Deep litter method

[PapaChaz]

Beekissed, that's a great video. Thanks for making it.

I'm just getting started with deep litter in a new coop. I started with a bare dirt floor, added a little sand (maybe 1/2 inch, just what was left over from setting the coop foundation) and the clippings from the last time I mowed the lawn. Is that it? Do I just keep adding stuff? The dirt is pretty packed so I couldn't turn anything right now if I tried. Should I add some mostly-finished compost from my tumbler to get the right bugs in there?

just keep adding stuff. as we've been talking about the last several posts, make sure what you add in isn't always the same size particles. vary it from layer to layer. Also, add a lot more to start with, as she just said, you want to get it to at least 6" deep pretty quickly. I put the grass clippings pictured above in mine after they went on the roost, and by 10 am this morning, they already had it flattened, spread around and a few holes dug in. They'll do all the work for you!

I'd recommend if you can find a tree trimming service, get them to dump a load of wood chips somewhere close in your yard (if you have room) and add those in on top of what you have. Then just any time you pull weeds, rake leaves etc, either add them in or pile em up somewhere until you need to add a new layer.

I don't know if I would add what compost you have now, although it wouldn't hurt anything to do so. Just remember one of the key things to make it work is different size particles in your layers...

 

[PapaChaz]

ok gonna upload some more pics. I just put the grass clippings in last night after they went on the roost. I didn't spread it out that much, just made sure I had the run completely covered. You'll see in these pics the kids have already been spreading, digging, scratching around....

Also, you'll see that some of my landscape cloth cover has gotten torn with the wind while we were on vacation and I haven't had the time to replace it yet, sometime in the next few days I will get that done. anyway, here's some pics:

the whole run, 10x22 and I currently have 9 hens and 1 rooster. They've pretty well gotten it all spread out now. really soft to walk on too!


in this pic, you can see they've got the clippings, and pretty much everything else, scratched back away from the framing. This is a favorite digging corner, they keep this corner cleared no matter how much stuff I put in there, LOL


a pretty good hole already scratched out under the oyster shell feeder. All the way to bare dirt. You can see sticks, rocks, wood chips, etc that have been added in the different layers

this is the other corner by the door, hardly disturbed at all. Not sure why they like that other side so much and almost ignore this corner, but it is what it is, LOL

 

[Beekissed]

Looks good! Come fall, I'd put a huge load of leaves in there...they will go crazy over leaves! Mine free range all the time and have access to leaves any time they like, but they still go crazy when I add leaves to the coop. Don't know why that is.

See if your most scratched corner holds more moisture. That's where the most bugs and worms will be, which could explain their interest.

If you really want a fun time, put some hay bales in that run...doesn't matter where but they'll likely get more action around the edges. After a couple of months, just turn one over. Should be earthworms and beetles collected under there. Same thing happens if you move stumps into the area. I like to do that for my birds in their range area, just so they can have a treat they don't have to hunt so hard for. Just rolling it or scootching it to one side is all that's needed each time but it sure can provide a quick buffet. In your run, it gives them different levels of being and they love that.

 

[PapaChaz]

Looks good! Come fall, I'd put a huge load of leaves in there...they will go crazy over leaves! Mine free range all the time and have access to leaves any time they like, but they still go crazy when I add leaves to the coop. Don't know why that is.

See if your most scratched corner holds more moisture. That's where the most bugs and worms will be, which could explain their interest.

If you really want a fun time, put some hay bales in that run...doesn't matter where but they'll likely get more action around the edges. After a couple of months, just turn one over. Should be earthworms and beetles collected under there. Same thing happens if you move stumps into the area. I like to do that for my birds in their range area, just so they can have a treat they don't have to hunt so hard for. Just rolling it or scootching it to one side is all that's needed each time but it sure can provide a quick buffet. In your run, it gives them different levels of being and they love that.

great idea about the hay bales. I do have an old pool ladder I keep in there, I had taken it out while spreading the clippings and didn't put it back in last night. It's back now, and yeah they absolutely love having it to hop up and down from. I haven't thought to check the moisture in that corner, that could be it

oh yeah, I'll definitely be adding leaves this fall for sure.

 

[snow5164]

So I added some nice rich soil , sand and some raked up leaves to my coop and for the first time so far it was stinky in there this morning

maybe it's just the smell you get in the bush , rotting leaves ect . The girls were in their glory in fact we could hardly get them to go outside. So I'll just hope the smell goes away !!

 

[Beekissed]

Any way you can open up more air flow through the coop? That might help disperse odor and humidity.

 

[JayJo]

just keep adding stuff. as we've been talking about the last several posts, make sure what you add in isn't always the same size particles. vary it from layer to layer. Also, add a lot more to start with, as she just said, you want to get it to at least 6" deep pretty quickly. I put the grass clippings pictured above in mine after they went on the roost, and by 10 am this morning, they already had it flattened, spread around and a few holes dug in. They'll do all the work for you!

I'd recommend if you can find a tree trimming service, get them to dump a load of wood chips somewhere close in your yard (if you have room) and add those in on top of what you have. Then just any time you pull weeds, rake leaves etc, either add them in or pile em up somewhere until you need to add a new layer.

I don't know if I would add what compost you have now, although it wouldn't hurt anything to do so. Just remember one of the key things to make it work is different size particles in your layers...

Thanks for this explanation and also the photos. Somehow I missed the 6" right away part before.

 

[snow5164]

Any way you can open up more air flow through the coop?  That might help disperse odor and humidity. 

I could turn the fan on, it's cooler here today so it's off. I'm thinking the soil when it mixes with the sand and straw won't stay so "fresh" smelling

 

[PapaChaz]

Thanks for this explanation and also the photos. Somehow I missed the 6" right away part before.

you're welcome......the 6" comment was simply, as she said, it starts to cold compost better when it's at least that depth, so to get there as quick as possible would be preferred.

I started off putting at least that much wood chips in mine, it doesn't take long for things to settle and begin to pack down, but the chickens will keep it turned, and adding yard debris regularly certainly helps, it does in mine anyway!

good luck!

 

[MagicChicken]

I recently had some large trees pruned. The tree guys left me with a giant pile of mesquite wood chips and I was gleefully planning to use the chips in the coops. Three days later I went to get a wheelbarrow full for one of the coops. Stuck the shovel into the pile and... smoke? Tried it again in another spot and got the same result. It sure looked like smoke coming up but it wasn't. Turns out the whole pile of chips had molded and every time I stuck a shovel into the pile it kicked up a cloud of mold spores. Yuck!

It doesn't seem like a good idea to use moldy wood chips in the coops. Now I have a giant pile of moldy wood chips and I'm not sure what to do with them other than let them compost in place and use them around the yard afterward. That could take a long time. Any ideas, insight, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!