thing so I'm sure I'll be back with more questions.
Have a great day!
Thanks!

 

[pepparaaraa]

In the run, unless it's covered and small, it's not as important what you use and when, though it's still a good idea to use a variety of materials that have different break down times.  Wood shavings take a very, very long time to break down, especially in a coop setting, but they can be a good base for a run if it has a lot of soft mud going on.  If the run is covered and very small I'd treat it much like a coop and use materials that break down more quickly, along with those that provide air spaces. 

In a run that is uncovered you don't need to layer it in as slowly as you do a coop....you can make it as deep as you wish in a run, as long as you have high sides to hold in the litter.  You'll still want it to compost there, so using a variety of materials works best, but you can go deeper, faster to help keep the chickens out of the mud.  The deeper the litter in the run, the better those layers next to the soil will compost, attract bugs and worms and wick moisture away from the top layers.   If you use all wood shavings there, it will take a very long, long time to decompose and meanwhile it may put off ammonia smells during the hot and wet parts of the year. 

Leaves are great, small twigs, pine cones and needles, bark, corn shucks and other garden debris/trimmings, grass clippings (not too many for the space if you live where it's mostly humid....nice to let those dry and then put them in the run), a little of this and a little of that seems to work best. 

Thanks for this, I had put some dry leaves and twigs already and was planning wood chip too. Will keep adding and build up the sides. Thanks for your help... I'm sure I'll be back with more questions

 

[Kris64]

Toss in some kitchen scraps too. I toss in anything I would normally put into a compost bin.

 

[Kangasox]

@Beekissed, a quandary for you to ponder, since you are the expert. We are doing deep litter, but with ducks. My ladies are finally laying, but they are burying their eggs. They have a nest box, but change their spots every day, and I have to use the rake and search, so I'm turning over the litter much too much, I think. I am not sure if there's anything I can do about this, but figured I'd ask!