Decisions, Decisions...

[jendh]

We are in the planning stages of our first coop and I have a few questions...

The Deep Litter Method is very appealing to me for several reasons but the coop design we have come up with is more on the traditional side. I came across this site http://www.plamondon.com/faq_deep_litter.html while doing my research and I'm now wondering if this design is the best choice. According to the author The Fresh Air Poultry House design is more effective with the DLM. I'm wondering if anyone uses the Fresh Air Design and how it's working for you? Does it provide enough shelter and warmth? Does the DLM truly work in the more "traditional" style of coops? We can have dirt floor easily, which leads me to the question of predator proofing the floor...Do we just bury hardware cloth across the floor and attach it to the walls? Any other recommendations? Sorry if these topics have been covered already, I'm really new and I want to get this as close to right as I can. Thanks in advance!

 

[Gonzo]

I currently us the DLM and don't much care for it. I know alot of people don't care for the DLM. I'll have to check out this fresh air method!

 

[CityChook]

from Minnesota.

There has been a fair amount of discussion about the open air coops. Go to the blue bar in the header above and click on "search." I'm confident that you'll find ample information on this coop style!

Good luck!

 

[patandchickens]

Hi, welcome to BYC

First, realize there is no "the" deep litter "method". There are all sorts of ways of managing things using a deep litter pack, different methods having different advantages and disadvantages and idiosyncrasies. There are a LOT of choices, not "a method", you know?

Second, probably the oldest and most traditional style of litter management is in fact to let bedding accumulate in a largeish well-ventilated structure on an earthen floor, stirring and adding fresh bedding as needed, then doing a massive nasty cleanup either a) in the springtime or b) when the animals' ears start brushing the rafters. So what you are seemingly thinking of as "the" deep litter method, involving some heat of decomposition, is probably BETTER suited to so-called fresh air poultry houses than to anything else!

That said, do not expect to get much in the way of heating out of it. Honest.

Also, if you are wanting to use a coop of the old-fashioned style described in that book, you need to be aware that certain modifications can be made with no problem but other modifications will defeat the purpose of the design and lead to cold and/or frostbitten birds. In particular you can't just scale things down to a 6-chicken coop size, or alter proportions. (I don't knwo what you're planning, of course, I just wanted to point this out)

Methods of predatorproofing a non-raised floor include:

-- pour a slab. Expensive but IMHO extremely extremely worthwhile if you can swing it. Use deep enough litter and add some dirt when you start, and it will compost somewhat, and frankly it is not going to matter to you very much how much composting you get because it just won't heat the building up that much, honest. As a not-so-good but still meritorious second choice, you could tamp down a good thick layer of stonedust real hard, then set large (2x2') pavers very tightly and securely on it... sort of 'poor man's concrete slab' <g>

-- bury wire mesh under at least a foot or so of dirt or what-have-you. Expensive and laborious! However, if you are trying to keep out rats (specifically) and aren't going to do a slab, then an absolutely unbroken gap-free buried layer of 1/2" hardwarecloth (1/4" woudl be even better) is probably your best shot.

-- run either a cinderblock foundation, or buried aluminum flashing, or heavy-gauge galvanized wire mesh, at least 12" deep and 18+" is a whole lot safer, all around the entire perimeter of the building. THis is a lot of work.

-- lay 2-4' wide wire mesh, again heavy-gauge and galvanized and certainly no bigger than 2x4" mesh, on the ground all around the structure, attached very securely to the base of the coop/run walls. Turn the outer edge of this apron down a little bit, then either peg it securely to the ground all over, or weight it down well with cinderblocks or pavers or concrete rubble or whatnot, or put turf over it, or put mulch or whatnot over it. THis works well vs. everything except rats and weasels (which are awfully hard to keep out anyhow), and is MUCH less work than any of the other options, and not much more expense than burying something at the base of the fence.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat