deep litter method

[jgervais]

Heres my experience using the deep litter method - how is everyone else using it?
http://simplelifeainteasy.blogspot.com/2011/10/deep-litter-method-for-chickens.html

 

[mstricer]

My coop is wet. I placed in the wrong area, where all the rain runs down hill straight into it. I've been trying to solve this problem, I raised the coop onto 4x4's and tomorrow I have 2 tons of sand coming and plan on putting 4 to 6 inches in the bottom hoping to wick the water away from the top. I really didn't notice anything till last fall when we got to much rain, in the spring again with the tons of snow that melted. I've now resorted to using straw only right now and just take the top layer off and add a little more once a week. I hope the sand helps.

 

[CMV]

I only use it in the winter time, and then only because I have to. I'm a bit OCD, though. I can't handle the idea of putting clean bedding on top of dirty bedding. Makes me nuts. I also have a lot of issues with mites, so it's not an ideal method for me.

I helped a friend do the yearly hoe-out and he uses the DLM. Disgusting. I couldn't help but think that can't be good for anyone. Year old poop getting scratched up into the air by the birds every day. Yuck. Sounds like respiratory problems in the making to me. If not for the birds, then certainly for the people that have to go into the coop to do the bird care. No thanks. I use a respirator each time I clean my coop, but I don't want to have to wear one every time I enter it. Some people swear by the DLM, but I am not one of them.

Each to their own, though. Good luck.

 

[Aria]

Quote:
We use HAY and it works fine. We start with a CLEAN barn and put hay on the floor. AND we have a pooper scooper that we use daily. Then we add more hay. And we keep doing this.

We clean all the Hay out once a year. Wash the Barn and start all over. Works for us. Aria

 

[Blue]

I just put a somewhat shallow layer of shavings on the coop floors, and just shovel out and add new bedding under the roosts every few weeks and shovel out the rest if it looks like it needs it. The areas under the roosts get the dirtiest, so the rest of the shavings are usually good for quite a while. After reading up on the DLM, it just didn't sound like something that would work well for me.

 

[JodyJo]

I have about 6 in of shavings in there now, daily I use a heavy rake to stir it up and distribute it...I add more when I notice a bit of a smell, or when it looks really bad, in the late spring, I gut it all out and start over...I do scoop out the really icky stuff once in while.

 

[mstricer]

Quote:
Its not as bad as you think, it actually adds warmth, I have used it since I had my coop. But with the problem of big snow last year and the endless about of rain, not day, but days in a row, I've had a problem with it getting wet. I don't know how it will work once I put the sand in. I'm hoping to still be able to us it. Even though I use this, I have no mites in any of my coops or on my birds. I had my birds NPIP tested and she looked for mites and was surprised they didn't have any because of all the rain we've had, she said whatever you are doing is working and don't stop. I use DE everytime I remove the top layer and stir it, put DE and straw for now. Will go back to using pine shavings, I get mine from a Amish guy down the road, trade for chips. Good bargain.
Michele

 

[Blue]

If the shavings get damp, then they can smell AWFUL until they dry out. I found that out when I put shavings down in a wire sided pen I was using and rain blew in. One thing that can make the stink extra bad is spilled feed. Damp feed mixed with damp shavings is like a double dose of yucktastickness. However, I still do like the shavings, but I can see how they'd be horrible in a damp and leaky area.

 

[jgervais]

I have to find some DE - I hear it works wonders but keep forgetting to ask the feed store where I can get it locally.

 

[mstricer]

Quote:
My feed store will order things for me if needed. You can also check TSC or if you have them Rural King. I get mine from either Meyer hatchery or My Town and Country Co-op(which is our feed store)