Another DLM thread..

[aart]

Sweet coop and run!
My only regret is not having a covered run....jeally!

I'd add boards around the bottom(8-10-12") and add in as much dirt as you can to cover the HC, then you can start adding DL materials. The HC will hold most the DL stuff.

 

[LindseyC]

Thanks! I was thinking about having some sand hauled in, just because I'm not sure we'll have enough dirt. It will definitely be an ongoing process. We're learning as we go, that's for sure!

 

[rosemarythyme]

The thing with deep litter is it doesn't all have to be done at once. If you think that's something you want to do, start saving grass as you mow, garden clippings as you get them. When fall comes bag up as many bags of dry leaves as you can. If you have some wood chips brought now, they'll be good in a year, maybe 6 months even. My run definitely went through a mud pit phase where the grass all died but I hadn't really figured out how to handle run flooring (silly me, I thought the leaves I dumped in at the start of fall would last a whole year!), so it was ultra-shallow-litter for half a year there until I was able to gather up materials plus experiment a little to see what I liked using.

 

[aligarysmom]

I have bagged pine shavings in mine and just keep adding. It’s not deep yet but it will be. By bagged I mean bought.

 

[LindseyC]

Do you notice the pine shavings stinking really bad if they get wet? Man, one time a bit of water was knocked out in the brooder and it was awful stinky. I would love to use some shavings but I’m scared of the smell.

 

[aligarysmom]

Nope. It rains here it it rains a lot here

Oregon

 

[aart]

Do you notice the pine shavings stinking really bad if they get wet? Man, one time a bit of water was knocked out in the brooder and it was awful stinky. I would love to use some shavings but I’m scared of the smell.

It's the wet poops that stink, not the shavings per se.
Shavings can be used as part of a 'DL' mix.
I use pine shavings on coop floor, and a poop board under roosts, I change out coop shavings twice a year(6-7 feed bags full) and spread them over the run litter a couple at a time over a few weeks.

 

[LindseyC]

Of course, that’s what I meant. The pine shaving smell wonderful... minus the poo. Once the poop is dried out, after being in the coop, does it smell once being thrown in the run? It doesn’t reactivate the stink, does it?

 

[aart]

Once the poop is dried out, after being in the coop, does it smell once being thrown in the run? It doesn’t reactivate the stink, does it?

Not if there's enough other carbonaceous materials to 'absorb' the nitrogen/ammonia,
I have a good base of wood chippings so it worked out fine.

 

[LindseyC]

Would something like PDZ help with the, too? I’ve got a bag of that on hand. I’ve been hauling wheel barrels of dirt from one side of an acre yard to the other for the past hour! That’s hard on a girl who isn’t used to manual labor! I’d much rather sit with the girls. Doing it in humid 90 degree weather doesn’t help either! I had to come in for a break before my heart beat out of my chest. I may have even broken a nail.

They’re worth it though. Just another day for this city girl living in the country. #greenacres