Blackjack #57 deep litter compost safe for garden?

[AuntJamie]

Quite right. I've actually been doing lots of reading on dlm and know it won't be true composting. Basically just breaking down of the organic material and drying out of the poop. Or that's what I've gathered...And it still needs put in a compost pile when taken out of the coop before putting it in the garden.
It also won't heat the coop in the winter like a true compost.

But I takes what I can gets.

 

[aart]

Quite right. I've actually been doing lots of reading on dlm and know it won't be true composting. Basically just breaking down of the organic material and drying out of the poop. Or that's what I've gathered...And it still needs put in a compost pile when taken out of the coop before putting it in the garden.
It also won't heat the coop in the winter like a true compost.

But I takes what I can gets.

I do dry shavings too, nothing really breaks down much...poops can get pulverized and build up a dust component, some shavings will break up a bit but not really rot.
Even drenching this stuff in water in a compost pile it takes a loooong time to break down wood.

I started throwing the coop shavings into the run that already has this stuff in it:

 

[AuntJamie]

That's a good idea! It will certainly get composted and turned by the chickens out there. I haven't really composted much so that might be a good alternative to a compost pile. Thanks aart!

 

[ScottandSam]

I also do a deep little bed changed out @ 2-4 times a year. so it not true compost yet. but the bj57 has held up awesome in my coop although its only a year old. I liked it so much my flower box will be sealed with it/ the post on my run where they sit in the ground will get 2 coats and I just recently did the floor in out lgd dog house. I love the stuff. In our coop we did the floor and @3' up each wall.


Scott

 

[AuntJamie]

I think what's being said is that you can't truly compost unless the floor is dirt. The moisture is needed, and the microbes it would get from the dirt, too.
That's great you fancy it so well and it's holding up. I've been thinking about what else we can use it for since we got the big 4.75 gall bucket and even with two coats we'll have leftover after the coop floor. Doing up your wood post in the run is a good idea. Wish we had it before we built the run, might've come in handy. In fact I know it would have! Oh, well...

 

[TalkALittle]

I don't have a Blackjack floor but I'll add my experience to the deep litter topic. I run a deep layer of bedding in my coop (shavings, leaves, hay, chopped straw). Over time it gets mechanically broken down by the scratching and foot traffic of the chickens. I run a true composting deep litter in my run. Once a year in the fall I screen some litter from my run and use it to top dress my garden. Then I put the used bedding from the coop into the run and fill the coop with new material.

This rotational approach has served me and my birds very well. My untreated wood floor looks the same as it did when the coop was built. I can give the girls a fresh, thick, dry insulating layer of bedding just in time for winter when they need it most and when material is readily available (and free) in my yard. I have an annual source of compost that I can apply in autumn to overwinter in my little garden plot so it is ready in the spring. And the used bedding from the coop provides a nice balance to all the summer grass clippings and garden waste. It really is a system that sustains and balances itself nicely and shows that one doesn't need to compost in the coop to get the benefits of deep litter.

 

[AuntJamie]

That sounds like a pretty good system. May try it out myself. What I would call a traditional compost heap seems a little daunting to me. I know they're supposed to be simple but I like the idea of the chickens doing all the work. I'll just shovel the goods out later.