Deep litter method

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
Pretty much. It needn't be gross and smelly though. Properly maintained, the manure just dries out and crumbles into a dirt like consistency. With enough manure it will produce a low level of ammonia that effectively self-sanitizes the litter. It needs to be kept fairly dry to keep the manure from blowing off large amounts of ammonia, but not so dry that it creates a large dust cloud every time the birds get a little rambunctious. The amount of bedding or when it needs to be added is up to you. Deep-litter can vary from being maintained as mostly manure to mostly bedding or anywhere in between.

You can throw some scratch in there to encourage the birds to turn it, otherwise just turn over and break up any caked or matted areas with a fork.

 

[darkmatter]

Quote:
Not exactly, there is confusion on what people are calling deep litter. If you just keep a thick pile of wood shavings mixed up---what you have is merely an adsorbent. I have a sub-ground level dirt floor contained within a brick foundation and it's a Deep litter composting pit that actually decomposes the stuff into "brown gold" which I use on my garden yearly. I use pine cones, needles ,leaves, grass clippings and just about anything I can rake up around the place to add to the composting pit. The chickens usually keep it mixed up with only occasionally a handful of scratch tossed in to encourage them. (see my byc page for pics of my setup which has been in use a couple decades)

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
There are a number of different ways to manage it, but it is still deep litter. We keep 2500 hens in a hen house with a concrete floor. It is definitely a deep litter system, but it doesn't compost in place. This photo shows an area of the hen house where the litter is about 4" deep, in other areas the hens push it around and pile it up to a foot deep. At this point it is mostly manure with some straw bedding mixed in. It has the consistency of loose, dry soil and is very absorbent. The manure itself acts as an absorbent litter that dries up fresh droppings rapidly. This is generally what the poultry and egg industry call deep litter, but it is still raw manure. I just cleaned out the hen house with a skid steer and I have about 35 tons of it stacked outside the hen house, under tarps ,waiting to be spread on the hay fields.

 

[ForgePondFarm]

I have been using the deep litter method since I built our coop this spring. We turn the top layer of shavings twice a week and add a sprinkling of lime or food grade diatomaceous earth every other week. I do not know if this constitutes a absorbent shavings style or deep litter but it is working very well with definite decomposition taking place at the bottom. I figure next spring will tell the tale.

 

[Lordofchickens 86]

Quote:
Not exactly, there is confusion on what people are calling deep litter. If you just keep a thick pile of wood shavings mixed up---what you have is merely an adsorbent. I have a sub-ground level dirt floor contained within a brick foundation and it's a Deep litter composting pit that actually decomposes the stuff into "brown gold" which I use on my garden yearly. I use pine cones, needles ,leaves, grass clippings and just about anything I can rake up around the place to add to the composting pit. The chickens usually keep it mixed up with only occasionally a handful of scratch tossed in to encourage them. (see my byc page for pics of my setup which has been in use a couple decades)

i do the same thing i get Black hen quality compose and put it on the vegtable garden i don't ever have to buy fetilizer and get great tasteing vegtables very good when you love the planet. i watched to much captian planet as a kid.

 

[tdgill]

I'm learning what works for me by trying all the techniques! lol. poop dropping boards that you scrape off daily or keeping otherwise a tidy coop, litter must be absorbant, keep dry, and I've learned not to put down too much shavings at a time (got too dry and too dusty for me) good ventilation = no ammonia smell at either ground level or roost level. No one likes a constantly stinky coop. Lots of different management techniques. Of course convenience and what you find works best for you...but most importantly is keeping good air quality.

 

[jenkassai]

Okay, two questions. Sorry if they've been addressed before, but not sure I can read through all 28 pages of this highly informative thread!

1) Darkling beetles. That article really gave me the heebie jeebies, just the thought of those things wandering to my house???!!

Has anyone on here doing DLM experienced an issue with them? Will mixing in some DE with the litter prevent / control them?

2) Initial litter depth? I am planning on using pine shavings and trying to figure out how much to start with. It is a concrete floor, and I was thinking the litter should be fairly deep to help insulate against the cold ground in the winter. Would 4" be enough? It just doesn't look that deep when I look at 4" on a ruler! Maybe go with 6"?

Thanks all!!! LOVE BYC!!!

 

[captainroo2]

We have just started our chicken adventure, and we also plan to use the DLM with the DM on top; i i sure hope it works as well as you say it does.

 

[sherylreno]

The dlm used in the early 19th century was different then what most people are doing now. I use the dlm as well and what I've learned to do is place your straw or shavings or what ever you are using in the base of the coop. It should be 6" deep to start. You remove some of the litter every 6 months but you should leave at least 3" in the coop. It does not make compost in itself, just a healthier environment for your flock. Less illness and germs doing this method. I do add DE once or twice a month and I haven't had issues with any bugs in my coop.

I know others will have different opinions as well, I'm just saying what I do.

 

[Clay Mudd]

Quote:
That should almost be a motto.

In so many threads here, we see that many different approaches to the same problem can work.