Cleaning pine bedding

[Rural Broody]

Rural Broody, I am so glad when I get someone with expert knowledge. So, you are saying that as long as droppings are dry, there should be no odor? Is that correct? And you are saying as long as dry droppings mixed in, and no crusty shell on top, with poop is healthier for chicks than just bedding?
Imma gonna just ask you another question while I am on a roll.
I need some way to tidy up and give fresh odor to their outdoor run area, which is way small, because we are opening their 10 x 70 run in phases. We are reinforcing fencing as we go to make escape proof, we have a second 10 x 20 canopy to install, and I am trying to install 50 x 50 poultry netting asap cause they are leaving chicken ranch flying into my dog yard. Husband us out of state working. So small run area has become nasty. I would like to rake and shovel poop out, but it seems to camouflage as soil once they and I tread thru it. What do I do? What can I use to deoderize that is safe? Is the damp poop mess putting them more at risk for lice, mites, stick tight fleas?
Last question: I am trying now to teach them to go to coop when I ask them.I heard we also have to train them to roost? Is that true?
I didnt know I had to be a chicken trainer.

Oh dear! I'm sorry! I'm a total newbie!!

I have only had chickens for a week myself

and am in the middle of building my coop right now. Your post about litter was very reassuring to ME as a newbie looking for ways to make litter management simple and less time-consuming, while still being healthy for the birds. Thank YOU for the research you have done (and to everyone who is confirming it etc!!)

 

[Lisa Wood]

Oh dear! I'm sorry! I'm a total newbie!!  I have only had chickens for a week myself   and am in the middle of building my coop right now. Your post about litter was very reassuring to ME as a newbie looking for ways to make litter management simple and less time-consuming, while still being healthy for the birds. Thank YOU for the research you have done (and to everyone who is confirming it etc!!) 

Rural Broody! Even though you cracked me up, I found you are correct! I am wrong! The expert I meant was

Oh dear! I'm sorry! I'm a total newbie!!  I have only had chickens for a week myself   and am in the middle of building my coop right now. Your post about litter was very reassuring to ME as a newbie looking for ways to make litter management simple and less time-consuming, while still being healthy for the birds. Thank YOU for the research you have done (and to everyone who is confirming it etc!!) 

Rural Broody! You are correct! I am mistaken!? Dont worry it happens about every day. Out of the three experts who have been advising, I was attempting to call Howard E the expert I meant at the time! Howard E, please read the above post, delete RuralBroody and replace with your ID! And yes, thanks again for all expert knowledge, but especially you, even though it looks like you also recently joined BYC site! Of course you were probably getting sll your experience before you joined! Because this site is a time vampire. Just sucks away hours!
But seriously, thank you so much again for your typing and help.
Lisa
PS another expert has some beautiful lavender chickens....

 

[Lisa Wood]

Lisa:

What size is the coop and how many birds are you keeping?

It seems you have a covered run? If so, best solution to the messy conditions it to keep adding bedding and litter to it, even in the run. Pine chips, pine straw, tree leaves, etc. In some cases, the use of hydrated lime (some may go apoplectic about this one), but small amounts of 5 to 10 pounds per 100 square feet. That is not as much as it sounds, and also, you spread it evenly and mix it in. Straight, it may be mildly caustic to the bird's feet, but you do not leave it for them straight. Spread evenly over the top of the built up litter and then raked or mixed in. It keeps the odor down and keeps the litter from caking up and getting crusty.

It may sound counterintuitive, but some with long term experience have suggested the deeper you go with this litter, the better. A foot deep may not be as bad as you might suspect. It will be dryer and smell better than only a few inches. If it is covered, so does not get drenched with every rain, a run with roof, but open sides, with deep litter may be the best long term solution.

Having said that, this process does not go on forever. Eventually, you have to clean it out. Commercial poultry houses have a "hot" litter problem, more manure than litter, and are required by regulations in most places to have many, many acres lined up to spread it all out. You will also need a place to go with it eventually. Composted and put on a large garden (large being relative), but large enough to handle all the litter. Or else start lining up friends who have gardens. They many want it too once they see it's benefits. But beware, you can have too much of a good thing.

Yes, the run is covered with open sides.yesterday hawks cruised overhead and never even spotted the chicks. I bought some shavings today for the run.
I need to read the deep litter method, so i know hat we are discussing!
Lisa

 

[MeepBeep]

I was recently reminded when reviewing a BYC member's site, what we are calling deep litter might best be thought of as built up litter. Not exactly a compost pile, as it does not get hot enough to compost, and not a put and take.....keep it clean litter system, but more like a bed of litter that is a combination of litter material and chicken droppings. It should also be thought of as a living organic thing......it's own little biosphere. Studies were done a long time ago that concluded it was a really healthy situation for the birds.

There is deep litter that is in fact a compost, it's a 'cold' compost and there is deep bedding where you simply have enough clean dry matter that is essentially dehydrates the poop in short... Two methods with names that intertwined...

Deep litter is a cold compost, and thus it can take a year or two complete a compost cycle vs your traditional backyard hot compost pile that can complete a cycle in a few weeks or few months...

Deep liter still compost and generates some heat, but it never gets hot enough to kill off pathogens so that has to be taken into consideration, plus the fact that it take a year or more complete the cycle...

But, in a chicken coop where waste is spread out and in small amounts over time, cold composting works quite well...

BTW in another thread someone claimed it does not generate heat, here is a picture I took of my deep litter this winter, you can see the coop temp is 37° while the litter is about 47° and as a side note the outside temp was 28° that night, so even in the dead of winter it was generating quite a bit of heat...

You can also see that my deep litter has about 25% moisture content so that it can support composting and doesn't become deep bedding, just like a compost pile the nitrogen to carbon to water content has to be maintained or it ceases to function properly... FYI pressing the white button on top of that meater turns that PH/moisture meter on to the moisture meter setting if anyone is confused...