Results from First Year with Deep Litter Method

[Bobby Basham]

Nope, not too many.

If I lived where you live, that would not be the size of ventilation I'd opt for.....I'd have whole walls of open air situations. Actually, I live where it gets teens below in the winter and I STILL have whole walls of ventilation going on, though in the winter months I just have a half door plus 4 sq. foot size openings open, plus some pretty large cracks.

Of course, you are also be dealing with an arid climate, so any moisture you can retain in your coop would likely be a good thing, particularly at floor level, if you are doing DL.

Anyone out there doing DL in a coop in arid climates want to chime in on what levels/size of ventilation work best to keep your DL composting and the coop environment healthy?

Beekissed, I just need to go back and re-read the AZ Chickens thread. I'm sure the answer is already there. I apologize for being lazy and posted a question that has probably been answered a gazillion times. I'm talking about a small 6x6 coop with a pitched roof at 5-ft, nothing on a large scale.

My run is actually four 8x8 squares, built from the ground up, only 5 feet tall. The coop will fit in one of those squares, and half of the front square is my Chicken TV observation deck, only 4x8. The little deck is screened off, but the rest of the run is entirely open, leaving an 8x8 (minus the coop) and an 8x12 area for them to run around, and screened in entirely, including the top, with 1/4" hardware cloth so no wild birds or critters can get in. The litter will be deep enough to hide the 2x6 base boards so I don't trip while walking through the area. Garden beds will be around the perimenter to grow veggies and hide the extended hardware cloth.

It's not Fort Knox, but not too shabby for living in a concrete HOA neighborhood. The wide opening in the middle will be the doorway/gate.


The upper far left corner is reserved for the 6x6 coop, but everything is open, leaving 160 sq ft



I have to keep the structure low so that it doesn't offend the neighbors, though I see other neighbors with huge pergolas and those jumpy/playground thingies and basket ball hoops in their driveways, which is not allowed. Sorry again, this should have been posted in the Coop & Run forum, but wanted to share. --BB

Bobby Basham
Tucson, Arizona

 

[Mims]

Y'all grow corn in TX? Corn stalks and husks make for great additions to litter. Any trees in a local town? Those folks often sit bags of leaves out at the curb for the trash and even grass clippings. Grass clippings are nice to add when it's really dry in the coop and run. Weeds....woody stemmed weeds are great, so if you know of anyone clearing out weeds, you can throw those in there. Pine needles and cones are good too.

Anything that can decompose and bind with manure is a great option, just try to keep a variety going to get the most balanced composting action.

I'm canning corn nowadays and all those lovely shucks and cobs go in the coop. Come fall my corn stalks will all go there, as will all the other garden refuse such as tomato vines, squash vines, tater vines, etc. Any flower clippings, weeds, etc. that are cleaned up are carefully hoarded and placed in the coop.

Become a scavenger and you'll soon see what's out there you can use in the coop and run and it all becomes a bit fun. I've even used shredded paper from the office.

Lol, funny you should mention that. I am growing crow, and was eyeing my garden, and thinking of all the glorious leftover plant matter that can go in the coop after the growing season is over. I've been pulling unwanted weeds and grass clumps up and tossing them in there. Come fall, I learned last year to hit all the elderly people's homes. Free work for them, free leaves for me. Win win, and I am happy with the help they are getting. I'm scavenging every where I can.

 

[Hiness58]

Hi everyone! I have been doing the deep litter method since starting my chickens back in March 2016. They are doing great. I use a LOT of DE in my inner coop each day to keep the poop from stinking and dry it out. Then I turn everything over. Chicks are super healthy!! BUT. Husband complains about the dust that is everywhere in the coop! (mind you, he doesn't take care of the coop. Just lets them out and saw the dust) He thinks that the dust will mess with the fan I have in there or the little heater. Should I not use so much? Doesn't bother me. But it is rather dusty! Thank you!

