Deep litter method

[tymimo]

Many people will toss a handful of boss or scratch to encourage the chickens to scratch up and turn over the litter. Not sure if they would break up a very compacted area.

 

[ScottM]

How should the moisture level be? I've got good ventilation but it is SO DUSTY in my coop. I'm tempted to spray water in there since the bedding (pine shavings) is so much powder. Does anyone do that?

 

[armorfirelady]

How should the moisture level be? I've got good ventilation but it is SO DUSTY in my coop. I'm tempted to spray water in there since the bedding (pine shavings) is so much powder. Does anyone do that?

Its dusty in my coop as well. We have not had rain in over a month. I don't wet it down at all. Well ok it got wet today when I ran the sprinkler to water the veggie garden.

But its still breaking down just from the moisture of the hens excretions.

I do tend to stir it every day to get the poop under the DL. The flies have been horrible this year & I dont think the penny in water in a plastic bag is helping as a deterrent tho there are more flies outside than inside

 

[iwanaplae2]

I don't think I'll be doing the deep litter. I mean not really... I'll probably do a once a month clean out or longer depending on the need. I've read a lot about a fly issue, and I definitely don't want to deal with that! Plus I don't want to give my neighbors ANY reason to complain.

 

[lawatt]

flies are different in different parts of the country, not to mention time of year -- i've had my deep litter going for a year now (took some out in january to mulch the apple trees with, but that's all) here in coastal northern CA, and there are no more flies around the coop than anywhere else (which is to say, not many), and virtually no smell at all. i think it's a great system.

 

[iwanaplae2]

Thanks for your feedback. I guess I could give it a shot and see how it goes. Then find what works for me. This method sure would save $ on bedding that's for sure!

 

[AmyPaperlady]

I've read all the posts, and I was sold on the method a couple dozen pages ago

I'm nowhere near getting any chickens yet--we haven't started work on their home yet. We have a 10'x10' building that we're going to convert (should work, and I'll post in another thread or maybe start my own--I'll just ask about the relevent-to-DL stuff here...). We've been using it as a greenhouse, though that's not really what it is--I've been told by someone who should know that it was originally built to house a hot tub. It'll be plenty big enough--we can only have a maximum of 11 birds here.

Anyway, I'd thought the floor was dirt covered with bark-nugget type stuff (I don't really know how else to describe it) but when I was walking around outside the building last night, I noticed some cement. I grabbed a stick and started digging around, and it's not just a rim of cement--it appears the building is on a cement slab. I've gathered that DL will work just fine with a cement floor--am I right? Also, I'd been thinking I'd need to dig the bark nugget stuff out and scrub, sanitize, and maybe smooth the floor out somehow, but now I'm thinking I could leave it there as a base, after pulling the weeds out, especially since it smell like compost in there already (and fairly rich, too, since some of those weeds are growing like, well, weeds. Which is one reason I'd assumed it was dirt underneath--one of the weeds nearly reaches my knee!) So, should I just leave the bark stuff?

As far as stuff to add, I was wondering if anyone uses Dry Den? We had guinea pigs for awhile, until we moved somewhere that was too small to fit their cage in, and I fell in love with the stuff, only partly because it was my cheapest option.

Finally, the walls of the building are wood, and the inside is unpainted. Do I need to cover the lower parts of the walls (the parts the litter would come in contact with) with something waterproof, or would simply using some good exterior paint work to keep the walls from rotting from any moisture in the DL?

 

[AmyPaperlady]

I just remembered the other question I had--I've seen several people mention using wood ashes. We don't have a fireplace or a woodstove, but we do have a charcoal bbq. Are the ashes from that pretty much the same as wood ashes? After all, charcoal is just wood that's been burned under special conditions...

 

[armorfirelady]

Amy congrats on your new coop. It's really fun to work on a coop for your hens. If the nugget like stuff s,ells like compost I would just leave it. It will give you a good base for your DL. if you wanted you could white wash the inside or paint with a water based paint to seal the wood to protect it from the DL. my DL is never that damp that I would think it would break down the wood. I have a hoop coop but there are 2x4s at the base and its never wet from the DL.

I would also suggest lots of ventilation for your coop. Roof vents or vents at the peaks. Windows that open and covered with hardware cloth, make a screen door for the doors. More ventilation is better. It helps the DL to break it down and you don't want moisture during the winter (from the chickens exhaling as they roost) since it will cause frostbite, no need to insulate your coop either. Their feathers are all they need to keep warm.

My coop link is under my username. I live where we have some brutal winters and my guys are just fine and warm and toasty.

 

[Beekissed]

I've read all the posts, and I was sold on the method a couple dozen pages ago

I'm nowhere near getting any chickens yet--we haven't started work on their home yet. We have a 10'x10' building that we're going to convert (should work, and I'll post in another thread or maybe start my own--I'll just ask about the relevent-to-DL stuff here...). We've been using it as a greenhouse, though that's not really what it is--I've been told by someone who should know that it was originally built to house a hot tub. It'll be plenty big enough--we can only have a maximum of 11 birds here.

Anyway, I'd thought the floor was dirt covered with bark-nugget type stuff (I don't really know how else to describe it) but when I was walking around outside the building last night, I noticed some cement. I grabbed a stick and started digging around, and it's not just a rim of cement--it appears the building is on a cement slab. I've gathered that DL will work just fine with a cement floor--am I right? Also, I'd been thinking I'd need to dig the bark nugget stuff out and scrub, sanitize, and maybe smooth the floor out somehow, but now I'm thinking I could leave it there as a base, after pulling the weeds out, especially since it smell like compost in there already (and fairly rich, too, since some of those weeds are growing like, well, weeds. Which is one reason I'd assumed it was dirt underneath--one of the weeds nearly reaches my knee!) So, should I just leave the bark stuff?

As far as stuff to add, I was wondering if anyone uses Dry Den? We had guinea pigs for awhile, until we moved somewhere that was too small to fit their cage in, and I fell in love with the stuff, only partly because it was my cheapest option.

Finally, the walls of the building are wood, and the inside is unpainted. Do I need to cover the lower parts of the walls (the parts the litter would come in contact with) with something waterproof, or would simply using some good exterior paint work to keep the walls from rotting from any moisture in the DL?

I would leave what you have and start with it uncleaned..worst thing you can do is clean a chicken coop and disinfect surfaces.

I don't know what dry den is but if it isn't organic and biodegradable I'd give it a pass. For the wood walls, I'd just use some Thompson's water seal about a foot up the wall and call it a day. The moisture will stay in the bottom parts of the litter and shouldn't cause a problem higher than 3-4 in. off the ground, depending on how deep you keep your pack. I wouldn't use paint as it may peel off due to the amount of moisture that would be on it at all times.

You can also just use a strip of 4 mil plastic around the edges if you don't want to buy water seal...it will last a long time, is cheap and it's easy to install~I'm frugal and this is what I would do instead of buying the water seal~expensive!