Deep Litter Method: Pros and Cons

[Sparcleus]

I am interested in doing the Deep Litter Method in my run. I live in South Florida and have been experiencing a large amount of rain this summer; just a bit more than usual. My run is pretty muddy and instead of filling in the water-recessed areas with more dirt, I would like to get some insight on DLM to see if it would work for me. Anyone in South Florida try this? I would love to hear any good/bad advice or experience. For anyone else interested in DLM, here is the website link where I found the most beneficial information:

https://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/deep-litter-method-zb0z1208zmat

TIA!

 

[Latestarter]

Search deep litter here at BYC and you'll find all kinds of info.

 

[Birdinhand]

I don't have specifics for your area but I live in the northwest corner of the country, opposite from you. it's not generally as warm and tropical here but we do get a lot of rain in the seattle metro area. I have used the DLM exclusively for several years now and really can't see going back to bedding, it's a total waste of time, money and effort, IMHO. I dig out the coop about once a year, mostly just to keep the headroom and because I compost with the droppings for magnificent compost for the garden. I would think that your main issue is probably that you are in a flood plain or somewhere the water can't really drain away from your coop and run. I keep my coop and run covered so it's nice and dry, which is a key to the DLM. perhaps you could raise the ground level inside your coop and run to keep the water from collecting inside? i'm not sure what is practical for you, but standing water in the run is something I would go out of my way to avoid.

 

[Sparcleus]

I don't have specifics for your area but I live in the northwest corner of the country, opposite from you. it's not generally as warm and tropical here but we do get a lot of rain in the seattle metro area. I have used the DLM exclusively for several years now and really can't see going back to bedding, it's a total waste of time, money and effort, IMHO. I dig out the coop about once a year, mostly just to keep the headroom and because I compost with the droppings for magnificent compost for the garden. I would think that your main issue is probably that you are in a flood plain or somewhere the water can't really drain away from your coop and run. I keep my coop and run covered so it's nice and dry, which is a key to the DLM. perhaps you could raise the ground level inside your coop and run to keep the water from collecting inside? i'm not sure what is practical for you, but standing water in the run is something I would go out of my way to avoid.

Thank you! I do want to raise the ground level a bit as the area does stay wet longer than the rest of my yard. Would DLM be right for me if my run is open and it does get rained on?

 

[lazy gardener]

First, I would correct any drainage or standing water problems. That might be as simple as installing some gutters, trenching around the run, adding some more sand to the run.

Then start building your DL. I suggest that the run should be a walk in style for ease of management.

I am in Maine, so can not speak re: specifics of southern climates as they pertain to DLM. I know the @Beekissed in WV does very well with DL, and she actually needs to add water to the DL in her coop!

I use DL in coop (vinyl over plywood) and uncovered run. It's taken me 3 years to get DL in 500 s.f. run built up sufficiently. I also did DL in hoop coop/run with great success. The flock loves that coop.

My run is 90% uncovered. We get a lot of spring rains, fall rains, snow melt off, and summer deluges. All tend to totally saturate the DL. But without the DL covering, the run would be a stinky, fecal contaminated mud pit at such times, and the run off would contaminate the surrounding areas with too much nutrients. The DL tends to hold that moisture like a sponge, preventing the waterlogging of soil. Then, it releases the moisture over time. In the mean time, the DL attracts beneficial insects which feed the birds. And it is a storehouse for beneficial bacteria and fungi which keep pathogens in check. Birds on DL have healthier guts: improved feed conversion rates and improved immune systems.

 

[FishMtFarm]

I put driveway run in my out door area. Stone drains and is easy to hose off. Then I just clean my coop once a week. I like dry and clean myself. If I won’t get I my hands and knees in it, I dont wanna make my animals stand in it. Stone I feel is the way to go and I make it higher in the run than out side ground. I take it once a month to level it back out from them scratching in it and the smell has been cut down tramendously.

 

[FishMtFarm]

Oh, forgot to mention I am in NY but the rain had been relentless the last few weeks and everything is staying drained and have no mud.

 

[Blooie]

Here in Northwestern Wyoming I use deep litter with great success. There is a distinct difference between true deep litter and deep bedding. I thought I was using deep litter with the bag after bag of pine shavings I used in the coop and the run. But when I did a cleanout, all those lovely layers of fresh yellow pine shavings were now poopy gray pine shavings and still readily identifiable as such. Where was this rich planting medium I was supposed to have in there? Where was the breakdown of the material? There's nothing wrong with deep bedding, if that's what will work best for your situation. Pine shavings are cheap, readily available, cover a large area, and look, feel and smell fresh and clean. It just wasn't what I wanted. If I was going to go through all of this raising, caring, feeding and housing, I wanted more in return than a few eggs.

