Alternatives to Deep Litter Method

NewChickenChic

In the Brooder
Apr 14, 2022
9
18
34
Raleigh, NC
Ok, new girl here. Don't attack me for asking this but are there any alternatives to the deep litter method in the coop? It just doesn't sound appealing to me. My girls are still in the brooder now (they are 5 & 7 weeks old) and I cannot imagine leaving all that poop in the coop! I am cleaning out their brooder every couple days and they're not even full grown yet!

Just wanted to hear from some people about what they use for the bottom, how often they clean it out and how they stay on top of it. I just want to have a clean, dry coop that doesn't smell or get complaints from neighbors. Many thanks!
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I use a lazy deep layer method. I pile it up pretty deep. 8 or more inches, but I don’t have the time to turn it and everything. So I’ll go down weekly or bi weekly and just take the top layer of poop into the run. It doesn’t sound appealing, but the deep layer method is good practice.

Your coop looks wonderfully easy to clean out. So it’s really up to you. You just don’t want them jumping off the roosts onto a hard floor. Plus, depending on your climate, it insulates. The floor being off the ground could get cold on their feet.

I have the run covered 10 feet out from the coop and the area it’s in doesn’t get a lot of wind. I have a 4x16 coop and it’s around 8 feet tall. It has two 4 foot doors on the southern wall at each end from floor to ceiling so there’s an 8 foot wall between the door ways. Only one door way actually has a door that I close most of the way in winter. Then I put a 1/3 door on the top section of the open door way so the only possible drafts are under their feet. I have a ladder style roost at a 45degree angle with 4 foot rungs taking up half of the coop. I have roosts running the length of the coop on the back wall as well. In winter they crown on the ladder and in the summer they all spread out.

A lot more detail than you probably wanted, but how often you clean depends on you and your chickens. And I promise, the way you start will not be how you do things a year from now. Start simple. A nice thick layer of pine shavings or your bedding of choice and let your chickens tell you how often to clean and see what works for you, your schedule, and your chickens.
 
My upper coop is nearly the same as yours, as far as being lined with linoleum. I have wood shavings on the floor with a poop tray under the roost! It stays pretty clean and unstinky with low maintenance, but then again I do not have many chickens:

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This is my article on Deep Bedding, which includes some pros and cons to think about: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/using-deep-bedding-in-a-small-coop.76343/

Deep Bedding (dry), and Deep Litter (moist and actively composting), are low-input methods that do not smell or attract flies IF CORRECTLY MANAGED in a coop that suits them.

A coop that is too small and shallow to hold enough bedding to make these systems work will have to be cleaned frequently.

A coop that does not have sufficient top-level ventilation to allow warm, moist, ammonia-laden air to rise and escape will almost inevitably stink.

Many people find poop boards helpful. Others like a method that involves daily scooping like a catbox.

There are a lot of possible options so don't be afraid to experiment until you figure out what works for YOU. :)
 
but are there any alternatives to the deep litter method in the coop?
Of course there are.
True composting deep litter wouldn't work well in your wooden floored coop anyway.

What kind of bedding you use may depend on how you manage the manure.
This is about cleaning, but covers my big picture
-I use poop boards under roosts with thin(<1/2") layer of sand/PDZ mix, sifted daily(takes 5-10mins) into bucket going to friends compost.

-Scrape big or wet poops off roost and ramps as needed.
- Large flake pine shavings on coop floor, add some occasionally, totally changed out once or twice a year, old shavings added to run.
- My runs have semi-deep litter(cold composting), never clean anything out, just add smaller dry materials on occasion, add larger wood chippings as needed.
Aged ramial wood chippings are best IMO.
-Nests are bedded with straw, add some occasionally, change out if needed(broken egg).

There is no odor, unless a fresh cecal has been dropped and when I open the bucket to add more poop.
That's how I keep it 'clean', have not found any reason to clean 'deeper' in 8 years.
 
How many chickens do you have? And what do you have in your poop board? Sand?
The poop board has a combo of sand and sweet PDZ (pictured). You could probably use a cheap boot tray for trays. Mine is filled with mostly sand and a small scoop or two of PDZ to zap odor.

More chickens would just mean a larger poop tray under the roosts, to catch all that overnight poop and to prevent it from getting in the shavings 😁

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