Deep litter method

[lawatt]

Does anyone throw compostable items in-- like carrot ends, cuke peelings, that sort of thing?? THat is a good source of moisture-- just not sure if is a good thing to do. At this point all that goes to the compost heap.

absolutely, but i live alone & don't produce NEARLY enough compostables to match the scale of three largish runs with DL... (and, i have a separate compost pile for all the stuff chickens aren't supposed to eat, like potato peelings and citrus etc)

 

[RoosterLew]

Does anyone throw compostable items in-- like carrot ends, cuke peelings, that sort of thing?? THat is a good source of moisture-- just not sure if is a good thing to do. At this point all that goes to the compost heap.

Yup, we call those things chicken treats around here. Lol

 

[Arielle]

Maybe for those who live in the dry areas can use vegetable trimmings etc directly in the coops to add moisture in the summer . . . . .

I have to admit, peices of summer squash went into one coop yesterday as a treat which made me think of just adding all the vegie scraps for moisture and treats, of course.

 

[armorfirelady]

Yes I do. They dry out pretty quick in the coop

 

[Arielle]

Yes I do. They dry out pretty quick in the coop

THey dry out before being all eaten up???

 

[MagicChicken]

Quote:
Yes.

 

[armorfirelady]

Quote: yes. During the time when they forage they usually ignore greens I give them. Or eat very little.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: yes. During the time when they forage they usually ignore greens I give them. Or eat very little.
Guess everything composts before their foraging material is gone for the season . . .

Amazing how much variation between coop setups!! I'm sure if your birds didn't freerange they would eat up all the yummies.

 

[nab58]

Can you build deep litter in a closed, raised, wooden floor coop?
I'm doing deep litter in their dirt floor run that's open air surrounded by hardware cloth and partially covered.

I don't see how deep litter can work in an enclosed area that gets no rain or has no drainage.

here's a pic of my coop and run. The area on the right is deep litter and the wooden house/coop is Sweet PDZ.

 

[SunnySkies]

I DL all my coops (except for the tiny one, and that is because then I can't get the tray out..design issue from the manufacturer, sigh) and all have a wood floor with linoleum over it. I start with a very deep bed of shavings in it, stir it up periodically, and add shavings when they compact down. I only add moisture if it seems to be very dry (which isn't often in my area). I cleaned the coops a few weeks ago and put the lovely dark material in the garden that day. Yep, it was compost.