Deep Litter Is Wet - Now What?

[micstrachan]

So here’s a little background. I spent a few months last year sifting the dirt in the run and adding sand so I could easily scoop it. It kept things nice and clean! However, I didn’t like the result in the rain, and starting getting concerned about possible long term effects of having no organic matter there. Since then, I have almost doubled the run, and the two parts are still separated by the original wire wall, so I decided to try the deep litter method on the new side. I really like it! Except... now that we finally got some rain, it stays pretty wet since it’s on the northeast side of tbe coop and gets little sun. How do I deal with this? Does it matter if it’s wet? I don’t want to grow any harmful bacteria or mold in it. I could toss another bale of pine shavings with it, which would help dry it out, but that’s only a temporary solution since rainy season has barely begun here in California. Tips would be appreciated.

 

[CapricornFarm]

If you can cover your run it helps a lot! If not, just keep adding organic material as needed. Toss scratch on top so the chickens turn the materials.

 

[rosemarythyme]

What's in your litter other than pine shavings? I'm in the Pacific NW so as you can imagine, we get rained on. Litter can get wet but the important thing is the run shouldn't get wet to the point that there's standing puddles. I use a mix of wood chips in various sizes (from shavings to nuggets to small branch pieces) plus a variety of dried leaves and some dried grass. The gaps formed by the mix of materials lets the water drain through so even though the litter is wet, the chickens are never standing in water. They do like to kick the litter away from the run fencing so sometimes I see puddles but I just kick the litter back into the puddle and they usually leave it alone until it dries up again.

 

[cavemanrich]

If your deep litter is deep enough , it will not be as wet and soggy as it is now. It needs to be wet to compost properly. Dry deep litter doesn't work very well. That being said, the surface should be quite dry so your chickens are not walking around in wet. If you add whatever you can to build it up, it will be wet on bottom and middle, but dry on top.(obviously when not raining) . Can you get a good quantity of straw and place on surface??? Pine shavings are fine as well, but not sure how much of a layer they would elevate the deep litter layer. The straw would give your chickens a dry surface to walk on. Straw does not absorb water as readily as pine shavings do. This in effect sends water to bottom.
WISHING YOU BEST...

 

[micstrachan]

Thanks. I would eventually like to cover the run. Currently there is just chicken wire aka poultry netting on top, thiugh half of the original run also has a tarp. However, I also want to redo the walls with hardware cloth instead of chicken wire and feel that should be done first. That seems harder to swap out once there’s a roof.

Edited to answer other post, which I didn’t see before. The run has rice hulls, pine shavings, and leaves. Thanks!

 

[micstrachan]

Also, I thought straw can cause impacted crop if they attempt to eat it, and that it molds easily. It’s pretty warm here for winter, so mold could be an issue. I didn’tintend to use large pieces of bedding (like large wood chips), as I woukd like to haul it out and spread it around the yard eventually and start with fresh bedding again. At least, that’s my tentative plan in thus experiment.

 

[Sunshine Flock]

I wanted to clarify that you're talking about the deep litter method in the chicken run, not inside the coop. Is that right?

My run is fully exposed to the elements, although in the coming week one section will be covered. But rain will still get to it. The moisture is beneficial for compost. Also, when I let my chickens free range for a bit, they're out digging in wet dirt and leaves when we've had rain. It can't be avoided.

They have lots and lots of leaves and pine needles in their run, and I recently added a couple wheel barrows of fresh oak wood chips. They dig things up so thoroughly it all gets churned over quite a lot. I think it was @Blooie who said she added small branches to help encourage more aeration under the organic material, so I no longer remove twigs from the mulch.

But chickens come equipped with wonderful diggers. I'm really happy with the all natural litter in their yard and how it keeps them engaged and busy. I honestly don't know for sure, though, how much of a concern it is for them to have rain saturated litter in their run. Inside a coop, that's one thing, but outside it seems like such a natural part of an animal's environment that I haven't felt too concerned.

Also, I do need to be mindful of my chicken budget, so I don't really have a choice. The same material has been excellent so far inside the coop. But there I use one third leaves to two thirds pine needles. It's less compact, softer, and has a lighter, fresher smell.

And boy am I wondering when the rain is going to start here in Redding! Such an odd winter. We had rain recently, but not much at all, especially compared to last year.

 

[cavemanrich]

I use hay, straw, as well as grass clippings in my run area, as well as coop. In over 20 years I have not encountered impacted crop. The chickens just busy themselves scratching thru the stuff seeking insects and whatever else. Mold is something unavoidable. It arrives in the air. Not all mold is bad. I'm sure there is some mold in your coop and run right now. Its just not harmful variety. Reason I suggested straw over hay,,,, Straw stays drier. Hay will do the same job, but absorbs water more. Your concern is, you don't want wet run.

 

[micstrachan]

Yes, deep litter only in the run. The coop has rice hulls under the roosts and pine shavings on the floor. I sift the rice hulls aboit every second day, and there’s hardly ever poop on the floor.
Thanks for everyone’s feedback! I may look into wood chips and/or straw after all.
And my chickens don’t mind wet feet. I just don’t want them to be stuck on it. Plus, as I already mentioned, I’m slightly paranoid about mold. I put their feeders in cans with lids at night to hopefully deter rodents, but left the feeders out for a few days while I was out of town and found mold under one of the cans upon my return and removed the bedding underneath it.

 

[Sunshine Flock]

Yes, deep litter only in the run. The coop has rice hulls under the roosts and pine shavings on the floor. I sift the rice hulls aboit every second day, and there’s hardly ever poop on the floor.
Thanks for everyone’s feedback! I may look into wood chips and/or straw after all.

Rice hulls, interesting!