Deep litter method: Poop board, or no?

[Raen]

I'm a bit confused about how poop boards work with the deep litter method. It seems that some (most?) people here do both, but if you remove most of the poop and compost it elsewhere, what's composting with the litter?

 

[Judy]

It's probably so confusing because there really is no such thing as THE deep litter method, but rather, a bunch of approaches to coop keeping that involve leaving some litter in it a while. But you are right, the idea is that the litter and poop compost together.

There are several threads on the FAQ page about various approaches. I have a dirt floor and never remove the pine shavings, so I might be doing pretty close to the original idea, or maybe one of them, I don't know.

 

[Baymule]

I have a poop board under my roost mainly to keep a draft from blowing up their petticoats. I have a piece of flat bar welded to a length of rebar, nicely spray painted in lustrous black, to scrape the poop into a cracked plastic dustpan. LOL The coop has a dirt floor, no litter, the girls keep the dirt turned and scratched up, so I rarely have anything to rake up. In the spring when I add a few more, I might have to step it up on my cleaning duties.

 

[knjinnm]

Quote:
Hi,
Is the flat bar the poop board? If so how wide is it? Can you post a picture?

Thanks,
Joe

 

[patandchickens]

Sad to say, having a droppings board does NOT prevent there from being plenty of poo in the floor litter to happily compost (to whatever degree your conditions permit -- a lot of peoples' setups are not *going* to get in-house composting *anyhow*). Plus which, in a typical backyard coop situation even if you DO get composting going on you are generally NOT getting a real big heat boost from it anyhow so even if you have somewhat less poo doing somewhat less composting, who cares?

And removing the poo practically right away (first thing in the morning), by using a droppings board to intercept it, does a LOT to help air quality.

So that, to me, is the rationale for using both.

But again, to emphasize what ddawn says, there IS NO SUCH THING as "the" deep litter method. There are a whole buncha different ways you can juggle things, for all different situations and all different purposes. Pick whatever methods work happily for you, and don't worry about what other people may be doing because it may suit their situations differently than yours

(not the o.p. specifically, of course, I just mean the generic "you")

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Cargo]

Poop board would greatly extend the amount of time between litter changes.

 

[Chick named Lola]

I don't have space for a poop board in my little coop and am using dlm. I only pick up the big turds in the morning and since I use de it dries up the little ones very well. I have no smell at all in my coop. As long as I don't smell anything yucky, I'm happy.

 

[swimmer]

I do the same as Lola. My coop doesn't smell and clean it out every now and then. When I first got my girls, I cleaned once a week. Funny.

 

[sheila3935]

I dont use a poop board been thinking about it though I just turn the poo under the roost each morning and about once every 2 weeks or so add a little more pine shavings on top when it starts to look like the shavings are breaking down. I clean any that might be on the roost off as I use 2x4. I dont have any smell either. What I have read is the poo under with the pine shavings are what starts the shavings to compost and put off heat.

 

[knjinnm]

Quote:
Hi All,
Several years ago I had a small 8X8 coop on dirt. The soil was a dark clay type that readily accepted compost, so dropping were easily converted to lush soil. The hens free ranged in the yard but when they were in the coop they kept the soil mixed, there was never a problem with accumulated droppings.
What we didn't realize, until it was to late, the fertilizer was killing a 18" in diameter Silk Oak tree next to the coop. We moved the coop and mixed the soil in the garden then we cut the tree down ... BTW Silk Oaks are a nuisance.

Live and Learn,
Joe