Deep litter method and soggy muddy run

[mammat]

yes try the sand and pdz, that will help with the smell. As for the shavings, a few questions for you.

Are we talking about a hen house/coop, or a couple of roosts in an enclosed run type coop? How deep do you start off with the shavings? do you turn them, do you encourage the chickens to turn them by tossing in a handful of scratch a couple times a week, do they get turned at all? Do you add any on top occasionally?

for it to work there's a few basics. I don't think it really matters how many chickens you have in there, although common sense says more chickens = more poo.............LOL they're little poop machines!

ok the basics, wet poo is what smells. Dry poo doesn't smell. The purpose of the shavings (and sand and pdz in the poop tray) is to absorb the moisture out of the poo. Faster it absorbs it, faster the smell goes away. So, they poo, they eat drink, scratch around and poo some more. they they walk around a minute it seems, and poo some more. Maybe lay an egg, then go poo again........all the fresh poo is on top of the shavings, so it helps for them to be tossed and turned every couple of days.

I start with around 3 or 4 inches. Throw in some scratch and let the chickens do the dirty work of turning it. once a week or so, throw some fresh shavings in on top. If you're talking about a hen house type coop, walls, floor etc etc, after you get to 8 or 9 inches (some will even go a foot) rake em out, put in a new 3 inches or so, go add the old stuff to the run or your compost pile.

you can also scatter some pdz around in the shavings to help dry the poo out too......


good luck! and keep us posted on how things are going.

Thanks- maybe I am not starting with deep enough shavings. Should I clean off shavings that are on the poop boards or throw them on the floor?

 

[Cabin Katie]

I don't know why, and it might be a little out there when it comes to theories about "proper" chicken coops, but the first thought that came to mind was to put a vent on the floor. Like You know when you're in a car and you open the front right window and the rear left window to *ahem* get a certain smell out of your car?

Anywho, it was immediately the first thing that came to mind. I might help dry things up as well.

 

[mammat]

I don't know why, and it might be a little out there when it comes to theories about "proper" chicken coops, but the first thought that came to mind was to put a vent on the floor. Like You know when you're in a car and you open the front right window and the rear left window to *ahem* get a certain smell out of your car?

Anywho, it was immediately the first thing that came to mind. I might help dry things up as well.

We put them up high because we had some silkies that sleept on the floor and thought it might get too drafty. They are in their own coop now so maybe we will try a vent down low. The other reason I was afraid to do a low vent is predators. We have an extreme amount of raccoons and such around here. They actually pried the siding off my other coop a few years ago and killed all my silkies at night

 

[Cabin Katie]

Eeep! Maybe make one that is close-able of some sort! Once again I'm going with the first thing that comes to mind; one of those slide-y windows that have screens in cars... Why do I keep going back to cars? lol.

 

[Blooie]

I have a vent on the floor under the roosts. That's on the west wall. I leave my pop door open 24/7 and that's on the east wall. I had an ammonia odor problem in the run/coop when we left town and our daughter-in-law turned on the lawn watering tractor, went home, and forgot about it. It jumped the hose (track) and came to rest against the run - for hours! Even the feeder and dust bath bin were overflowing like a faulty toilet. <Sigh> It took some doing, raking out the most soaked top layer, adding more dry pine stuff, raking that in and keeping it all exposed to the air as much as possible, but we got it!

I talked to Bee about it, and then I changed two things at that point. I added the vent low to the floor, which does a bang up job of helping dry out water spills, etc and helps push the nasty air out, and I started leaving the pop door open all the time for that important cross ventilation. The second thing I did was change what I using for deep litter. I made the common mistake of relying on one litter - pine shavings - to get the job done. By itself it simply can't. I started adding dried leaves, little twigs, grass clippings, a little straw, lawn and garden scraps and refuse, weeds, trimmings - whatever I could to aerate the litter. In order for it break down correctly, it needs some (and I stress some) moisture and it needs air. Otherwise if it gets wet you have a compacted mass of poop and pine to deal with, or if it gets no moisture at all it's a dry dust bath with pine shavings that can't break down correctly. Oh, and I did one other thing - I put a note on the front door every time we leave town reminding Jenny to watch the water. I don't think she'll ever make that mistake again.

I'm still learning here. I'm much happier now with the condition of the litter in the run and coop. Is it perfect? Nope, not yet. But I'm on the way. I think in your situation you've tried so many things that it's no longer clear where the issue is. I think that the first thing I'd do is try to tarp the run, or at least the side your prevailing weather comes in from. I think I'd also get rid of anything that impedes drainage....rocks, bricks. pavers, etc. and let that area dry...even if you have to periodically turn over the soil and expose it to air. If your property is close to that creek, then your overall water table might be so high that standing water can only drain down so far and then it stops. Oh, and as far as runoff heading toward the creek? I don't know that that's "okay" either - every bit of nitrogen in your run and coop area is then draining down into that creek and eventually that's going to have an adverse affect on the critters and plants. Eutrification is an ugly process.

Pictures would help so much...if we could see what the run area is like, what kind of slope you're dealing with, how much sunlight it receives...we'd be much better able to make better suggestions.

 

[Cabin Katie]

Quote: Yes yes. :]

 

[PapaChaz]

Thanks- maybe I am not starting with deep enough shavings. Should I clean off shavings that are on the poop boards or throw them on the floor?

personally I'd clear the shavings off the poop board as soon as you get the sand/pdz to put back. the sooner the better.

I moved my chickens out 3 1/2 to 4 weeks ago I do believe, I still have the initial layer of bedding down, haven't added any on top yet. Bought the kitty litter scoop this evening, and tomorrow will be my first clean out on the poo tray. But I have no odor to speak of at all. I was in there today for about an hour working, (had to take the door down and cut just a bit more off) and it was not in the least unpleasant at all. Well, as long as the wind wasn't blowing from the direction of the load of horse manure I have piled up waiting for the rainy weather to get gone so I can plow it into my garden spot

 

[PapaChaz]

something else I've noticed now that I caught up on all the other posts and not just answering the one you asked me a question in.

you have 20 chickens in 64 square ft, Now before I say this, I do know that not everything in life is solid concrete the same every time.............but the general rule of thumb considered by most here to be the MINIMUM space is 4 sq ft per chicken. For 20, you need at least 80 sq ft. So you're probably just a wee bit overcrowded, which is in all likelyhood compounding the problem somewhat.

to whomever is was who has 'never messed with that pdz stuff' ......... once you try it, you may very well never do without it again