Deep litter method,or...Something else???

Hello! The old shed will work just fine. Deep litter method uses pine shavings, I have read about it but I am going to use sand. Sort of like a big kitty litter box. I will scoop out the clumped poos and only swap out the sand every six months. I am using play sand right now. Poo shelves (dropping boards or poop boards) are just a flat board under the roosts to catch the poos at night while chickens roost. That way it doesnt fall into the litter/sand and mess it up quicker. tree branches will work fine for roosts. The chickens won't know the difference. You will need to secure the doggy door at night or predators might get inside and kill your chickens. I am using a guillotine style door that I saw on here. Good Luck.

 

I personally like deep litter method but it really has to be kept dry. I "fluff" it up every few days and it does pretty well. If it gets too damp you get ammonia smell and that's not good for the birds.

I have read some posts from people who use poop boards and would really like to try that along with my deep litter. Maybe someday...

 

Go based on your climate. We're in CT, so it gets really cold in the winter and really hot in the summer. We use deep litter for more insulation in the cold months, but change the bedding a couple times a week in the summer.

 

This is a pic of my dropping boards. They are actually stacked on top of each other in this photo. I have two pieces so I can remove and replace them easier. I can take out the dirty one (s) and scrub the poo off. I was going to sprinkle PDZ on top for the smell in the summer.

 

I use the previous day's newspaper under the roost. The coop is raised so the floor is around waist height. Each morning I flick the poo off the paper into a bucket for the compost, then roll up and throw away the damp and mucky paper. Really quick and easy, though I only have four chickens. Guess it wouldn't be so good if you had more. And it allows me to use several layers of newspaper, which holds up well.

I use the river sand method under the coop and in the rest of the run, in part because we get heavy rains here from time to time and I worried about it getting too boggy and muddy. An earlier reply mentions assessing the best method form your climate - this is good advice. Sand drains really quickly - I used about 12-15cm of it, held in with sleepers around the edges, and wire underneath it to stop predators. The kitty litter scooper does a great job and it's so quick I generally do it again in the afternoon when I let them out to free range. It's quite close to neighbours so I'm being really careful they don't get bothered by any smells.

Lots of decisions for you to make!
All the best
Katrina