Deep litter method

[Westtexasdustdevil]

I have a question on this. What about bugs specifically fleas. Have been fighting them all year and do not want to give them more cover to hide in.

 

[Beekissed]

There is a beetle that is attracted to deep litter...can't remember the name of it, but I'll dig it up. Anyway, it feeds off of the dung and it also preys on the larva of flies and mites...not sure about fleas.


Quote:
Could be that it would eat flea larva as well.

 

[armorfirelady]

http://s1247.beta.photobucket.com/u...-C14832FE5B7F-19891-00000F0827DA1F6A.mp4.html

I know others had asked what peoples DL looks like. I tried my best to video tape as I stirred up the DL today. I use straw, pine shavings, leaves, & grass clippings for the bedding. I stir up like twice a month with the hens getting scratch in it once a week or so to help out. I only add a small amount of bedding each time. Today it was leaves.

I had dirt initially in here as the base. I do add dirt in a pile for dust bathing in this cold weather plus there are wood stove ashes in here from dust bathing as well. You can see in the video that its breaking down wonderfully. Beautiful black mulch like mixture when I turn it. I did the Bee sniff test by taking a handful up to my nose and it smells like wonderful fresh soil. And its dry and no smells at all. The soil underneath was easily broken with the pitch fork even with freezing temps the last few days. The hens also like to dust bath in the DL.

Dont mind the hens chatter.....they get very excited when I toss the DL......its like I am digging up gold for them

(If link doesnt work I will try again-sorry for jittery video at beginning)

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

http://s1247.beta.photobucket.com/u...-C14832FE5B7F-19891-00000F0827DA1F6A.mp4.html

I know others had asked what peoples DL looks like. I tried my best to video tape as I stirred up the DL today. I use straw, pine shavings, leaves, & grass clippings for the bedding. I stir up like twice a month with the hens getting scratch in it once a week or so to help out. I only add a small amount of bedding each time. Today it was leaves.

I had dirt initially in here as the base. I do add dirt in a pile for dust bathing in this cold weather plus there are wood stove ashes in here from dust bathing as well. You can see in the video that its breaking down wonderfully. Beautiful black mulch like mixture when I turn it. I did the Bee sniff test by taking a handful up to my nose and it smells like wonderful fresh soil. And its dry and no smells at all. The soil underneath was easily broken with the pitch fork even with freezing temps the last few days. The hens also like to dust bath in the DL.

Dont mind the hens chatter.....they get very excited when I toss the DL......its like I am digging up gold for them

(If link doesnt work I will try again-sorry for jittery video at beginning)

Video works wonderfully! You definitely have DL working well and an excellent example!

Thanks for sharing! I have 6 geese, 4 ducks, 4 guinea hen and 8 chickens currently housed together and it works great for me. ( Adding 15 BA next week, but they will have their own coop) I use pine shaving, pine needle, maple leaves and grass clipping. Hay if i can get it. DE and Sweet PDZ are added when i turn it, and my girls help with scratch to encourage them. I am moving the waterfowl to a separate enclosure soon, but i will continue the chickens and guinea on DL. The ducks and geese will have a pond, and small shelters to nest.. and fences to protect them. They will be in part of the pasture my alpaca are in so i feel they are in good company.

 

[leonasangels]

Hi everyone,
i'm a newbie with my coop not quiet set up yet so i have a few questions.

what materials have you used and you wished you would of stayed away from?
what does everyone usually lay down first?
what's the lime powder i hear a lot about?
thanks
leona

 

[armorfirelady]

I use hay, straw, leaves, pine shavings, pine needles & , grass clippings. Whatever I would put in my compost from yard work I put in my DL. In the fall I bag leaves so I can add them all winter. The hens love pulling out the grass pieces as a snack

No specific order of putting stuff down just use what I have on hand. The hens do a great job of mixing it up. Every couple of weeks I toss in a couple handfuls of cracked corn & BOSS on the DL so the girls do their part to fluff it.

I don't use any lime or DE. No problems with lice or mites just beautiful natural DL that smells like earth. There is also wood ashes in it from their dust bathing.

I posted a video a few posts back of my DL. I got my hens in August and never have cleaned out the coop. It's just broken down enough over time. My DL is about 8 inches thick.

 

[lawatt]

similar story here -- i built my chicken coop in July of last year, and the deep litter has been building up since then (on a plain dirt floor), mostly straw from the nearby field mixed with used pine shavings i sweep out of the girls' henhouse. every few weeks i change the pine shavings in the henhouse, so keep adding to the litter, which is now between 4-12" thick (the coop is on a bit of a slope, so it's deeper at the low end and fairly thin at the high end). now that winter's made the ground somewhat damp, I've added a dusting box that's full of ash from my woodstove, so that's getting added to the mix too, but no DE or etc. no smell, and the chicklets are great at mixing everything together & keeping it turned over. i'm impressed by how well it's worked!

 

[Kismet]

I clean out my deep litter in the late fall, directly onto my garden beds. There, it overwinters and enriches the soil. I start all over with shavings to which I add leaves, pine needles, etc. raked up. I store extra leaves et al in used grain bags and add them throughout the winter. I also throw in scratch every now and then so the girls will mix everything up. Now and then, I add more shavings, depending on my raked leaf supply.

 

[AlienChick]

I, too, clean out my coop in the late Fall and toss it all onto the garden for overwintering.
I use shavings.
Whenever I toss in some bread crumbs or scratch, the chickens mix the DL up very well.
My litter is kept dry since my coop has a wood floor.

 

[Arielle]

Hi everyone,
i'm a newbie with my coop not quiet set up yet so i have a few questions.

what materials have you used and you wished you would of stayed away from?
what does everyone usually lay down first?
what's the lime powder i hear a lot about?
thanks
leona

OThers should chime in on this, but I would use a dirt floor and not a wooden floor. Doesn't seem like the right critters can get into the mix otherwise.