Deep litter method

[irish44395]

I do deep litter method and a few weeks ago we had heavy rain and the wind blew rain sideways and it got damp. Being cheep I though that if I turn it ,it will dry out . Well it did and it seem to be working I been turning it every day when I scrap off the roost bars. I seem to have no odor at all. does anyone ease do this? before I added litter when I could smell it so far I haven't had too.
Pete

 

[ackie]

I do deep litter method and a few weeks ago we had heavy rain and the wind blew rain sideways and it got damp. Being cheep I though that if I turn it ,it will dry out . Well it did and it seem to be working I been turning it every day when I scrap off the roost bars. I seem to have no odor at all. does anyone ease do this? before I added litter when I could smell it so far I haven't had too.
Pete

I personally would use the smell test too. If it smells damp you may start to have a problem, but otherwise your plan seems solid. And reminds me that one of my pens is likely a river right now with how hard this rain is coming down.

 

[nitaliani]

I have an 8x6 coop, with a dirt floor. The way the coop is set up it has a storage area with a divided chicken wired “wall” with a door leading to the coop area. The coop is only about 8 inches deep, once bedding goes above that height it starts to scatter into the storage area. I originally built the coop intending to use sand. Will a deep litter method not work with only 8 inches of coop depth? Would the coop setup be better for sand or just cleaning out bedding as needed. Below is a picture for clarity.

 

[aart]

I have an 8x6 coop, with a dirt floor. The way the coop is set up it has a storage area with a divided chicken wired “wall” with a door leading to the coop area. The coop is only about 8 inches deep, once bedding goes above that height it starts to scatter into the storage area. I originally built the coop intending to use sand. Will a deep litter method not work with only 8 inches of coop depth? Would the coop setup be better for sand or just cleaning out bedding as needed. Below is a picture for clarity.

That doesn't look like a dirt floor?

 

[nitaliani]

That doesn't look like a dirt floor?

Because there’s bedding in there..... lol. I’m showing the set up so you can see what I mean about the litter scattering. Everything I read says deep litter will be up to 12 inches high, obviously that won’t work in my setup. The point of my post was - CAN it work with a coop with a maximum 8 inch depth. If so, I imagine I would be required to restart “deep litter” more frequently than once every 6 months to a year.

 

[nitaliani]

That doesn't look like a dirt floor?

Also, I emphasized dirt floor so people didn’t ask if I had a subfloor like tile or wood, etc . It has an earth ground with bedding on top

 

[ackie]

That doesn't look like a dirt floor?

The concrete floor is the storage room.

 

[irish44395]

I have an 8x6 coop, with a dirt floor. The way the coop is set up it has a storage area with a divided chicken wired “wall” with a door leading to the coop area. The coop is only about 8 inches deep, once bedding goes above that height it starts to scatter into the storage area. I originally built the coop intending to use sand. Will a deep litter method not work with only 8 inches of coop depth? Would the coop setup be better for sand or just cleaning out bedding as needed. Below is a picture for clarity.

I would put boards or something like that,to keep the litter from spilling into the storage area except for when you open the door just a little clean up.
Pete

 

[aart]

The point of my post was - CAN it work with a coop with a maximum 8 inch depth. If so, I imagine I would be required to restart “deep litter” more frequently than once every 6 months to a year.

You want the litter to compost?
The terms 'deep litter' and 'deep bedding' are often misunderstood and misapplied.
I've always liked this explanation:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-method-with-this-coop.1075545/#post-16440037


I just sweep up my storage room floor once in while, toss it back into the coop.

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

I would put boards or something like that,to keep the litter from spilling into the storage area except for when you open the door just a little clean up.
Pete

My thought exactly. The bottom of the door seems an inch or so higher than the wall base anyway.