Coop Design and Setup

[aart]

Aart, thanks for the clarifying answer to my question before I asked it. I was beginning to get confused. My plan is to use the deep bedding with pine shavings in the coop and am adding a large clean out door on the north side, easy access to the compost bin. That door will be blocked during the winter with straw bales to help protect the coop from the north winds.

I tried to hot compost the shavings from coop...had to add a ton of water and it jumped to 160F. I didn't keep it 'managed' and the shavings never really broke down even a bit, tho the nearby trees sent a plethora of tiny roots up into it. Am going to toss it out into the deep litter in run this year.
You really don't want to mix not totally rotted wood into your garden soil, it eats/soaks up the nitrogen, stealing it from your plants.
Does work fine on the surface as mulch tho.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I found that too aart.

 

[jeria]

I tried to hot compost the shavings from coop...had to add a ton of water and it jumped to 160F. I didn't keep it 'managed' and the shavings never really broke down even a bit, tho the nearby trees sent a plethora of tiny roots up into it. Am going to toss it out into the deep litter in run this year.
You really don't want to mix not totally rotted wood into your garden soil, it eats/soaks up the nitrogen, stealing it from your plants.
Does work fine on the surface as mulch tho.

I get the root problem, kept adding mushroom compost to my old asparagus bed--now I'm fighting trees in it UGH as I won't use chemicals. Am trying lots of salt (50# bags) and hoping that works. I moved it last summer and am hoping it grows to a raised bed that I can fence so my crazy dog doesn't eat all my asparagus. I will have 2 cement black enclosed compost bins so hoping it will work over a year and maybe toss it into the beds in the fall and early spring and let the chicks play. Into the run, good idea. I have to spray my tomatoes and peppers today with some organic leaf feeder today as they are starving for nitrogen with all the rain we have had. Definitely some mulch will leach the nitrogen.

 

[aart]

I get the root problem, kept adding mushroom compost to my old asparagus bed--now I'm fighting trees in it UGH as I won't use chemicals. Am trying lots of salt (50# bags) and hoping that works. I moved it last summer and am hoping it grows to a raised bed that I can fence so my crazy dog doesn't eat all my asparagus. I will have 2 cement black enclosed compost bins so hoping it will work over a year and maybe toss it into the beds in the fall and early spring and let the chicks play. Into the run, good idea. I have to spray my tomatoes and peppers today with some organic leaf feeder today as they are starving for nitrogen with all the rain we have had. Definitely some mulch will leach the nitrogen.

Salt can kill the soil for a long, long time...better not use it where you want anything to grow.

 

[sas212]

Dry will not rot/compost/breakdown......
....dry is not true composting Deep Litter, but deep bedding.
It can get confusing.

I have deep bedding in my coop using pine shavings. It stays dry, absorbs poop moisture...then once or twice a year all that goes out into the run where I have a cold composting deep litter.

So I guess what I want to do is a deep bedding; correct?

 

[jeria]

Actually they aren't in a place I want anything to grow. Am aware of what salt can do. I'm putting it right around the tree starts in hopes of killing the roots below. also am using it on the trees growing against the foundation and along the fence lines as is my neighbor. Nothing else I've used has worked. Salt is supposed to kill the roots below for quite a ways, so hoping it works.