Buy coop for deep litter method

[OregonChickenKeeper]

Planning to get chicks next Spring, have never had them before. I am NOT at all handy and would like to buy a coop/run suitable for the deep litter method. Researching and all I'm finding is Carolina Coops, which look fantastic but really expensive (not to mention on the other coast clear across the country). Any advise or suggestions welcome! We have a lot of shed-makers that I would think could do something similar, but is it a case of "you get what you pay for"? Watching Carolina Coops videos I doubt I have the skills to put one up myself...

 

[Debbie292d]

I won't try to knock the deep litter, but I've heard several people have issues with it. I wouldn't do it where it's humid as mold on walls and windows starts showing up. I rather have something I don't have to mess around with and would be dry as we can't have any humidity in the winter (frostbite). We went with horse bedding pellets and found they not only keep the coop dry and odorless, but they only need to be changed once a year. We do it in the spring; by that point, they're about 80% sawdust. We spread that around our trees, in flower beds, put some in the compost bins, and spread some thinly in the garden before tilling it.

As for coops, we also needed a garden shed, so went shopping at the Amish mini-barn place and wound up buying one. Hubby remodeled one end of it into a coop. We're in WI, so he fully insulated it and put linoleum on the floor. That was many years ago, and we still love it, as do our chickens.

 

[OregonChickenKeeper]

Thank you for the excellent advice! How deeply do you spread the horse bedding?

 

[Debbie292d]

Thank you for the excellent advice! How deeply do you spread the horse bedding?

We put down about 3 inches which last a year for 10 poopers. If we have double the chickens in there, we may opt to change it twice a year, or could just add more pellets. Once when we had a lot more chickens it was breaking down to sawdust fast on one side they perch more. We just took a grain scoop and scooped out about 3 big scoops and threw a quarter bag of pellets there. Tada!

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC.

Deep Litter is a moist, composting system best used in a coop with a dirt floor. If that's what you're wanting, buying a shed to convert or building a hoop coop would probably be best.

Deep Bedding, however, is a dry system that doesn't compost, but minimizes routine cleaning and can be done in a coop with a floor. This is my article about it: Using Deep Bedding in a Small Coop

It is, unfortunately, VERY difficult to buy a coop that really works. The vast majority of prefab coops are undersized, poorly ventilated, and poorly-built.

Other than Carolina Coops, OverEZ and Omlet coops have the reputation of being better-built, but they are undersized for the number of chickens they claim to hold and badly ventilation. Being wood, the OverEZ coops are easier to work with to add the needed airflow.

You might consider finding a good plan here on the site (how many chickens do you want?), and hiring a local handyman to build it for you.

Repecka Illustrates Coop Ventilation

 

[ChickNanny13]

I never clean, maybe once a year and just keep adding pine shavings. Use pellet bedding when it used to get soaked from continuous rain, it would wick from the ground. I live in Hawaii, it's hot, humid & wet. Works for me ...