Deep Litter Method in SnapLock Coop - Is it possible?

[NC_ChickiePoo]

Hi! I'm almost finished with my coop/run areas and my chicks will be here in a couple weeks so it will be some time before they are actually luxuriating in their new abode but I have discovered the idea of the deep little method. I love the idea but figured with our purchase of the SnapLock Coop (pictures from TS included), that it wasn't possible. The coop itself has 2 pull out trays which slide in over the base of the coop and we are putting this coop on a wooden base to elevate it for ease of cleaning, collecting eggs, additional predator protection, etc. I was looking at it the other day and was thinking - what if I don't use the pull out trays and just pile the shavings in the base "tray"? Would that work for the DLM? I could even put some hardware cloth around it to fortify it a little more, even though it snaps on, as I'm doing that with the vents anyway - snakes, ewww - my mind is working. (As my wonderful hubs says - "everyone watch out!")
Has anyone ever used the DLM for a coop like this? If I can't do it that's fine - I'm sure we'll end up with a bigger coop eventually - chicken math factoring in - but was curious. I need to stop watching videos and seeing what everyone is doing as you guys are giving me way too many ideas and my husband is about to pull his hair out -

Thanks for any experience/advice you can give.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Impossible.

DLM requires beneficial microbes from the soil and a good depth of materials to work properly. That tray isn't nearly deep enough, even if you could introduce soil microbes and keep the moisture level where it naturally tends to be.

At best, you might have deep bedding, which you can then turn out periodically into a pile to compost as deep litter.

DLM works best with coops which set upon the ground with no floor. Even my raised coop with a concrete floor, where I can pile leaf litter 6, 8, 9" deep (initially, its gets broken up and settles into a much thinner layer pretty quickly) and leave it there for a season doesn't effectively work as DLM, almost no soil is created (for which I should probably by thankful, as it would likely trap moisture against the concrete board).

 

[Brooks_]

Agrees with above. Deep litter won't/can't work; deep bedding might. But that might have been what you meant anyway as the two "sound" interchangeable.

 

[NC_ChickiePoo]

Impossible.

DLM requires beneficial microbes from the soil and a good depth of materials to work properly. That tray isn't nearly deep enough, even if you could introduce soil microbes and keep the moisture level where it naturally tends to be.

At best, you might have deep bedding, which you can then turn out periodically into a pile to compost as deep litter.

DLM works best with coops which set upon the ground with no floor. Even my raised coop with a concrete floor, where I can pile leaf litter 6, 8, 9" deep (initially, its gets broken up and settles into a much thinner layer pretty quickly) and leave it there for a season doesn't effectively work as DLM, almost no soil is created (for which I should probably by thankful, as it would likely trap moisture against the concrete board).

I sorta figured this would be the case. I'll keep this in mind if we end up expanding. I initially thought of getting a shed to convert into a coop for part of it and make a storage closet in it for "chicken stuff" so this helps me in my pre-planning. Thank you for your insight and experience.

 

[NC_ChickiePoo]

Agrees with above. Deep litter won't/can't work; deep bedding might. But that might have been what you meant anyway as the two "sound" interchangeable.

Thank you for responding and letting me know. Future plans (hee hee)

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I sorta figured this would be the case. I'll keep this in mind if we end up expanding. I initially thought of getting a shed to convert into a coop for part of it and make a storage closet in it for "chicken stuff" so this helps me in my pre-planning. Thank you for your insight and experience.

Happy to share my experiences (and mistakes) so others need not repeat them.

My first coop was raised (a necessity, as I have ducks). I learned a lot doing it, since I ended up deep bedding above, and deep litter below. (For a raised coop, its big - 8' x 12' - I can "walk in", since the upper floor is built as a "C" with a human door in the open space.

My second coop has no floor, and is 10' x 16'. It doubles as a goat shelter. Learned a bit from it, too.

 

[Brooks_]

I sorta figured this would be the case. I'll keep this in mind if we end up expanding. I initially thought of getting a shed to convert into a coop for part of it and make a storage closet in it for "chicken stuff" so this helps me in my pre-planning. Thank you for your insight and experience.

Shed conversions are appealing.

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC. If you put your general location into your profile it will help people give you better targeted advice. Climate matters, especially when it comes to housing.

What are the actual dimensions of that coop and how many chickens were you planning to put into it? Manufacturers of prefab coops almost always WILDLY exaggerate how many chickens should be kept in their coops.

The Usual Guidelines

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

Here is my article on Deep Bedding: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/using-deep-bedding-in-a-small-coop.76343/

I'm afraid that if that coop is as small as I suspect it is that deep bedding will be effectively impossible because there simply isn't any room for the bedding.

 

[linguini]

Depending on the number of chickens you'll have in the coop - if it's not too many, it may be easiest just to pick up (or scoop out) the poop daily (or as frequently as you can). And when the pine shavings (or whatever bedding you'll use) become too thin, you can just add more on top. This way, you never have to completely clean/replace the bedding.

That's my modified "shallow" bedding method. Our coop floor can only take no more than 5-6 inches of pine shavings, so like @3KillerBs pointed out, no room for deep bedding.