Results from First Year with Deep Litter Method

[Daisy8s]

I'm thinking a variation of this coop now, except with a dirt floor. No cedar shingles either. Can't afford that! I'd have bigger windows and more ventilation. I need to build for the heat, not the cold.

I think I've seen people in hotter climates use tin roofs...aren't they supposed to let the heat escape quicker at night than shingles? Not sure...

No matter what I'd leave a gap of 2-3 inches at the top of all the walls, or, especially at the walls that cross the prevailing winds. If it's up under the roof and you have a good-sized overhand on your room (good for shade) you won't worry about that gap permanent--even when it rains. Letting heat under the ceiling escape will really help cool the coop down.

Cover the gap with fine chicken wire to keep sparrows out (few predators are going to get into a gap that high up a sheer wall and that small). You don't want wild birds in your coop eating your food and water because they spread disease from one backyard flock to another (speaking from experience here...you may have no nearby flocks now but the neighbors will get them and the neighbors won't be vigilant about sick birds).

 

[pdirt]

So this is our first year with chickens. We tried the DLM. We don't use DE and have been feeding fermented feed since September. Today I took a pitch fork and dug up the deepest layers of litter under the roosts to see if I had compost. Not good. Obvious undecomposed feces and strong ammonia odor. I covered it back up and the smell went away. I don't usually smell ammonia anyways. Unfortunately our coop floor is wood rather than dirt. We are going to clean it out good soon and I will haul in some soil to try to start with more of the right microorganisms this time around.

Does anyone know...is this the sort of situation that lime is helpful for? If so, is it just the kind of lime used for gardening?

 

[henless]

I'm thinking a variation of this coop now, except with a dirt floor. No cedar shingles either. Can't afford that! I'd have bigger windows and more ventilation. I need to build for the heat, not the cold.

When building your coop, if you plan on using DL in the coop itself, you may want to make your pop door higher up than the one pictured.

I'm new at this too, I'm doing DL as well... Good so far .. When you clean the poop boards, do you put the poo in the run to compost with the leaves ? Or in a pile in the run? Or do you have seperate compost piles in yard that you use?

I will be using a poop board simply because I built my brooder under it. I plan on just raking it off onto the floor and letting the compost work. I know it will take a little more work, but I wanted to brood my babies out in the coop, not in my house.

 

[Ms Jellybean]

I think I've seen people in hotter climates use tin roofs...aren't they supposed to let the heat escape quicker at night than shingles? Not sure...

No matter what I'd leave a gap of 2-3 inches at the top of all the walls, or, especially at the walls that cross the prevailing winds. If it's up under the roof and you have a good-sized overhand on your room (good for shade) you won't worry about that gap permanent--even when it rains. Letting heat under the ceiling escape will really help cool the coop down.

Cover the gap with fine chicken wire to keep sparrows out (few predators are going to get into a gap that high up a sheer wall and that small). You don't want wild birds in your coop eating your food and water because they spread disease from one backyard flock to another (speaking from experience here...you may have no nearby flocks now but the neighbors will get them and the neighbors won't be vigilant about sick birds).

I have a lot of neighbours with chickens, only one that is sort of close. I think I will combine the roof style (kind of, but not quite) of the first coop with the body of the second coop.

When building your coop, if you plan on using DL in the coop itself, you may want to make your pop door higher up than the one pictured.

Soon to have Hens.

Good idea on the door.

 

[birdlady79]

I've been reading up on DL... We have a wooden floor which I'm putting linoleum over this weekend.... I've been trying to do the DL but it's not composting... It doesn't stink, I turn it every couple of days..... Since I will be starting over do I need to add DIRT this go around?

