Deep litter method

[RoseMarie1]

I don't mind getting dirty while choring and definitely not in a group working..imagine how good it feels to stomp that straw into the mud with your bare feetsies! Squishing between the toes...heavenly! I'd feel like a little kid again.


You can say that again.

lol you sound like my daughter. She wants one of those mud baths and I'm like yuck, no not me, don't want that mess in all my cracks and crevices.

 

[Beekissed]

Yeah....there are some crevices I wouldn't want mud to be.

When I lived in Rhode Island for a bit we were doing a good bit of boogie boarding and they had some real fine, red seaweed in the surf and it wound up in every nook and cranny. Ick. I'd be showering and little red pieces of seaweed all over the shower floor washing out of who knows where....

 

[RoseMarie1]

Quote:
LOL that's funny

 

[Jeff Lutz]

We have an old corn crib with a concrete floor and I plan to convert a portion of into a new coop. We have 6 hens and plan to get 12 more in the spring. This deep litter method seems to be the way to go, but I haven't seen anything on here so far about setting it up with a concrete floor. Any advice?

 

[Beekissed]

It would work much like those who are doing it on a solid, wooden floor except you won't have to waterproof your flooring. Cement is hard on their feet in a lot of ways so deep litter can only improve their life there. Same advice as for those doing it on the hard wood floors....good ventilation, add small layers and go low and slow, use appropriate materials for your climate and let it build a pack at the bottom that can start to break down properly. If you get ammonia smells or moisture, open more ventilation and cover the top with a layer of dry material. Don't stir it up if you can help it but just lightly toss dry bedding on top of heavy manure deposits under roosts and other areas of concentrated feces. If it's too dry, you can add some water to settle the dust and keep the lower levels of the pack moist enough for good breakdown.

 

[Arielle]

Maybe papercrete? I have been thinking on using it in my stub walls? Why not on the roof?

What is this?? Is it weather/rain proof??

Looks like a lot of fun!

I thought so too.

My kids would be in that mess mixing it up in a heart beat-- I can't remember the number of time they needed to be housed down before entering the house for a bath!!

 

[RoseMarie1]

What is this?? Is it weather/rain proof??

I thought so too.

My kids would be in that mess mixing it up in a heart beat-- I can't remember the number of time they needed to be housed down before entering the house for a bath!!

lol yeah I've had to hose down myself before entering the house after mowing or working in the yard.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: Somewhere I have pics ( for home viewing) of two butt naked boys slathered in mud head to toe-- I was rather horrified, it wasn't the first time,lol, but it WAS the last.

 

[Beekissed]

That's CLEAN dirt!

 

[Arielle]

THe benefits of roaming freely here at home and not cooped up with a computer game to play . . . lol