Deep Litter in Run and How to Keep Clean

[MaggieRose2001]

I live in Michigan, which is a very different climate than @3KillerBs. I do essentially this same thing. I add dry leaves in the fall, garden weeds this time of year, grass clippings when we have them. I'll be adding some wood chips later this year, when we have some trees taken down (I'll let the chips dry out before putting them in the run). I plan to get a bale of straw to add to the run this fall too.

I scoop up some of the bigger poops in the run to add to the scooped poop from the coop, which I add to my garden compost bin. (Mostly so I don't step in the big ones between the coop door and run door.).

Unless a chicken has just dropped a cecal poop, neither my run nor coop smell.

So… the idea is to just keep adding different organic materials - pretty much whatever you can get your hands on? Is it like the deep bedding, where you just keep layering over the poop and it just kind of breaks down on its own?

 

[MaggieRose2001]

In addition to the items mentioned above (leaves, hay), wood chips made a great addition to the run to help keep things from getting muddy and keep the chicken's feet cleaner.

On charcoal (or bio-char as it is sometimes called) - it's not so much that it adds carbon like in a compost pile, but the stuff is great at cutting odor by trapping excess nitrogen. Once you start harvesting the compost for your garden, the char will pay additional dividends on that end, releasing that excess nitrogen and providing a nice living environment for soil micro-biology.

It sounds like I need to do some research and learn about composting. I’m new to both chickens and gardening - never done either!

 

[rosemarythyme]

So… I totally agree with you about gravel which is why I’m trying to find out what to put in there. As for the coop - ya, I have no idea. I am new to composting - really have no idea how not works. So probably just deep bedding. I put a large amount to begin with. I stir it every so often and I put new bedding in as the faintest hint of a smell - usually every 3 or so weeks.

So what deep litter in the run is (generally) is layered organic materials of different sizes and types, composting down in place along with the poop. As long as the run has good drainage and you have sufficient litter volume (what is the run measurements?), it's a low maintenance, low cost form of litter that stabilizes the soil and helps prevent mud and odor. Many of us rarely remove any litter material or poop (if we do it's generally for gardening) and just continue to add thin layers of new material as needed to keep it going.

For drainage purposes the best base material is chunky, aged wood chips. If you have room for a pile you can contact tree companies to see if they can dump a load on your lot. On top of that I add dried leaves (which I save each fall), dried short grass clippings from my lawn, garden trimmings, pulled weeds, etc. So it costs $0 and utilizes materials from my own yard which I would have to otherwise pay to dispose of.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

It sounds like I need to do some research and learn about composting. I’m new to both chickens and gardening - never done either!

Yes! Chickens, composting, and gardening combine to make a great system of “nutrient recycling” that supports all three pillars of the system.

 

[3KillerBs]

I live in Michigan, which is a very different climate than @3KillerBs. I do essentially this same thing. I add dry leaves in the fall, garden weeds this time of year, grass clippings when we have them. I'll be adding some wood chips later this year, when we have some trees taken down (I'll let the chips dry out before putting them in the run). I plan to get a bale of straw to add to the run this fall too.

I scoop up some of the bigger poops in the run to add to the scooped poop from the coop, which I add to my garden compost bin. (Mostly so I don't step in the big ones between the coop door and run door.).

Unless a chicken has just dropped a cecal poop, neither my run nor coop smell.

Yes. People everywhere use this method in different climates and with different litters.

So… the idea is to just keep adding different organic materials - pretty much whatever you can get your hands on? Is it like the deep bedding, where you just keep layering over the poop and it just kind of breaks down on its own?

Yes, just like Deep Bedding except for the moisture and ground contact, which create the conditions for composting to occur. Deep Bedding, being a dry system, doesn't break down -- other then by the mechanical action of chickens scratching, which creates a fine dust of mixed bedding particles and dried poop.

With either system you need to clean when the bedding/litter pile up deeper than is convenient for you or an odor develops that doesn't go away with the addition of another layer of bedding/litter.

My observations here on these forums lead me to conclude that most failures with either system come from having too many chickens in too confined a space so that the manure load overwhelms the ability of the volume of bedding available to absorb and that most of the rest of the failures are due to an ill-drained run that is wet-wet rather than moist.

Some materials -- straw and leaves especially -- tend to pack, mat, and form anaerobic pockets. This is why I advocate a mix of materials and textures if possible. Those coarse wood chips are superb for keeping the mix well-aerated and preventing packing/matting.

So what deep litter in the run is (generally) is layered organic materials of different sizes and types, composting down in place along with the poop. As long as the run has good drainage and you have sufficient litter volume (what is the run measurements?), it's a low maintenance, low cost form of litter that stabilizes the soil and helps prevent mud and odor. Many of us rarely remove any litter material or poop (if we do it's generally for gardening) and just continue to add thin layers of new material as needed to keep it going.

For drainage purposes the best base material is chunky, aged wood chips. If you have room for a pile you can contact tree companies to see if they can dump a load on your lot. On top of that I add dried leaves (which I save each fall), dried short grass clippings from my lawn, garden trimmings, pulled weeds, etc. So it costs $0 and utilizes materials from my own yard which I would have to otherwise pay to dispose of.

In addition to the above, different places have locally-available materials which have the advantage of being cheap/free. Here in the US Southeast I have pine straw -- the long needled of the Longleaf and Loblolly pines. I've heard of rice hulls being available in some places and I'm sure that there are other local materials in other places.

 

[Sally PB]

So… the idea is to just keep adding different organic materials - pretty much whatever you can get your hands on? Is it like the deep bedding, where you just keep layering over the poop and it just kind of breaks down on its own?

That is it in a nutshell. You got this!

My observations here on these forums lead me to conclude that most failures with either system come from having too many chickens in too confined a space so that the manure load overwhelms the ability of the volume of bedding available to absorb and that most of the rest of the failures are due to an ill-drained run that is wet-wet rather than moist.

I agree totally. One other thing that helps is air movement, and Mother Nature takes care of that.

 

[Vacman]

So… I totally agree with you about gravel which is why I’m trying to find out what to put in there. As for the coop - ya, I have no idea. I am new to composting - really have no idea how not works. So probably just deep bedding. I put a large amount to begin with. I stir it every so often and I put new bedding in as the faintest hint of a smell - usually every 3 or so weeks.

If you throw some scratch grain in there from time to time, the chickens will stir it up for you add ing O2 to the bedding eliminating the smell.

 

[3KillerBs]

If you throw some scratch grain in there from time to time, the chickens will stir it up for you add ing O2 to the bedding eliminating the smell.

Indeed.

I never give scratch any other way than throwing it into the parts of the coop/run that I feel need to be worked over.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Indeed.

I never give scratch any other way than throwing it into the parts of the coop/run that I feel need to be worked over.

Same here…it’s “directional motivation” for the flock’s scratching.

Instead of scratch, I actually use whole grains that may sprout (BOSS, while corn) so that any grains the chickens miss may sprout for future amusement and nutrition.

 

[3KillerBs]

Same here…it’s “directional motivation” for the flock’s scratching.

Instead of scratch, I actually use whole grains that may sprout (BOSS, while corn) so that any grains the chickens miss may sprout for future amusement and nutrition.

I can't imagine mine missing any, but that's a good idea.