Chicken Coop and Lime

[mrswalker]

My chickens live in a big barn stall. I’ve done the deep litter method since the beginning of autumn. Last year deep litter worked out great, but this year I must’ve done something wrong, because underneath the first few inches, there’s a very strong ammonia smell. My local ag store told me to use lime, and I’m wondering how soon after lime can I let the chickens in? And how long should I wait to rake out the stall? I'm concerned about breathing it in.

 

[DobieLover]

My chickens live in a big barn stall. I’ve done the deep litter method since the beginning of autumn. Last year deep litter worked out great, but this year I must’ve done something wrong, because underneath the first few inches, there’s a very strong ammonia smell. My local ag store told me to use lime, and I’m wondering how soon after lime can I let the chickens in? And how long should I wait to rake out the stall? I'm concerned about breathing it in.

I'd clean everything out to the dirt, spread lime then add a thick layer of dry bedding.
DLM works but it has to be completely mixed to compost well. It seems as if only the top few inches were being mixed.

Have you ever considered installing poop boards? I use them and it takes about 3-4 minutes each morning to scoop them. I only clean the coop out once a year and there has never been ammonia smell in my coop.

 

[Alaskan]

I'd clean everything out to the dirt, spread lime then add a thick layer of dry bedding.
DLM works but it has to be completely mixed to compost well. It seems as if only the top few inches were being mixed.

Have you ever considered installing poop boards? I use them and it takes about 3-4 minutes each morning to scoop them. I only clean the coop out once a year and there has never been ammonia smell in my coop.

X2

Great advice