 

[Beekissed]

Hi everyone! I have been doing the deep litter method since starting my chickens back in March 2016. They are doing great. I use a LOT of DE in my inner coop each day to keep the poop from stinking and dry it out. Then I turn everything over. Chicks are super healthy!! BUT. Husband complains about the dust that is everywhere in the coop! (mind you, he doesn't take care of the coop. Just lets them out and saw the dust) He thinks that the dust will mess with the fan I have in there or the little heater. Should I not use so much? Doesn't bother me. But it is rather dusty! Thank you!

I'd cease and desist on the DE....every time your chickens scratch through that bedding they are kicking up a cloud of what is equal to tiny glass slivers for them to breath. DE is pretty unnecessary in deep litter and it actually slows down the composting action, though what you are describing is more of a deep bedding rather than deep litter. You'll WANT moisture in deep litter...it's necessary for the litter to compost, digesting the feces in the litter pack. If you keep turning it over, you'll dry it out and slow down the composting.

Dry is not exactly the goal with deep litter. It seems to be so with deep bedding, though, but either way, you don't need DE...it's harmful for you to breath and also for your chickens. If you want to keep dry deep bedding, you can use sweet lime or even stall dry...either thing would be less harmful than DE, though the lime would make it just as dusty.

So...no, I'd not use so much. Or any at all. If the coop is stinking you'll likely need more ventilation(it helps to have fresh air intake near the floor level and stale air output near the roof), use different bedding materials(let me guess...pine shavings? They always emitted a lot more ammonia for me when I was just using pine shavings) and stop stirring it up... just lightly turn the top layer into the bedding or put a light layer over top the feces. Stirring it up just releases all the ammonia...if you can smell it as far up as you are, imagine how strong it is at the floor level for your chickens.

 

[TalkALittle]

@Hiness58, I thought I might add that chickens themselves create a LOT of dust (dander) on their own. Since you've only been in the chicken game since this spring, maybe some of what you're seeing on everything is plain old chicken dust. That said, I agree with above. Nix the DE.

I do deep litter (cold composting) in the run for the health and mental benefit it offers, but choose to maintain a deep layer of very dry bedding in the coop. I use pine shavings thru much of the year and toss in dry autumn leaves this time of year. Every spring I dump the contents in the run and start fresh.

I have a small coop for the amount of birds I have so also use poop boards with Sweet PDZ granules that I easily scoop every 3 days or so such that my bedding stays dry, doesn't stink, and the coop is (relatively) low dust. I recommend this kind of setup if you desire a really dry and low odor coop.

Lastly, I noticed that you stated you had a heater in your coop. I don't know the specifics of your setup, but do know that often heaters cause more problems than they solve and have resulted in devastating coop fires. Your husband is right to worry about dry, dusty, feathery bedding. The good thing is, unless you are in the coldest of climates, you likely won't need to heat your coop at all. If your coop is dry with good ventilation, it is even less needed.

 

[Beekissed]

I agree....doing the chickens no favor by heating the coop. They carry their home on their backs, much like a sheep does, so all they need is a place out of the worst of the wind for winter time living.

 

[jessg84]

I am trying to start the deep litter method in my coop. I started about a month ago but it does not seem like anything is breaking down. I have a compost pile outside with chicken litter in it. Should I add some of the already composted litter under the bedding in the coop?

 

[Mims]

I am trying to start the deep litter method in my coop. I started about a month ago but it does not seem like anything is breaking down. I have a compost pile outside with chicken litter in it. Should I add some of the already composted litter under the bedding in the coop?

Absolutely! The microbes already present in the compost will kick it into action. What type of flooring do you have? Where are you located (general area)?

 

[Beekissed]

I am trying to start the deep litter method in my coop. I started about a month ago but it does not seem like anything is breaking down. I have a compost pile outside with chicken litter in it. Should I add some of the already composted litter under the bedding in the coop?

What are you using for bedding and how much moisture is in your litter pack?

 

[jessg84]

I use pine shavings bedding. I think maybe part of the problem is that I have been using sweet PDZ which is keeping it very dry.