Can I do deep litter method?

[chicks are life]

My dad cuts,trims and removes trees for his business and he chops most of the wood into wood chips (not flakes). The wood chips sit in a pile for a long time 1-3 years his oldest pile is 3 years old.

Recently early summer we moved our run and scrapped all the wood chips out and put fresh in.is it still possible to do the deep liter method in this environment?I used the newest pile that was avliable.

I have 2 10x10 kennels:

Note: all watered are on bricks except hanging nipple one

1st kennel has a large coop standing on stilts which I have wrapped chicken wire around and made of so it connects to our run. This houses the grown chickens.
Chickens: nine currently all female
1 Cochin
4 cinnimon queens
1 Amerucana (not ee)
1 oegb
1 barred rock
1 rhod island red
Has one 3.5 gallon waterer and a hanging nipple waterer.it also has a hanging 10 pound feeder.

2nd kennel is divided. First part takes up 3/4 of the kennel this houses my teenagers or chick waiting to get joined into flock.
Has one 10 pound feeder and a 3.5 gallon waterer.
Teenagers:currently 9
2 polish
1 wyandotte and Polish mix (he is my only male)
1 wyandotte and Cochin mix
4 Easter eggers


2nd kennel 1/4 part houses broody or sick chickens depends on time of year and when broody hatch babies and if they are able to o in the kennel with the older birds. Has metal 2 gallon waterer and a small chick feeder
Chickens:
2 Cochin's (moms)
2 polish chicks
(note:feeder and waterers in this section to change again to meet the depends and amounts of birds in this section)

Feed often gets dropped and stays on ground under woodchips till it gets to a stinky moldy mess.
I have thought about trays but won't wood chips just get kicked into it?


In coop:

Coop is divided in half with a tarp on the inside because of the fact that my little coop is housing broody so I can't use it.
Pine flakes are used in all the coopo and nesting boxes.


Questions:
Can I still do deep liter method without taking wood chips out?
What would I put in it?
What could I do for spilling food?

 

[rjohns39]

I don't see why you couldn't use the deep litter method... I would probably choose the oldest pile though, as the wood should already be breaking down. I'm surprised about the food. Mine dig it up before it goes bad. You may want to consider a treadle feeder. Any kind of open feeder will get bedding in it. And they will ALWAYS spill their food.

 

[chicks are life]

What if I placed a tray under the feeder to catch food was what I was saying.

I know I hate that they spill there food its like can you just eat it all or once?!?!?!??

 

[chicks are life]

How would you teach them to use a treadle feeder

 

[lazy gardener]

Oh, how I wish I had those chips for my DL. Yes, you have the perfect set up for DL. Use those chips, But I agree with RJ. You would do well to use the oldest chips first, if they are available to you. Chips are at their best when worms have moved into them. You can also add grass clippings, hay, used coop litter, garden and yard debris to your runs. The more variety of materials, including fine and coarse/chunky material you add, the better. The wood chips are high carbon. So, by adding more green matter, you will get a compost that will break down faster. The chunky chips will help to keep things from getting matted down.

However, I suggest that you consider using fermented feed instead of feeding dry. The benefits provided by FF include: better digestion, better immunity, lower feed bill, decreased poo smell, dryer poo. Absolutely NO waste. The chickens do not bill it out onto the ground, and rodents can't carry it off. When I fill my feeders (in run that is covered with DL) I often toss some of the FF right on top of the DL, and the chickens go to work on it there. Beekissed has found that by dropping her FF onto the DL in the winter months (in her coop) it does not freeze the way it would do so if placed in a feed trough.

 

[chicks are life]

I have looked into fermented feed.

I may do it but I am currently in Utah and won't be back till the 15

 

[rjohns39]

I haven't gone to them, still thinking about it--but here's a link to a thread discussing it. https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...earn-how-to-use-feeder.1155375/#post-18128151 There are lots of links out there if you search on treadle feeder.

 

[Monica Lewon]