Deep Litter method in barn on concrete floor? Yes? No?

[jfoley]

my coop has concreat floor and my run is sand. i just hose it down once a wk. then put down some DE. real quick to take care of.

 

[ceeceeholt]

I have a cement floor in our coop and am using pine shavings and DE. I added the pine first the the DE and stirred it up some and the chicks did the rest. Now once a week I sprinkle a little DE and add a bit of new shavings and is working very well for us. Little to no oder and the chicks love to scratch around inside as well. I also, sprinkle DE out in the run, helps with any smells and drys out the poops too!

 

[mediazeal]

I have a cement pad that I put in to build my coop, so cement floor. I have several inches of sawdust on the floor, a little DE mixed in.
Does great, stays dry, no smell, shovel it out once or twice a year and compost what I get.
good luck

 

[EggyErin]

ChickyLoo - My coop is indoors but not a concrete floor, though I would think that wouldn't matter. I have vinyl flooring over wood.

 

[taprock]

I have two coops one with a wood floor one with concrete. The wood floor stays drier while I tend to find damp spots in the concrete one. Just be sure you or the chickens are turning the litter daily and take out any damp spots. I'm not sure about adding leaves/grass - I have never tried. I did add some hay for our guineas. It didn't mix in quite as well as the pine and clumped up a bit.

 

[Al Gerhart]

I have a concrete floor in my coop, no problems with the sawdust deep litter. Nice to be able to walk into the coop to check on the birds before going to work and not traking poo back in the house.

 

[ChickyLoo]

Quote:
No I guess not??

I just have in my mind that caring for an indoor coop is different than being outdoors....Not sure why I have this stuck in my head. Maybe because it's indoors I'm thinking maintenance is even more crucial to avoid smell because it's not outdoors getting lots of fresh air.

Thanks for the replies folks I appreciate it.

 

[nightshade]

IN the winter I like to use saw dust or pine shavings and if a moisture problem shows up some stall dry like you use for horse stalls. I Just clean out the worst clumps and add a little fresh bedding once a week and then in the spring I clean the whole deal out and house it all down and wash it with bleach water. Seems to work good for us in the past. Now the new coop is bigger then the old one but I am guessing it is not going to really make a difference in how it works.

 

[Stacykins]

Somehow this reminds me of an ultimate 'deep litter method' on a family members farm. I never knew their barn had a concrete floor, always thought it was a dirt floor. Nope, concrete underneath. 50 years of animal poo and shavings all turned into the most lush, deep compost layer you can imagine. I spent a long time with my cousin obsessively cleaning out the barn, 'til all the concrete underneath was revealed and hosed off. Looked brand new!

To properly do deep litter, keep it dry and keep it stirred! It will make lovely compost, but that is after you remove it.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

There's some good info here:

http://www.plamondon.com/faq_deep_litter.html