http://www.custommilling.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=24&Itemid=27
It is important that you use food grade DE (diatomaceous earth) around chickens because the other DE will kill chickens. The link above is where I get mine since my local feed store does not handle it, and all I can find locally is not food grade.
I use the deep litter method, but I also scoop out the big manure on top of the litter daily and take it in a pail to the compost pile which I've read should be a good distance from your coop and pen. If I'm late opening the coop, the chickens have stirred it under already. My bantams poo is so small, I normally gets stirred deep into the litter. I sprinkle about 10 handfuls of fresh litter on top daily because it smells so good.
My coop is 8x8' and I only use 2 bales of premium large flake pine shavings a month. I also use it in isolation pens and nest/laying boxes. The chickens scratch some of it into the run which is great, too! I have a mix of pine shavings and dried oak leaves in the run. It's actually deeper there than in the coop! LOL!
I started out with 2 bales which gave me about 3 inches on the floor, in the pens, and nest boxes. I purchased 2 more bales the very next week and distributed a whole bale in the run with the leaves, and freshened with the other bale in the coop with plenty left over for daily freshining.
My coop feeders and waterers are sitting on top of cinder blocks which is the perfect height for my large fowl and they stay relatively litter free. The smaller bantam feeders and waterers are on top of bricks and 2x4 scraps. I have a short legged (3" legs) table in the run for the run food and water to keep litter out.
I dust weekly with food grade DE using the leg of an old pair of panty hose for light, even distribution. If I experience a water spill, after removing the wet shavings (to the run) I pour the DE from a plastic drinking cup rather liberally on the wet floor before adding fresh litter. The DE also is good to apply when droppings fall on surfaces other than litter, ie: pen doors, shelves, cinder blocks, after the poo is removed. The DE keeps everything DRY and unattractive to flies! If it gets too dusty, I use a spray bottle of water and mist lightly. After a rain, I even sprinkle DE in the run. I'm hoping I won't have to do that as often after I add a sloping cover above the run, but now litter in the run gets wet when it rains, and the DE seems to discourage flies and it helps at least the top layer to dry more rapidly.
It is important that you use food grade DE (diatomaceous earth) around chickens because the other DE will kill chickens. The link above is where I get mine since my local feed store does not handle it, and all I can find locally is not food grade.
I use the deep litter method, but I also scoop out the big manure on top of the litter daily and take it in a pail to the compost pile which I've read should be a good distance from your coop and pen. If I'm late opening the coop, the chickens have stirred it under already. My bantams poo is so small, I normally gets stirred deep into the litter. I sprinkle about 10 handfuls of fresh litter on top daily because it smells so good.
I started out with 2 bales which gave me about 3 inches on the floor, in the pens, and nest boxes. I purchased 2 more bales the very next week and distributed a whole bale in the run with the leaves, and freshened with the other bale in the coop with plenty left over for daily freshining.
My coop feeders and waterers are sitting on top of cinder blocks which is the perfect height for my large fowl and they stay relatively litter free. The smaller bantam feeders and waterers are on top of bricks and 2x4 scraps. I have a short legged (3" legs) table in the run for the run food and water to keep litter out.
I dust weekly with food grade DE using the leg of an old pair of panty hose for light, even distribution. If I experience a water spill, after removing the wet shavings (to the run) I pour the DE from a plastic drinking cup rather liberally on the wet floor before adding fresh litter. The DE also is good to apply when droppings fall on surfaces other than litter, ie: pen doors, shelves, cinder blocks, after the poo is removed. The DE keeps everything DRY and unattractive to flies! If it gets too dusty, I use a spray bottle of water and mist lightly. After a rain, I even sprinkle DE in the run. I'm hoping I won't have to do that as often after I add a sloping cover above the run, but now litter in the run gets wet when it rains, and the DE seems to discourage flies and it helps at least the top layer to dry more rapidly.
