Square one, decide on the space and build the coop (my coop build):
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hooyah-cheep-sea.75648/
Fall 2018
The Coop
With no idea of what I am doing regarding DLM other than the oodles of reading I did here on BYC, I dig up the grass in the coop, turn it over and add bags and bags of pine needles, pine cones, maple leaves, Flock Fresh, pine shavings, coffee grounds, leftover food, straw, fallen fruit from around the neighborhood and whatever else catches my fancy. I couldn't get ahold of shredded tree chunks because my carport is off a narrow alley and there is no space for a truck to dump it off. I used what was free.
I watered it all well and started turning it once a week (it was late summer and was not really wet out). Throughout that first winter I continued to turn it about once a week, but no longer had to water it because the rains started and the rain would wick into the soil from outside. I had also started out with a poop board of sorts which I nixed after the winter after I realized it was ridiculous to have one with DLM. It had been an old low bookcase that had come with the house: I used the top as the poop board and the bottom as their nest area. It is hard to explain and unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of it at the time. Doesn't matter anyway because I don't use it anymore.
The Run
I threw the exact same stuff into the run as I did in the coop, but I did not touch the grass at all. That was probably just about the only difference between the run and the coop, other than the fact my run does not have a cover and my coop does. I also have my 4x8 raised garden bed in my run. After the growing season I let my chickens in it to do their rototiller thing.
Once all the initial work is done, it becomes extremely easy for me to upkeep. If I neglect it all for a little bit, it's ok. It looks atrocious over the winter, but that is when all the decomposing magic happens (for me in my Puget Sound climate).
To be continued in https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/dlm-in-the-small-city-part-2-spring-2020.75665/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hooyah-cheep-sea.75648/
Fall 2018
The Coop
With no idea of what I am doing regarding DLM other than the oodles of reading I did here on BYC, I dig up the grass in the coop, turn it over and add bags and bags of pine needles, pine cones, maple leaves, Flock Fresh, pine shavings, coffee grounds, leftover food, straw, fallen fruit from around the neighborhood and whatever else catches my fancy. I couldn't get ahold of shredded tree chunks because my carport is off a narrow alley and there is no space for a truck to dump it off. I used what was free.
I watered it all well and started turning it once a week (it was late summer and was not really wet out). Throughout that first winter I continued to turn it about once a week, but no longer had to water it because the rains started and the rain would wick into the soil from outside. I had also started out with a poop board of sorts which I nixed after the winter after I realized it was ridiculous to have one with DLM. It had been an old low bookcase that had come with the house: I used the top as the poop board and the bottom as their nest area. It is hard to explain and unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of it at the time. Doesn't matter anyway because I don't use it anymore.
The Run
I threw the exact same stuff into the run as I did in the coop, but I did not touch the grass at all. That was probably just about the only difference between the run and the coop, other than the fact my run does not have a cover and my coop does. I also have my 4x8 raised garden bed in my run. After the growing season I let my chickens in it to do their rototiller thing.
Once all the initial work is done, it becomes extremely easy for me to upkeep. If I neglect it all for a little bit, it's ok. It looks atrocious over the winter, but that is when all the decomposing magic happens (for me in my Puget Sound climate).
To be continued in https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/dlm-in-the-small-city-part-2-spring-2020.75665/
