Considering deep litter method

[Kaesi2020]

Obviously everyone manages their set up a little differently.

For the coop (deep bedding), I really only have poop under the roost area, so I simply scoop it up in the morning. I don't add more litter, litter gets added when I do a clean out twice a year.

For the run (deep litter), I choose to pick up big obvious poops daily, however it's not really necessary and I don't sweat over the poops I miss. They get composted down into everything else in the run anyhow. I don't have a schedule of when I add materials... I simply add them as I have them. Sometimes it's just a handful of weeds, other times several wheelbarrows of dried leaves.

Smell is at a minimum and even people who come over and see the chickens are amazed that there's actual animals in there, because they don't smell "farm animals" like they think they would.

I am doing the deep bedding in my coop as well. Same situation for me- all the poop is concentrated in one or two little sections under the roost so I just scoop it out daily. They never seem to poop in any other parts of the coop. Very easy to maintain. How do you clean your roost bar? Thanks

 

[Kaesi2020]

Yes, poop happens and needs to be dealt with.
Just wait until they get to laying age, their poops will triple in size!


What kind of bedding you use may depend on how you manage the manure.
This is about cleaning, but covers my big picture
-I use poop boards under roosts with thin(<1/2") layer of sand/PDZ mix, sifted daily(takes 5-10mins) into bucket going to friends compost.
-Scrape big or wet poops off roost and ramps as needed.
-Pine shavings on coop floor, add some occasionally, totally changed out once or twice a year, old shavings added to run.
- My runs have semi-deep litter(cold composting), never clean anything out, just add smaller dry materials on occasion, add larger wood chippings as needed.
Aged ramial wood chippings are best IMO.
-Nests are bedded with straw, add some occasionally, change out if needed(broken egg).
There is no odor, unless a fresh cecal has been dropped and when I open the bucket to add more poop.
That's how I keep it 'clean', have not found any reason to clean 'deeper' in 5 years.

Thanks. Do you always use pine shavings or do you switch it up? I've solely been using pine shavings and once in a blue moon Aspen shavings.

 

[Kaesi2020]

There is a difference between deep bedding, which is dry and stays dry, and deep litter, which is a form of cold composting.

When I had my little, in-town coop I did deep bedding in my coop and deep litter in my run.

For the coop, I would start with a thick layer of shavings and then add to it every couple weeks as it seemed to need it (judging either based on odor or visual inspection of the poop-to-shaving ratio). I would either stir it around with a fork a little to break up any crusts under the roost or throw some scratch into it an let the chickens do the stirring about once a week more or less. I changed it every 6-12 weeks depending on weather, my level of busyness, and what bedding I'd used (straw having a much shorter life than shavings).

For the run I used a mix of materials: wood chips, shavings, pine straw, straw, and whatever other compost "browns" came to hand. I just kept adding layers as it seemed to need it -- any time it seemed dirty or damper than it ought to have been or any time there was any odor.

The slight dampness of the lower layers and the contact with the ground will begin the cold composting process, enabled by the fact that the mixed materials and the chickens scratching will keep it loose and aerated so that the good bacteria work properly.

I only cleaned it when it got inconveniently deep -- trying to come out over the doorsill and/or blocking the chickens' access to the under-coop section of the run -- or when I needed compost for the garden.

That is such a helpful explanation of deep litter vs deep bedding, thank you. I've been doing deep bedding for the coop and deep litter for the run. The daily time it tasks to tidy up is about 15 minutes. Most days I sprinkle new shavings but I may lay off this daily since it probably is not necessary.

 

[aart]

Do you always use pine shavings or do you switch it up?

Yep...easy to do.......I see no reason to use anything else.

 

[Chickidee26]

I'm a NYer too, further north than you but we have the rocky hard soil here as well. It was so hard doing the trench and screen because of this!

No kidding!!! We could only go so far so I put rocks surrounding the run and coop and had to put an electric fence up so I could sleep at night!

 

[NatJ]

Do I rake it around every now and then or just let them do it?

If you enjoy raking it, go ahead. Otherwise, just let the chickens do it.

Do I add to it or remove it to the compost and how often?

Add: anytime you have suitable materials. Or if it gets wet or smelly. Or if you think the chickens look bored.

Remove: if it gets too deep, or if you want some in your garden.
"Too deep" is when it causes a problem. The problem might be you bumping your head on the roof of the run
If it falls out when you open the door, put a board across inside the door (about a foot high, and removable for when you do wish to take some material out.)

They seem to find spots to dust bathe in, should I be providing a separate space for them to do it?

If they're finding suitable spots, then it's fine the way it is.

I had read that grass clippings are not so good, they should take small pieces of grass when they are out free-ranging

If they gobble lots of grass clippings, it might be a problem. Might be, not guaranteed to be. But if they scratch through the grass clippings and mix them into the litter, or if they leave the clippings to dry into hay, it should be fine. I would probably toss in a handful and watch what happens. If they eat it all, consider spreading the clippings out to dry first (on part of the lawn), or raking the clippings into the litter so they cannot eat them all fast. Or turn the chickens out to range, and dump in the clippings while they are out. They will come back from ranging with crops full of green stuff, so they won't want to eat a lot of the clippings.

Without the grass I really only have dried leaves for them.

Leaves are good. So are vegetable peels, fruit peels, apple cores, the sad outer leaves of lettuce or cabbage, the tops of strawberries, watermelon rinds, melon seeds, weeds from the garden, dandelions from the lawn, etc. And the grass clippings, too.

