Deep Litter Method vs Sand?

[kstough]

I am pulling my hair out trying to find the best solution for my chicken coop floorings. My chickens will be free ranging here pretty soon, so J am not too concerned about a special flooring for the run, just the coop. I am in lower AL so it gets pretty hot and humid in the winter. I have read about the Deep Litter Method and also using commercial grade sad with some Sweet PDZ mixed in...What would you recommend is the best method? I am looking for little maintenance and nothing too stinky! Thanks!

 

[PD-Riverman]

I am pulling my hair out trying to find the best solution for my chicken coop floorings. My chickens will be free ranging here pretty soon, so J am not too concerned about a special flooring for the run, just the coop. I am in lower AL so it gets pretty hot and humid in the winter. I have read about the Deep Litter Method and also using commercial grade sad with some Sweet PDZ mixed in...What would you recommend is the best method? I am looking for little maintenance and nothing too stinky! Thanks!

Sand floor will require a "sifter" to remove the poop from the sand Or some kind of fine tooth fork, but a fine tooth one like people use for horse stalls----is not fine enough. I use sand and I like it better than anything I have used But I built a powered sifter. Without the sifter---you throw away a lot of sand---Oh and sand Is heavy!

 

[PapaBear4]

Quote:
Awesome! Have you posted about it on here already? If so I must have missed it somehow. After years and years of deep litter we put sand in the coop last weekend. At first it really sucked because I was using a cat litter scoop and the sand was still really wet. Now the sand is slowly drying out and I modified a 5-gallon bucket to be a sifter. It's better now, but a powered sifter would make it so much better.

 

[PD-Riverman]

Awesome! Have you posted about it on here already? If so I must have missed it somehow. After years and years of deep litter we put sand in the coop last weekend. At first it really sucked because I was using a cat litter scoop and the sand was still really wet. Now the sand is slowly drying out and I modified a 5-gallon bucket to be a sifter. It's better now, but a powered sifter would make it so much better.

No I have not----I do not even think I got a pic of it, but I need to take one and share---its a time saver. It uses a DC Motor because my coops are far away from the electric lines---1/2 mile so I hook the wires to the DC motor to my electric golf cart. I shovel the sand into the end and have a container to catch the poop on the other end---sand falls through the screen. Before building this----I used a 1x4 wood frame box---about 20 " x 30" with 1/8" hardware cloth---this frame had 4 legs and set at a angle on the floor---front legs probably 6" tall, back about 12" tall. I would shovel and pour the sand at the higher end the poop mainly rolled to the lower end, sand fell through---most of the time having to give the frame little taps or a some shakes----That worked good for a manual deal.