Deep Litter and Roost Poop

[faye4210]

If you are experienced with the deep litter method, how did you design the cleanup under the roost ? Did you put a droppings board under it? Would that just make the coop smell and defeat the purpose of the deep litter method? I saw one place use big plastic totes under the roost. Or do you just let the poop fly where it may?

 

[moetrout]

Not sure if mine would qualify as a true "deep litter" method. I have a very small coup (about 3.5'x3.5') and put down about 2-3" of litter. As I put down the litter I layer in DE. Small coup so no poop boards for me, it all goes into the litter. Every couple of days I try to scoop out and big stuff and dust the top of the litter with DE again. I have 6 chickens and 1 heritage turkey in there. I know it's too small and I am working towards a new coup by early fall. They free range pretty much all day every day. My point is though, no poop boards, a little crowded, but still not stinky and gross the way I manage it.

 

[darkmatter]

Quote:
Cleanup?-----Once a year or so as I need compost for the garden. See my BYC page for Coop pics, I have a sub-ground level dirt floor with the deep litter getting up to 18" deep before it reaches wood. (brick foundation, hand dug and laid up by me) I usually clean it out in the spring and spent all summer adding lawnmower clippings, raked up pine needles/cones etc. My roost pivots up out of the way when I need to shovel out the 8 to 10 wheelbarrows of brown gold each spring. It never smells like other coops I've seen, just a nice earthy smell---if the litter looks to be matted down, I may fork it up and/or toss some scratch in and let the chickens do it for me. If your coop gets that ammonia smell, you're doing something wrong.

 

[patandchickens]

There is no "the" deep litter method, there are all sorts of different things people do.

That said, it works very satisfactorily for me to use a droppings board that I clean every morning, removing poop to lidded bucket and eventually (when bucket fills up) to compost pile, *in conjuction with* deep litter that just sits there rather than being changed out. (I do spot-clean and top off with additional shavings, a couple times a year)

Pat

 

[woodmort]

Quote:
Agree--once the brooder side of the coop is cleaned and pine shavings--about 3-4 inches deep--are spread, that's it until late winter for me--it composts very well in the coop plus the decomposition adds some heat. In those years where I might be pushing the number of chickens I might add a bale of pine shavings during midwinter to mix in with the extra manure but this is rare. Never have an odor problem and rototill the stuff in once it is spread.