Results from First Year with Deep Litter Method

[RonP]

Ronp, I should have asked....is your run covered? I'm debating covering mine for the snow in winter....there are a lot of days the girls could get out as far as temps but the snow sure does stick around here for a while.

My run could easily withstand a 3 foot snow load.

That said, I cover with a temporary tarp only about 20% of the run.

My birds do not like to step on snow...

My run is as secure as my coop. Girls have access to the run 24/7.

The covered part allows immediate access to the run during inclimate weather, rain or snow.

I store in closed garbage containers soiled deep bedding removed from the coop in late fall.

I place the containers in strategic locations around the run.

After a snowfall, I dump shovel fulls scattered randomly in the run.

The girls spread the soiled litter (Pine Shavings and Poop) and "walk" on top of the snow as if it didn't exist.

This seems to work well for them, I think they appreciate not being "cooped up".

Early Spring, I dump the remaining soiled litter from the containers.

The soiled litter adds to the deep litter run material, composting outdoors nicely and complimenting everything else...

Hope this helps.

 

[Stephine]

Do leaves have to be pretty fresh or is it ok to use last fall's leaves? I wonder about mold.

 

[RonP]

Do leaves have to be pretty fresh or is it ok to use last fall's leaves? I wonder about mold.

Well...

My run has about 2 1/2 feet of last fall's leaves...

 

[9blessings]

you would need something substantial for the snow load.. I use cattle panel hoops for coops, but for a unsecure run you could skip the hardware cloth and just tarp them.. the snow tends to slide off if not wet snow

Molpet....this is a good idea! Thank you!

 

[9blessings]

My run could easily withstand a 3 foot snow load.

That said, I cover with a temporary tarp only about 20% of the run.

My birds do not like to step on snow...

My run is as secure as my coop. Girls have access to the run 24/7.

The covered part allows immediate access to the run during inclimate weather, rain or snow.

I store in closed garbage containers soiled deep bedding removed from the coop in late fall.

I place the containers in strategic locations around the run.

After a snowfall, I dump shovel fulls scattered randomly in the run.

The girls spread the soiled litter (Pine Shavings and Poop) and "walk" on top of the snow as if it didn't exist.

This seems to work well for them, I think they appreciate not being "cooped up".

Early Spring, I dump the remaining soiled litter from the containers.

The soiled litter adds to the deep litter run material, composting outdoors nicely and complimenting everything else...

Hope this helps.

You're making this SO easy...this sounds exactly like something we could do. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful system!

 

[haasle]

Hello- I am new to the whole backyard chicken thing and my chicks are 2 weeks old now. I'm getting a coop tomorrow and i'm excited for them to go outside when they're ready. I am also VERY sensitive to smells and I don't want this to ruin the whole experience and make me want to get rid of the chickens. So i'm trying to figure out and understand the best way to keep
the smell away. For this "deep litter" method, are you basically just covering up poop with layer upon layer or pine shavings?? And does this avoid having to scoop
poop daily?? People who use sand, do you have to scoop poop daily? I swear I need step by step instructions on how to keep chickens!! lol. Dumb question, but does dry chicken poop not smelll? and doesnt the chicken pee get everything wet? You spoke about the chickens "stirring things up" why do you want them to stir around their poop?

 

[RonP]

Hello- I am new to the whole backyard chicken thing and my chicks are 2 weeks old now. I'm getting a coop tomorrow and i'm excited for them to go outside when they're ready. I am also VERY sensitive to smells and I don't want this to ruin the whole experience and make me want to get rid of the chickens. So i'm trying to figure out and understand the best way to keep
the smell away. For this "deep litter" method, are you basically just covering up poop with layer upon layer or pine shavings?? And does this avoid having to scoop
poop daily?? People who use sand, do you have to scoop poop daily? I swear I need step by step instructions on how to keep chickens!! lol. Dumb question, but does dry chicken poop not smelll? and doesnt the chicken pee get everything wet? You spoke about the chickens "stirring things up" why do you want them to stir around their poop?

I simply put 6 to 8 inches of pine savings in the coop.

Proper ventilation is extremely important.

The girls scratch and turn the deep bedding, the moisture evaporates, the bedding keeps relatively dry, no harmful odors.

Moisture never reaches my untreated wood floor.

You will get dust everywhere, but there are methods to address this issue.

This bedding is too dry for proper composting, thus called deep bedding, not deep litter which commonly refers to cold or hot composting.

Hope this helps.

 

[Kacey Elle]

RonP:

I love your run. I currently don't have chickens of my own but I'm planning to get them this coming March or April. In the meantime--after reading this entire thread--I'm planning to save all the dried leaves I can in my neighborhood!

My questions:
1. If I currently have compost in one of those open-bottomed plastic bins, should I spread it on the bottom of the run to get things started, then cover it with dried leaves before installing my flock?

2. I'm confused on how you collect the compost from the bottom. You mentioned that it gets sifted out of the hardware mesh and it looks like you have stones to form a sort of catch-basin for the compost. Is that right? Do you ever dig down past the top layers to harvest the compost? Wouldn't the compost in the middle form a "hill" since it couldn't ever leave the run?

3. Do you ever add water to the run or turn/aerate it yourself?

Thanks!
Kacey

 

[RonP]

RonP:

I love your run. I currently don't have chickens of my own but I'm planning to get them this coming March or April. In the meantime--after reading this entire thread--I'm planning to save all the dried leaves I can in my neighborhood!

My questions:
1. If I currently have compost in one of those open-bottomed plastic bins, should I spread it on the bottom of the run to get things started, then cover it with dried leaves before installing my flock?

2. I'm confused on how you collect the compost from the bottom. You mentioned that it gets sifted out of the hardware mesh and it looks like you have stones to form a sort of catch-basin for the compost. Is that right? Do you ever dig down past the top layers to harvest the compost? Wouldn't the compost in the middle form a "hill" since it couldn't ever leave the run?

3. Do you ever add water to the run or turn/aerate it yourself?

Thanks!
Kacey

Hi Kacey,

1. No need to add anything but dried leaves. The leaves left alone will compost naturally in a year or two. Added nitrogen such as chicken manure or fresh greens feed the microorganisms helping the decomposition along.

2. I don't collect the compost from the bottom, although I probably could. The girls are constantly digging holes, turning everything over. I dump fresh material in one corner, they spread it out throughout the run. I have 2 stacked 4x4 posts laid horizontally, 2 feet away but parallel surrounding my run. The sifted compost collects in this area.

3. No, nature supplies the moisture, the girls suply the work. I only add greens and browns (mostly grass clippings and leaves). Except to repair the damage from hurricane Sandy, I have not entered the run in over 9 years.

Hope this helps.

 

[Kacey Elle]

Thanks, RonP!

One follow up question: You mentioned that you haven't entered the run in almost a decade. Do you have to stay out so that you don't compact the compost or is it just because you don't want to wade through it?

Thanks again for all the information!