Deep litter method

[Mini Meat]

I need some clarity because unless youre building a big tractor with the bottom on the ground, I'm not understanding moving the coop around. Air flowing from underneath will make it considerably colder, and if youre covering the floor with deep litter, blocking the airflow once it gets deep enough, how is the ventilation going to work. Just my two cents. I guess it works. Plenty of people have coops up off the ground, buy why do you need to move it all the time?

Yes I am thinking a big tractor and electro net paddock.

To try to clarify:
one of the major goals of this project is the restoration of the land. The area is 1/2 an acer... long and narrow. It was base rocked and used for equipment storage. I want to return it to meadow. I want to keep the birds in a fairly small area for the at least first season. Not uncomfortably small but small enough that they really impact the area before they are moved to a fresh new section. I am going to put litter in the paddock and I want the whole thing to be well pooed, scratched and just generally ruffed up. I will need to move them often to keep it them healthy and happy. I want the coop on the outside of the run so I don't enter the run very often. The main reason for the flooring is for predator protection. I am trying to figurer out how to make this work and get the results I want. This is a summer only project and all the birds will be culled down to breeding stock for the winter and housed in a fixed coop & run while the flat is seeded and rested. Hope this all makes sense.

I am thinking I may be better off getting two electro nets and making one extra large paddock then dividing the interior space into 1/4ers with chicken wire. Putting the coop in the center and shifting the dividers around the coop. This way, the coop would not have to be so sturdy nor would it need a floor since it would be inside the net. I would not have to move it as often and I still would not have to enter the paddock they are in. I will have to do some measuring to see if I can make this work.

Thanks

 

[Lacy Blues]

I don't think that you will be satisfied with the amount of roughing up that chickens will be able to do with a situation like that.

You might consider having it rototilled first, just to open it up a bit. Then add your deep litter and chickens. I think it will likely make a big difference, particularly if you have rain or can put sprinklers on it after tilling it up and before adding the litter and chickens.

 

[Mini Meat]

Would that I could.

This stuff is HARD, a rototiller would only succeed in rattling out my teeth. The only way to do this mechanically would be with a backhoe or dozer. Since we are in a slide prone area I am not comfortable with either of those options. I did a simaler project on and old horse paddock (12x24) and got good results, slow but successful. It is amazing what plants (especially weeds) can penetrate and break up if given just a bit of organic matter to get started in.

 

[PapaChaz]

Would that I could.

This stuff is HARD, a rototiller would only succeed in rattling out my teeth. The only way to do this mechanically would be with a backhoe or dozer. Since we are in a slide prone area I am not comfortable with either of those options. I did a simaler project on and old horse paddock (12x24) and got good results, slow but successful. It is amazing what plants (especially weeds) can penetrate and break up if given just a bit of organic matter to get started in.

turnips.....small seeds so not much of a hole required, and they'll break it up as they grow bigger. We've done this in food plots to help with compacted areas and it works pretty well. You can't expect results overnight of course, but it will help

 

[Mini Meat]

Yes, turnips would be great for this I'll add them to my seed mix.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Fodder beets too and mustard, daikon radish is supposed to drill really deep as well.

 

[Mini Meat]

Haven't used fodder beats but will give them a try. Mustard and daikon worked well in the last patch so I'll use them again for sure.

 

[eagrbeavr]

Now I understand. The chickens will be at ground level. Now Im trackin . Good luck with your endeavour.

 

[16 paws]

Thought I'd post a vid about DL here so that folks can get a bird's eye view of what it looks like after a winter of birds being confined on it due to deep snows. Pardon the amateur video skills...it is what it is.

Thanks so much for the video.
I have a question for you....
My coop and run is on cement, can you still do the deep litter on that? Should I get rid of my poop trays filled with sand under the roosts? I do have broody pens built under the trays so I would like to keep them. Maybe just scoop them off into the coop? I live in San Diego Ca in a very mild climate and have a very open air coop,
Thanks for any advice...
Marie

 

[Beekissed]

You can but you may have to put a bit of good, rich soil down first. I'd ditch the sand...it's no good for composting or healthy worm and bug life. You'll need any and all poop you can get in your mix to provide the nitrogen to bind with your carbons, so poop slings, boards, boxes and such just have no real purpose in this method.

Let us know how it all goes?