Deep bedding

[Mewcycle]

The best of my understanding is that Deep Bedding is a dry process where an abundance of dry organic material absorbs the moisture from the poop to create a clean and odor-free environment while Deep Litter is a composting process (usually cold composting, but hot is possible), where there is moisture and, optimally, ground contact to introduce the beneficial microbes and organisms, where the poop and the organic material react, creating compost as an end product.

My in-town setup had Deep Bedding in the coop and Deep Litter in the run and never had an odor problem that a 3-4 inch layer of fresh, dry material couldn't solve.

So...my coop has a dirt floor and I may not be able to keep or totally dry in a rain. In that situation, Would you say Deep litter is best?

 

[3KillerBs]

So...my coop has a dirt floor and I may not be able to keep or totally dry in a rain. In that situation, Would you say Deep litter is best?

I'm very big on deep litter and deep bedding as a means of keeping chickens clean and odor-free with minimal labor input.

Ideally, the coop is kept thoroughly dry because damp chickens are unhappy chickens, but in a coop that can't be kept absolutely dry, such as an open-air coop in a warm, wet climate where ventilation is the key factor in chicken health, I can't think that any other system would work.

 

[preciouschick]

I have the deep liter system using the HEMP product. 6 months so far and no smell at all. This will last over a year before i clean it. It decomposes right away and begins breaking down the smell as soon as it drops. LOL. If you are not using the Hemp product for your deep litter system then you are waisting your money and spend way too much time tending to it. FYI - I have 20 chickens in a 6' x 8' coop and it works great. I have absolutely no smell at all. I am a firm believer in this product.

what is the hemp product you use?

 

[aart]

So...my coop has a dirt floor and I may not be able to keep or totally dry in a rain. In that situation, Would you say Deep litter is best?

How wet does it get?
From rain coming in windows ....or seeping underneath coop walls?
Pics of coop and surrounding area might help here?

 

[DMOTS]

what is the hemp product you use?

The hemp product I use is from a company call Old Dominion Hemp their website odhemp.com There is several places you can purchase it. If you don't live close enough to one then you can order it online at New Country organics website newcountryorganics.com

 

[DMOTS]

I am wanting to try this method. I am looking at the HEMP product on Amazon and wondering how much I need to get for a 12' x 8' coop and twelve chickens.
So, any suggestion on how much HEMP Litter I may need to get? This is the one I am looking at. Or is there a less expensive source that others have found?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075SP4X2W/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A36STBE1TJHB9T&psc=1

If it is a 33lb bag, then 3 to 4 bags will be enough in order to get the deep letter or deep bedding. The odds are that the hemp is an Old Dominion productMost of the cost is shipping when you buy it online. In my opinion, deep bedding or deep litter is all the same. Chickens poop where ever they are. Whether in the hen house on roost or walking around scratching, they will poop. They don't care, they just poop.

 

[preciouschick]

The hemp product I use is from a company call Old Dominion Hemp their website odhemp.com There is several places you can purchase it. If you don't live close enough to one then you can order it online at New Country organics website newcountryorganics.com

thank you

 

[U_Stormcrow]

adding to the litany (chorus, really) of those who do deep bedding/litter w/o poop boards, and whose chickens do most of the work of turning the material for them. Mostly straw, dried pasture clippings, some leaves.

In my case, the floor is hardieboard, so concrete and fiberglass basically. Before it gets too deep, or potentially gets too moist, my birds tend to kick it "downstairs" - the hen house is 3' off the ground, the ducks sleep underneath. At that point, the deep bedding becomes an addition to the deep litter.

 

[Mewcycle]

How wet does it get?
From rain coming in windows ....or seeping underneath coop walls?
Pics of coop and surrounding area might help here?

This was an existing old coop (on the property we just acquired) that was previously being used to house stainless steel sinks full of strawberry plants. I removed the sinks but left the frames that were holding them. The hens like those. We added a run out the back and a chicken door. We added some roofing but need to address the leaks. And we plan to add siding halfway up to help keep rain from splashing into the coop. But for now, this is where we are. Been here a couple months. So it is progress! Thanks for having a look.

 

[Annej]

I have deep litter and as long as I throw a handful of scratch in there every day the ladies mix it up for me. I’ve never noticed any ammonia smell since I started using the scratch.