Deep Litter method questions~

[cmjust0]

I'm doing the deep litter/lazy butt method in my brooder right now, apparently. That is to say, if the floor starts looking crappy, I add some shavings. When it starts looking crappy again, I add more. Repeat as needed.

Though I've done this several times over the last four weeks, the floor isn't getting any higher. I had expected it to, but it hasn't so far.. I know it's not composting in the brooder -- it's shavings; shavings take FOREVER to compost -- so I guess it's just getting super packed down.

I wouldn't have thought chicks would be able to do that, given they weigh so little...

 

[CityChook]

They scratch it up, break it down, turn it into MORE dust. And it gets compacted. Once a week, fluff it up with a rake (or hand rake for a brooder?) and see how much you have!! And the cleaner shavings will be brought to the top with the dirtier shavings sifting to the bottom. It's a great method.

 

[Wifezilla]

I have deep litter on a dirt floor in the "big duck" pen and deep litter on a concrete floor in the "little duck" pen. It is easier and less smelly on the dirt floor

 

[gjoyner]

ok...let me get this straight...
Ok..Im going to put linoleum ontop of the wood..to try to prevent some rotting. THAN...put DE (which is just dirt right??) on the linoleum..than add pine shavings. Than I stir it every few months?
Is this what deep litter method is?
I need a step by step with how muh stirring and when im supposed to clean it out and all that..
sorry Im such a newbie! I just dont want to do somthing wrong and accidentally get the chickens sick or somthing

 

[Equus5O]

I've had my girls (a few months old) for just over a week now, so I'm hardly the voice of experience. I have a raised coop. with linoleum over wood floor.

I put not even a bag of pine shavings (a little goes a long way) in the coop, with Stall Dry. Every other day or so, I toss the shavings with the pitch fork so that there's no poop right on the top.

I haven't noticed any smell. But I don't think I've had them long enough for it get real stinky. I'll just have to see how it goes, and deal with it accordingly.

 

[joedie]

DE is not dirt. It is diamataceous earth (fossilized diatoms) and is not sold at very many places. You may have to but it online but make sure it is food grade DE.

 

[cindyanne1]

Can you use deep litter (or lazy butt, lol) with straw?

I want to use pine shavings for litter soooo bad, but my husband would blow a gasket. We farm for a living and bale our own straw from wheat, so that's what I've been using for bedding. Hubby says it's crazy to buy pine shavings (even cheap ones in bulk) when we already have all that straw.

I have to agree, but dang is it ever a pain to clean... it mats together, gets everywhere, and takes forever and a day to break down. It's impossible to put on the garden, too.

 

[Bluemoon420]

Quote:
DE is Diatomaceous Earth, If you have trouble finding it, you can also use stall dri which is the same thing basically. You have it right. There is no set method to do it, but the basic way is just how you said it. You add more as needed, and then when you think it needs it. Empty it all out, and start fresh again.
I've always emptied mine out and started fresh in the fall, and just before summer starts. I use the composted litter as fertilizer around my property.

Bluemoon

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
You don't need DE. Some people choose to use it. Its benefits in deep litter are debateable, though (I am going to be blunt and say that anyone using it for dampness or smell just has too many chickens or too little ventilation or both; stink and humidity problems are easily solved by other methods).

(e.t.a. - no, DE is not dirt)

I need a step by step with how muh stirring and when im supposed to clean it out and all that.. sorry Im such a newbie! I just dont want to do somthing wrong and accidentally get the chickens sick or somthing

There is no 'wrong'. Well ok there probably is but you are exceedingly, exceedingly unlikely to find it.

Just do what seems sensible to you. If everything seems fine, leave it alone; if the litter is getting matted down, stir it; if it's getting so pooey it bothers you, either remove it and put in fresh litter, or just add fresh clean litter to what you've got, with or without mixing it in; if it's smelly in the coop (not just 'animals live here' scent but actual ammonia burn-yer-nose-hairs smell) then you need more ventilation but could also change your bedding out if you feel like it.

There are a whole lot of different ways of managing coop sanitation, most of which work just fine. Everyone has their favorites though, based on your situation and your personality and so forth. Just experiment around a bit, see what you find that works, then keep doing it

Good luck, have fun,

Pat​

 

[cmjust0]

I'm really starting to think that "The Deep Litter Method" had to have been the result of someone being criticized for not cleaning out their henhouse regularly, but only adding more and more and more bedding..

Picture it...someone looks in a neighbor's coop and sarcastically remarks "Wow...bedding's getting a little deep in there, dontcha think?"

Um...well...yeah, that's uh...um, it's called the, uh, The Deep Litter Method...yeah...that's it. It's where you just keep adding more bedding and only clean it out once or twice a year. It's a thing...really, it is. Don't look at me like that...ya know, I'm actually kinda surprised you've never heard of it, Mr. Bigshot coop critic!




I mean, seriously...can't we just call it what it is? Shouldn't it be called the "I don't like cleaning the coop and the chickens could care less, so I just keep adding bedding until I bang my head on the rafters" method?