Deep Litter Method

[jerseygirl1]

I don't have a dirt floor and I use the DLM - I have a wood floor - I use DE in it, add some shavings and mix it. Every morning I mix, and in the evening. Weekends I scoop out the poop, as much as I can, then add more shavings. Works for me. A few times a year, usually when rainy season hits, I empty out the whole coop and start over. The trick is not to add too much shavings, as the ammonia smell will overpower you and cause breathing problems for the chickens.

 

[Judy]

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Lots of people use a version of the DLM with a floor in the coop, but I agree with darkmatter, it works best with a dirt floor, which is what I have. I basically never have to clean or even rake it. The poop dries out and turns to dirt. The earlier comments about odor being rare are also what I have found true. My coop has a lot of wire sides in this warm climate, and once in a while it gets a bit wet in there and smells some for a few hours, but then dries out. I don't even take out the overnight poo.

I imagine you're confused because people have many different way of doing what they call the DLM. But the original idea, and the one that requires by far the least work, is on a dirt floor. I wouldn't have it any other way -- have had chickens for years and have never had it any other way.

 

[darkmatter]

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Sorry, I don't believe what your doing is the DLM process, what you're doing is adsorbing the poo and cleaning. The DLM process prevents the ammonia smell by composting. If the ammonia smell is building up, what you have is anaerobic decomposition; the DLM method promotes aerorobic decomposition. There is over time with DLM, microorganisms which build up and support the aerorobic process, you should never totally clean out the DLM, leave enough to mix in with the new litter for "seeding" the correct microorganisms. I use lawnmower clippings; leaves, pine cones/needles and whatever I rake up for adding to the DLM during the summer, then allow it to season over the winter adding heat to the coop and clean it out in the spring only because I want the compost for the garden.
The DLM process is centuries old with the European farm barns having a composting floor in the barns several feet thick at times, the barns were built on stone.

 

[sharol]

I'm starting over with a different (larger) coop, and I want to use a modified dlm in there. It is 6x8 (edited to fix the dimensions -- brain hiccup) and will be much better for my 7 girls than the smaller tractor I bought initially.

I'm starting with an already built metal building. I'll be adding windows, a pop door (probably a gangplank type, roosts, shelves -- pretty much everything except the walls and wood framing. I bought a remnant of tough vinyl flooring to protect the pressed wood floor, and it will be about 10 inches off of the ground on skids set on cement paving tiles.

How do I keep the litter from piling out of the pop door and the people door? Do I cut the pop door 6-8 inches up from the floor? I also have to figure a way to frame the hole so the metal wall doesn't cut anyone if the wrestle each other to get through it. On the people door, the bottom of the door is flush with the floor. Would I put a 1x10 or 1x12 across the bottom of the opening to keep the litter contained?

 

[henney penny]

I used the deep littler method for the first time last year,I statred out with 2 bags on my wood floor and when that looked like it needed more or statred to smell I added some pdz(like stall dry I think)and another half bag or full bag whatever I thought it needed.Then I threw some corn and sunflower seeds in and watched the girls mix it up for me.I found out you need lots of ventilation at the roof line of your coop to keep the smell down and poop boards,you would be surprised how much the poop while sleeping.I cleaned it out totaly in the spring and started over,I really like this method.This year I have put DE food grade in there also because I got some new girls and they don`t roost over the poop boards but on other roosts.I did put more ventilation in this spring and hope that is evough if not more will go in next spring.Here is pictures of my poop boards,I put the pdz on the boards and everydday scoop it clean with my kitty little scooper I have a big one,the pdz is granular so its like cat litter.This works for me hope I helped some.

My waterer sets up on a box that has a light bulb in it to keep the water from freezing in the winter and stays there year around.

 

[Ema]

what about straw?? I want to do the deep litter method but straw is cheaper than shavings up here, well it goes further than the shavings do anyhow.

my coop is 10x12 and I use about 2 - 3 bags of shavings and then put about a bale of straw on top. how does straw fare for winter? I have been using in the summer and its been good, but we get a lot of snow up here and wonder if it will get too wet?? I have been told straw provides more warmth.

 

[Clay Valley Farmer]

How do I keep the litter from piling out of the pop door and the people door? Do I cut the pop door 6-8 inches up from the floor?

I have person and pop doors cut about 1 foot above the floor, works well. very young birds can have a little trouble getting up and out but easy to put a step in. If your person door is low you can build a dam around it on the inside to keep the litter from spilling out.

One issue I have with DL is keeping the littler out of the waterers. If the chickens get scraching and nest building the have often filled the waters with shavings and poop. I put the watters up on platforms but may need to put them up higher.

Just thinking I have lots of dry maple leaves in the yard, that would make for a good addition to the DL, any issue there?​

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I designed my garden shed coop to be used with deep litter, too. The pop hole door is elevated. There's a ramp on the outside, that goes down to the ground. On the inside, we originally had a hinged door that folded down to make a ramp, that worked great. At the moment, it has a platform in front of the door and a sliding metal door that's connected to a light sensor. That's been working great, too.

A board at the bottom of the people door works great. That's not a high traffic area in my coop for the chickens and I've tended to have the litter quite shallow there, when using deep litter, so that it isn't a problem most of the year.

 

[woodmort]

I've used the DLM for 25 years long before I even knew it had a name, just found it convenient not to have to clean the coop more than once a year--every spring. The only time I've ever had problems with smell was back when I was housing ducks in with the chickens--they are messy with really wet poop and spill a lot of water. I have a 12 X 12 coop with a wooden (exterior plywood) floor and do not use DE--when the litter seems to be more poop than shavings I add another bale of shavings. I will toss BOSS or scratch into the coop and let the birds fluff up the shavings in their effort to find the morsels. Usually when I clean the coop--generally in April--there will be a thick crust under the roosts but the stuff underneath is composting fairly well. I just clean the coop down to the bare floor, hose it out, clean the windows, get down all the cobwebs and we're ready for the next year. My birds are give outside time every day that I'm home but in the winter they stay pretty much inside.

BTW, I wouldn't use straw on the floor for this method. It holds moisture and can be a real job to clean up--I do have some accumulate under the nest boxes and hate to clean it up.

Oh yeah, some litter gets kicked out of the pop door and carried out of the people door but not enough to worry about. I generally have quite a pile behind the garbage barrels where I store feed.

 

[sharol]

Woodmort, it is better to use straw in the nest boxes than shavings?

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