Deep Litter Method in "Brooder"

[aclee]

I have a large shipping crate that I'm using as a brooder/grow out pen for the 38 Cornish and 1 mystery chick. I put in a bag of pellets, and maybe a 1/3 of a bale of shavings. It makes for about 3-4" of bottom material. I am also spreading some scratch feed (cracked corn) daily in hopes they will stir it up, but mainly, I stir it almost ever day. It seems like it's not drying out enough. On some of the edges, the plywood on the crate is looking wet-ish. Am I doing this wrong? The birds are not getting dirty, and it does seem like the pellets are breaking down to sawdust, and mixing in nicely with the shavings. Should I add more shavings to help control the moisture? I just thought this set up would last a little longer than it seems like it has. I guess they have been in there, on that bedding for about a week. I was hoping not to switch out bedding every week and need a whole bag of pellets and some shavings every week. I have one other large, but slightly smaller crate that I'm planning to split them into as they get a little bigger, but at 3.5 weeks old, how much square footage per chick should I have? I'm worried I'm over crowding them and that's why the bedding isn't able to dry out as well.

Thanks!

 

[journey11]

Are these just Cornish, or Cornish X? The X eat alot and therefore poop alot....an unbelievable amount of poop!

Either way, I don't think I'd recommend deep litter in the brooder for your chicks health. It will get stinky fast. At that age too, their immune systems are weak and a wet and unclean environment will make them sick/kill them. It's better to change it entirely every few days and keep them clean and dry. You can stir it yourself to help get by until the next cleaning though, otherwise poo crusts up on the top layer.

On your space requirements, if you're talking about Cornish X, they do alright on less space because they have less desire to move around much, but I still give mine 4 sq ft each.

 

[FrenchHen]

Cornish make more of a mess than other birds. I had to dump their litter twice a day to deal with the smell until I moved them outside.
Generally they need 1/2 square foot per bird. Though with meaties, you might want to rethink your design. Our birds are brooded on a plastic mesh that lets their poo drop below. It's easier than chips.

 

[aclee]

25 of them I got from McMurray and they are about 1/2 Cornish Roasters and 1/2 Jumbo Cornish X...then I got another 12 that are a couple days older at the feed store, and they just said Cornish on the brooder there, so I have no idea on those.

Interesting thoughts though...I'd love to see pictures of the set up where they are on mesh and the poop drops through.

These guys aren't even fully feathered yet, so I don't think I can move them outside yet. They are in the garage for now, and the smell isn't bad at all. I really could only start smelling anything besides the pine maybe yesterday.

 

[FrenchHen]

Meaties are easy to raise, except for the smell. We evicted ours outside (with a lamp) at about two weeks. Icky stinky monsters!

They tasted good, though.

 

[scubaforlife]

Salatin does deep bed with CXs. You just have to add more and more carbon every day, and stir it. I suggest an inch at least in the morning and another inch at night, plus stirring. I would get a second carbon source, like straw, and alternate.

 

[FrenchHen]

Salatin also has a sawmill and endless wood chips. We were trying to keep costs down, so out the went!

 

[Michele S]

I had to put mine outside at three weeks. I honestly cannot even imagine if they were inside still. Mine were not fully feathered and they are doing fine in the coop with a light and a tarp to enclose the open side of the coop. We are staying in the low 40s at night. We've had terrible storms even and I have not lost one since they got outside. I use food grade diatenacious earth to cut down on their overwhelming stetch. I have 24 in a 100 square foot chain link/block enclosure with the coop in the middle and that seems just right for them.

 

[jaku]

I have done that with my brooders of meaties. I have since switched to a 1/4 inch screen floor that I sweep clean several times per day onto cardboard underneath. Deep litter can definitely be done with a brooder of meaties, but it is gross, and there's no way to avoid the sour smell and wet bedding . I just stirred it as often as I could, and topped it off every time with some fresh chips. They stay wet because the birds poo so much that the chips can't keep up.