When I lived in South Carolina I had assorted pens & coops. This is my 1st winter with a barn so I decided to try the deep litter this winter. I havent raked out any of the
hay in a few months, just keep adding more & It seems to work well. My barn doesnt stink at all, every couple of days I add a couple more bales. My birds are doing a great job of mixing it up, its not packed down at all. The barn has some dirt floors & some wood, the biggest room having a dirt floor & thats where everybody hangs out. If i dig down to the floor, the dirt is BLACK, looks like nice potting soil..so its got to be degrading nicely...is going to make some nice dirt for the garden
I was opening the doors to run, but none of them would even step outside, they prefer the warmth of the barn & theres plenty of room. Once I realized they werent going out at all, now i dont even bother to open the doors to the run. I am using 1 red heatlamp which is above some of my perches & have some xtra bales stacked around for the non perchers like the cochins & silkies.
I was having a water problem, it was a nitemare to lug water buckets since the pipes to the barn kept freezing. I ended up buying a 26 gallon tub, a water de'icer & placing plywood covering most of it. Now everybody can drink clean water, the ducks can get their whole heads wet..but theres no swimming & pooing in the water. It was way too dangerous to keep an open pool with the water heater thing, the ducks kept tossing it out when they were swimming & i was afraid i awaken to the smell of a BBQ one nite and find the barn on fire..so I think they can live without a swim until the water stops freezing.
hay in a few months, just keep adding more & It seems to work well. My barn doesnt stink at all, every couple of days I add a couple more bales. My birds are doing a great job of mixing it up, its not packed down at all. The barn has some dirt floors & some wood, the biggest room having a dirt floor & thats where everybody hangs out. If i dig down to the floor, the dirt is BLACK, looks like nice potting soil..so its got to be degrading nicely...is going to make some nice dirt for the garden
I was opening the doors to run, but none of them would even step outside, they prefer the warmth of the barn & theres plenty of room. Once I realized they werent going out at all, now i dont even bother to open the doors to the run. I am using 1 red heatlamp which is above some of my perches & have some xtra bales stacked around for the non perchers like the cochins & silkies.
I was having a water problem, it was a nitemare to lug water buckets since the pipes to the barn kept freezing. I ended up buying a 26 gallon tub, a water de'icer & placing plywood covering most of it. Now everybody can drink clean water, the ducks can get their whole heads wet..but theres no swimming & pooing in the water. It was way too dangerous to keep an open pool with the water heater thing, the ducks kept tossing it out when they were swimming & i was afraid i awaken to the smell of a BBQ one nite and find the barn on fire..so I think they can live without a swim until the water stops freezing.