So I hashed it out with one of my mentors, @Beekissed, who has more down home, common sense ways of raising chickens than anyone else I know. That's when I learned that I wasn't doing deep litter, I was using deep bedding. She explained that all important difference to me, I did a clean out and started over, and what an improvement following her advice made! The foundation for my deep litter is leaves. Yep, all those leaves that we rake up in the fall and in the spring. You're doing the work of raking them up anyway - why not use them instead of putting them in bags for the landfill or in piles and burning them? Rake 'em, bag 'em, hide the bags out behind your coop, and you have a steady supply to get you through. Unfortunately almost all of the trees on my lot are from our 6 giant willow trees, which means they are all long, slender, and about the same size. Those packed down into an impenetrable mat quicker than you can say impenetrable mat. Oops. Not what we wanted.

So I started collecting leaves of all different sizes and shapes....got 'em from neighbors, from the local park, even got some from the local wildlife management area - with permission, of course. When I raked, I raked up dead grasses, weeds, twigs and all. The non-leaf extras help aerate the layer, providing much needed air space in the layers. After that first layer went in, I added a couple of shovels full of dirt from the garden. From then on, just about anything went in there. I'd add some pine straw, small amounts of grass clippings from mowing, weeds and garden refuse, and of course there would always be some rinds, corn cobs, and other leftovers from treats tossed in for the chickens that they missed. Wood chips (not pine shavings but actual wood chips from tree work) went in. A little bagged peat moss helped if the litter was too green and wet. I also brooded chicks out there, and alternated from batch to batch with a thin layer of pine shavings for one batch, then some chopped straw for the next batch, and when I cleaned the brooder pen I just raked whatever was in there into the run. I'd give the whole thing a flip every now and again, and the really poopy stuff from directly under the roosts got pulled over into the less poopy areas and then flipped under. Flipping is important....it's not like digging way down and turning it completely - it's kinda just taking the top layer where it's poopiest and flipping just that thin layer upside down, then pulling some of the cleaner stuff or even putting in a few handfuls of new leaves under the roosts. When the litter started packing down I'd dump another bag of leaves in there and let the chickens do the work for me. If I took any out as a partial cleanout, I always left a good thick layer at the bottom as starter, just like sourdough starter.

If the litter was too wet, it was time for some dried leaves. Wet litter can have an odor, I don't care what it's made of! If it was too dry, greener material like grass clippings from the mower went in for them to scratch into the litter. If it was really dry and dusty, an occasional LIGHT mist of water from the garden hose added needed moisture without soaking the litter. Mist and flip. Done.

The result was a rapid breakdown of material, composting completely in place, that didn't smell, made great footing for the chickens, and took just a couple of minutes every few days to freshen up. In fact, it probably took about the same amount of time to type this whole thing than it took to refresh the litter! Go out, feed and water, gather eggs, flip a little litter, and get out. No DE - that just interferes with the little critters needed to help break that compost down. And the bonus is that instead of hauling out load after load of poopy shavings, building a compost pile, and tending that for several months before it can be used, what I pull from the run and coop was garden ready. Right now. No hauling, piling, waiting, although if I wanted to I probably could have. And I never had to clean it out down to the ground. Just take out what I wanted. The result was happy, healthy chickens and a happy owner. I'm just too lazy to put as much work into chicken keeping as folks think is required.

This is what a handful of my deep litter looked like. I just used my fingers and dug out a little hollow and gave it a good hard squeeze. It stuck together like good, dark rich garden soil should. In the photos you can still see some pine shavings in there from the very first time I put them in there, back in the bad old days a couple of years before and it's still clear exactly what they are! And then you can see Miss Cora checking out the hollow where I pulled up the litter to see if I uncovered any little critters or worms.

 

[chickens really]

I use sand. I till it up and it dries quickly. All my pens are slightly sloped For drainage...

 

[Sparcleus]

@Blooie thank you! That is all very informative. I am thinking I will start with pine needles and wood chips and go from there. My main concern is with wetness since my run is uncovered, and if there would be any critter issues in the DL.