a quick jumpstart for deep litter to get "working"

[hammytammy]

hello-
im pretty sure ive got the dl dynamics understood. so, with winter coming, i need to get a move on.
id like to get it to start working asap. my birdies will need the live pile.
any ideas or experience?

 

[chooks4life]

Lime (calcium carbonate) and a garbage bag full of forest mulch/composted leaf litter, just the flooring of a forest basically. Contains all the ingredients to get your soil composting rapidly and properly.

Best wishes.

 

[hammytammy]

Lime (calcium carbonate) and a garbage bag full of forest mulch/composted leaf litter, just the flooring of a forest basically. Contains all the ingredients to get your soil composting rapidly and properly.

Best wishes.

hi--
okay so i put it in, hehee, feels weird, but ive never been a "composter" before! scraped a bin of old soil and leaves and dumped er in. then some grass clippings. thank you very much for the matter of fact advice! im started!
tammy

 

[chooks4life]

Should help, hope it goes as well for you and your chooks as it has for me and my chooks.

While the soil balance between the beneficial and harmful bacteria, fungi, microbes etc sorts itself out, for a few months it may occasionally make a smell, which is easily taken care of with a sprinkling of lime over the surface; once the populations are established (the populations of 'beneficials' you would have just introduced) then the 'harmfuls' will be kept in check, so there won't be a stink once it's all sorted itself out.

You can dig and water the lime and compost through if you want initially but chooks being chooks chances are they'll do that for you. Got a trailer load of cow patties from the paddock for the compost heap and despite the recent drought here, the chooks have rapidly reduced the dried and hard patties to a very fine dust; they're very efficient little 'tractors', lol.

Best wishes.

 

[hammytammy]

Should help, hope it goes as well for you and your chooks as it has for me and my chooks.

While the soil balance between the beneficial and harmful bacteria, fungi, microbes etc sorts itself out, for a few months it may occasionally make a smell, which is easily taken care of with a sprinkling of lime over the surface; once the populations are established (the populations of 'beneficials' you would have just introduced) then the 'harmfuls' will be kept in check, so there won't be a stink once it's all sorted itself out.

You can dig and water the lime and compost through if you want initially but chooks being chooks chances are they'll do that for you. Got a trailer load of cow patties from the paddock for the compost heap and despite the recent drought here, the chooks have rapidly reduced the dried and hard patties to a very fine dust; they're very efficient little 'tractors', lol.

Best wishes.

hi, i wanted to tell you that i have put in more soils i and am thrilled with my litter, its getting deep.

i love the "live soil".
ive really been enjoying digging in the woods.
about the lime- i have a container of BALL brand canning lime. is this the same?

and your chookies--? nice job on the patties!
did you get any rainy weather yet?

ty
tammy

 

[chooks4life]

hi, i wanted to tell you that i have put in more soils i and am thrilled with my litter, its getting deep.

i love the "live soil".
ive really been enjoying digging in the woods.
about the lime- i have a container of BALL brand canning lime. is this the same?

and your chookies--? nice job on the patties!
did you get any rainy weather yet?

ty
tammy

Yes, thanks, most of the state is still drought declared but we've been getting enough rain here for everything to be green.

I don't know what 'Ball' brand canning lime is, sorry. If it states that it's pure calcium carbonate, no additives, then yes, it will be the right stuff. If it's a little container it might be not much value for money though, given how much setting up a deep litter composting system can take. (Not huge amounts, but generally over two kilos at least, depending on the size of the coop.) You can get the right lime at landscaping places, plant nurseries, produce stores, etc, usually. Anything that deals with livestock probably has it too. Here I can get 20kg bags for a dollar a kilo, lasts for up to a year or more depending on what we use it for (livestock supplementation, breaking up clay soils, getting new coop floors sweetened, etc)...

Best wishes.