The longer you leave the material in the run, the more it will start to decompose, and the more worms and bugs will move into it. The chickens will scratch those up and eat them.

The more things in the run, the more variety your chickens have, and the less you have to worry about which things to add--chickens who have a lot of variety are unlikely to hurt themselves by overeating any one thing.

 

[3KillerBs]

I'd like some help with the deep litter method for my run as well. We live in NY (about an hour north of the city). The ground is very hard (rocks of every size imaginable in, on and under) and almost a clay, no issue with puddles or mud.

You'll find that over the long term being under the deep litter will work wonders for your soil in that area.

I have added some dried leaves, grass clippings and some small amounts of hay but was wondering how much should I have for them? Our run is 16x8. Do I rake it around every now and then or just let them do it?

Add more layers of whatever you can get anytime you think that it might need it -- if you notice any odor, if it seems to be too wet, or if it looks like there's too much poop for the amount of litter.

Can you get wood chips, shavings, straw, or any other such thing? Fall leaves are wonderful, but a mix of materials is better because the different shapes, textures, and absorbancy levels keep the litter from matting/packing and then forming anaerobic pockets. (I think you're too far north for pine straw to be a thing unless you rake it up under your own white pines (red pine needles and spruce needles are too hard and sharp)).

You can just put a pile into the coop and the chickens will spread it for you as they dig through it hunting for yummy bugs. If you want to encourage them to work the litter over you can toss a handful of scratch into it.

If you have mats or crusty areas it would, however, be a good idea to break them up with your manure fork.

Do I add to it or remove it to the compost and how often?

Some people never remove it. I removed it when it got inconveniently high or when I knew I would want compost for the garden (I would let it compost a while before using it since chicken manure is notoriously "hot").

They seem to find spots to dust bathe in, should I be providing a separate space for them to do it? I had read that grass clippings are not so good, they should take small pieces of grass when they are out free-ranging. Without the grass I really only have dried leaves for them. I'd love to make it work, just not very educated in it yet. Thank you.

Chickens love to dig. You *can* provide a dust bath for them but they'll probably prefer their custom-dug holes.

DRIED grass clippings should be fine. Green, wet grass clippings *may* present a temptation for gobbling, but my issue with them is that a pile of them in the wet, green stage can easily turn slimy and stinky. You'll find lots of contradictory advice about grass clippings and will have to find your own comfort zone.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Do I rake it around every now and then or just let them do it? Do I add to it or remove it to the compost and how often? They seem to find spots to dust bathe in, should I be providing a separate space for them to do it? I had read that grass clippings are not so good, they should take small pieces of grass when they are out free-ranging. Without the grass I really only have dried leaves for them. I'd love to make it work, just not very educated in it yet. Thank you.

I rake mine mostly to break it up when the materials get broken down and start clumping up like wet soil would. Otherwise, the chickens do the work.

I add materials as I have them - dried grass clippings in summer, garden trimmings from spring to fall, dried leaves in fall. Wood chips when I clean out the coop 2x a year. You can remove some materials for compost when it's broken down.

I dry my grass clippings before adding to the mix, as the chickens are far less interested in eating dried grass than green grass. I also have a mulching mower so most of the pieces are chopped down. Yes I've had a case of impacted crop before but we resolved it without issue - the bird in question has a slightly pendulous crop and an affinity for long stalks of grass, so I don't consider the dried grass in the run to be a problem overall.

Dried leaves by themselves is NOT deep litter. You need a mix of different materials, with chunky aged wood chips being ideal as the base material, in order to let the litter drain well and break down well along with the poop.

I am doing the deep bedding in my coop as well. Same situation for me- all the poop is concentrated in one or two little sections under the roost so I just scoop it out daily. They never seem to poop in any other parts of the coop. Very easy to maintain. How do you clean your roost bar? Thanks

I don't get poop on roost bars as I use branches and the chickens either face forwards or backwards, never sideways. Very rarely there's poop on the supports (which I just scrape off if that's the case).

 

[Kaesi2020]

I rake mine mostly to break it up when the materials get broken down and start clumping up like wet soil would. Otherwise, the chickens do the work.

I add materials as I have them - dried grass clippings in summer, garden trimmings from spring to fall, dried leaves in fall. Wood chips when I clean out the coop 2x a year. You can remove some materials for compost when it's broken down.

I dry my grass clippings before adding to the mix, as the chickens are far less interested in eating dried grass than green grass. I also have a mulching mower so most of the pieces are chopped down. Yes I've had a case of impacted crop before but we resolved it without issue - the bird in question has a slightly pendulous crop and an affinity for long stalks of grass, so I don't consider the dried grass in the run to be a problem overall.

Dried leaves by themselves is NOT deep litter. You need a mix of different materials, with chunky aged wood chips being ideal as the base material, in order to let the litter drain well and break down well along with the poop.



I don't get poop on roost bars as I use branches and the chickens either face forwards or backwards, never sideways. Very rarely there's poop on the supports (which I just scrape off if that's the case).

View attachment 2224142

Love the setup! I am thinking of adding some other roost choices to our coop as I read on here that it may be helpful for any chickens being bullied.

 

[Kaesi2020]

Love the setup! I am thinking of adding some other roost choices to our coop as I read on here that it may be helpful for any chickens being bullied.

What is the black towards the bottom of the coop in the picture?