Deep litter method vs. sand: Who's tired both?

[mississippifarmboy]

We use a combination of the two methods plus a few other creative ideas. Just whatever works at the time. The inside coops/chickens houses are all deep litter shavings that I spot clean every week or two and totally clean out twice a year. Some of the runs are sand which I rake up about once a week and compost the stuff we rake up, some runs and smaller pens I use old hay or straw in and just rake and compost as needed and some are large enough I don't use anything. Most of our brooders and smaller grow-out coops are on raised legs and what falls through the wire floors onto the ground I just clean up as needed.

I think you should just experiment a bit and see what works for you.

 

[MandyH]

We tried the deep litter method and IDK what happened but it STANK. We have 5 coops and all have a 6 inch layer of sand in each coop and the run. The sand lets the moisture go to the bottom and draws the moisture out of the poop so it dries out quick and you don't have a big stink. We have a massive creek that runs the length of our property and it has the most fine, clean sand, so we get our sand for free. I highly reccomend the sand. PS: we live in a hot humid climate so that may where the deep litter method went wrong.

 

[mississippifarmboy]

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Yeah, and isn't it wonderful Mandy! It's raining AGAIN!

Of course, if it's like it is most years it'll stop next month and we won't get enough to keep the darn grass alive for the whole summer.

 

[elmo]

We don't have a real winter to contend with where we live, so I use sand in the coop (as well as for our runs, which anyone can use regardless of weather). The reason I picked sand for the coop was that I'm the kind of person that prefers spending a couple of minutes every day cleaning rather than having a big cleaning job once or twice a year. The idea of letting poo accumulate in the bedding for weeks and months at a time was a very unappealing concept to me. We do spend a lot of time inside the coop with our chickens, too.

The other thing I dislike about shavings is how they blow about everywhere when you open the door. With sand, I do have to remember to shake out my shoes before I come inside the house or I get in trouble with my husband (he's the one who sweeps, mops and vacuums in our house).

Whichever you pick, sand or shavings, a droppings board or tray under the roost is a great way to collect much of the manure for easier removal.

 

[Chicken.Lytle]

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Shake out shoes? For both biosecurity and ickiness reasons, I use an old pair of shoes for chicken activities. The chickens shoes never come inside the house.

 

[gdplum]

...my henhouse was a former playhouse for grandchildren...complete with brick floor and cedar paneled walls. After converting to henhouse, I covered the floor with two inches of sand and use a plastic horse manure rake to gather droppings. Works great.

 

[elmo]

Chicken.Lytle :

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Shake out shoes? For both biosecurity and ickiness reasons, I use an old pair of shoes for chicken activities. The chickens shoes never come inside the house.

I store my coop shoes right inside the back door. But the sand sometimes gets inside the shoes, into my socks. Best to leave as much of that outside as possible.​

 

[Patricia Jane]

I have only used the deep litter method. It really works well for me. I use pine shavings in the coop and in the poop board. I clean the poop board every other day. But then I only have 4 girls. They are only in the coop at night so it stays pretty clean. I do get shavings stuck to me but nothing a quick brush off won't fix. I use one pair of shoes only for the coop and leave them on the back porch. I don't wear them in the house. Good luck and enjoy your girls.

 

[magdelaine]

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Can you use shavings for gardens too?

 

[jelly_biscuit]

I know you're looking for tips from experienced chicken keepers (which I'm not, yet - my chickies are still in the brooder), but I thought I'd chime in anyhow. I will personally be doing the deep litter method for a few reasons: I think that it would be much easier to clean out; I want to add the litter and manure to my compost; and it just looks better (in my opinion). Just my two cents!