 

[amenfarm]

I would add soil (dirt) to the floor first. Excuse the expression,but, live dirt, not from a bag which is usually sterilized, compost would be great, we just shovled a bit of dirt from the flower bed. We have a concrete floor, and I just shoveled a couple of scoops in to start. If the mix does not receive any/enough moisture it will never develop into DL. I live in the humid south- so no problems here, if you need to you can mist the top- lightly and mix it in. I don't know how large your coop is..but you should be able to mist it with a water bottle-if you use the hose be mighty careful of over doing it. Whatever you decide, you do need to think of deep litter like a compost pile, it needs organic matter ( chicken poo), moisture ( usually from said manure, but you may have to help it), heat ( depth of litter) and oxygen ( stir it up) to compost. When you do your bi-annual cleaning you can save a few scoops of the composted litter to restart the process. We also use just vinegar, not bleach, to clean everything well, allow to completely dry, add back either composted litter or a few scoops dirt and then cover with your choice of litter. annually, I re- whitewash for mites. For litter we use pine shavings, leaves or shedded office paper. the pine shavings because it is so humid thats it's the only thing that really works for us.
.

 

[Ms Jellybean]

I would add soil (dirt) to the floor first. Excuse the expression,but, live dirt, not from a bag which is usually sterilized, compost would be great, we just shovled a bit of dirt from the flower bed. We have a concrete floor, and I just shoveled a couple of scoops in to start. If the mix does not receive any/enough moisture it will never develop into DL. I live in the humid south- so no problems here, if you need to you can mist the top- lightly and mix it in. I don't know how large your coop is..but you should be able to mist it with a water bottle-if you use the hose be mighty careful of over doing it. Whatever you decide, you do need to think of deep litter like a compost pile, it needs organic matter ( chicken poo), moisture ( usually from said manure, but you may have to help it), heat ( depth of litter) and oxygen ( stir it up) to compost. When you do your bi-annual cleaning you can save a few scoops of the composted litter to restart the process. We also use just vinegar, not bleach, to clean everything well, allow to completely dry, add back either composted litter or a few scoops dirt and then cover with your choice of litter. annually, I re- whitewash for mites. For litter we use pine shavings, leaves or shedded office paper. the pine shavings because it is so humid thats it's the only thing that really works for us.
.

Is whitewash a different product than paint? If so, where do you get it? Does plain paint work just as well?

I remember reading something about barn red paint being different than regular paint a bit ago, but don't remember what it did that was different. My house will clash with barn red so I didn't give the colour choice any thought.....

 

[Beekissed]

I've been reading up on DL... We have a wooden floor which I'm putting linoleum over this weekend.... I've been trying to do the DL but it's not composting... It doesn't stink, I turn it every couple of days..... Since I will be starting over do I need to add DIRT this go around?

Don't start over...just add dirt to what you have and stop turning it for a bit but just toss some litter on top of the concentrated poop under the roosts. Give it time to start growing some good organisms and attract some bugs...if you stir it up too often you disturb that process. When you've reached DL zen, the chickens will do the stirring for you as they search for bugs.

I found mine composts much better if I don't disturb it very often and it will hold moisture better in the bottom layers where it needs it if I don't expose those layers too often.

 

[jonalisa]

This is an amazing thread. I am really grateful to aart for the link. I have a few questions.
So, is it better to start with a painted or unpainted wood floor vs. vinyl? I am wondering if a wood floor would eventually rot?
What height is optimal for nesting boxes?

Thanks!

 

[amenfarm]

Is whitewash a different product than paint? If so, where do you get it? Does plain paint work just as well?

I remember reading something about barn red paint being different than regular paint a bit ago, but don't remember what it did that was different. My house will clash with barn red so I didn't give the colour choice any thought.....

I copied a few recipes,https://fiascofarm.com/recipes/whitewash.html or http://tinyfarmblog.com/liming-the-chickenhouse/. There are still examples of this at old plantations, and if you have seen or been in a dairy barn it's what they use. These posts did not explain the salt which helps make it lasts better against water, when you mix it in and allow to sit overnight to use the next day-there is a chemical reaction that develops with the salt-have no idea what that is called.http://thehistoricfoodie.wordpress.com/tag/whitewash/--try this too. No reason not to use regular paint, I'm using lime wash ( whitewash) for it's anti bacterial properties, the fact that pests, like red mites and mice, hate it and it really gives a bright finish. You can add ingredients to color the lime wash--but white is what I am after. I want this for interior use--I would not want to use it on the exterior because i would have to fight the rain/humidity
.