Deep litter method

[Beekissed]

Deep Litter is NOT "composting"

It only works if it's fairly dry, and actual composting only works when it's kept moist

Deep Litter will NOT work as it should if you clean it out instead of just adding more wood shavings

Deep Litter is a biological bedding system
"Composting" is a chemical and biological decomposition process

I beg to differ on that first and last line. It is composting and the moisture lies in the bottom levels of this bedding, with the top layers staying fairly dry. If you don't disturb this bedding too much, the moisture is retained in the lower levels and is indeed composting the materials there. There is a change in the carbonaceous materials present in the litter, as well as the nitrogenous materials as they bind with one another. My litter literally disappears into the soil floor of my coop as it composts down into a soil medium. I never have to remove litter to avoid a deep litter pack...it just dissipates into the soil all on its own and I would consider that a very efficient composting.

You really cannot have a biological bedding system without some chemical processes going on as well...all things are decomposing, albeit at different rates, but the moisture from the feces, from the air, from the byproduct of these biological metabolisms all are present depending upon the relative humidity in the air, the matter being used and the amount of feces being deposited...and time. Just time.

THis begs for more information . . . now I am confused, but in a good way: need more information. My understand was that it is supposed to compost at the lower levels. But I didn not see that happeneding with my bedding, so I figured I don't have the mix right , but I keep trying: adding more shavings and dried leaves and keep it turned. I'm clearly missing something.

Don't turn it and see how well it does. I used to turn mine too, thinking I needed to get the moist areas underneath to the air and let them dry out, but you'll need that moisture for it to break down. I found that leaving it alone was the best thing to do...I occasionally fork some bedding lightly over feces deposited under the roosts but that's the extent of my bothering with the bedding now. The chickens will rearrange it now and again, but mostly, they do not...this leaves the top layers dry and good footing and the bottom layers with just the right level of moisture except for very dry periods in the summer months..but I still leave it alone then too.

Just try adding layers without stirring the layers and see how that goes. Lightly bury the feces now and again so the bugs can get to them without exposure and you'll be surprised how well it does.

Here's an excellent article on deep litter that I found very informative. http://www.grit.com/animals/chicken-health-deep-litter-zm0z13jazgou.aspx?PageId=1#axzz2jxxtoX1W

While not composting in the respect that you're adding kitchen refuse, etc., deep litter does break down. I push that process a bit by adding leaves that were shredded by our mulching lawnmower and - most importantly - by inoculating my coop litter with dirt obtained from the forest floor. The little critters and microbes that eat leaf litter and woodland debri live in that dirt and really help break down the litter in the coop.

My coop is 8 x 10. To start my litter this fall [it is a newly built coop so this was my first season doing deep litter in it] I added a deep layer of pine shavings combined with mulched leaves. We then added a full wheelbarrow of dirt obtained from our woods, sprinkling it on the top. Oh, my, the girls had a field-day! They mixed it up really well and - six weeks later - you can see that the bottom layer is breaking up nicely. And there's no smell in the coop, even first thing in the morning when first opening it up.

As my DH said, seemed rather odd bringing dirt IN insteading of taking it OUT but - hey - it works for us!

I agree and it's a good method to bring in some soil to add some good cultures to the mix.

 

[MagicChicken]

So I'm confused. I keep reading about how important it is to keep your coop and run clean of droppings as they can promote disease.

But if I'm reading some of your posts right, you don't pick up the droppings from your run on a regular basis. You just let it mix and compost and then, what, a few times a year, rake it all out and put it in the garden?

I'm just not sure I could bring myself to do that.

Do you toss seeds, scratch or greens right on top of the droppings? And that's not bad for them?

I guess chickens have been living in confined spaces for hundreds of years w/ out to much issue. But if you could explain further how that works, I'd like to understand better.

Keep in mind that everyone has different conditions at their location - heat, humidity, type of soil, amount of rainfall, different diseases endemic in the area, space available, etc. What works for one person may not work for someone else. So don't worry when you get different and often conflicting bits of advice. Pick through it. Look at the "advisor's" location. Ask questions. You may find out their conditions are similar to yours, in which case their management techniques may apply at your place. Some management techniques work just about everywhere. Others don't.

The variation in techniques that work may be hard to understand if you are new to chickens and don't realize how different conditions affect the birds. But it sounds like you've had chickens a while and have worked out a process that works for you and your birds. Maybe you don't need to tweak it much

Deep litter is great but it may not work for everyone. In my case, we put the coop/run door on so it opens into the run. It's great for pushing chickens away from the door before entering. It's bad for deep litter. If a few shavings get between the door and the frame I can't close the door. So the roost area has sort-of-deep litter and the door area does not. Mostly because I kick the litter away from the door every time I go in. The rest of my enclosures have outswing doors. Live and learn.

Plus, in my area (desert) there is not enough humidity most of the year for the litter to compost properly. It goes faster if I let the manure load build up and don't add as much fresh shavings, but then I have other problems. Again, I'm in the desert - no bags of leaves or nice forest soil to add to speed things along. I do spray the litter down with water during the hottest, driest times of year, which helps keep the dust down. I can't afford to do that all the time. My water bill is already $100/month. So I pull out 1/3 to 1/2 of my litter once or twice a year and throw it in the compost bin and hose it down and turn it a lot for a couple of weeks. With a high manure load it composts fast. In 6 weeks I've got a great compost for the garden, without using as much water as I would have to use in the coop/run to get the compost action going. It's kind of a hybrid system, but one of the reasons I wanted chickens was for the poop. The garden needs it.

 

[Birdlady8921]

I am new with chickens. I have 2 hens and 2 geese. They live and free range together comfortably. Our new coop is 4X8 and we live on the Central California Coast, although we are inland, so in the summer our average temperature is about 85° to 105°F. In the winter, during the day, it is 60°F and at night drops down to 32°F or below. Would this deep layer method be useful and advantageous for my buddies? Would a sand base be a good idea?

 

[Arielle]

Quote: Hate to sound blunt, but have you considered peeing on the litter as a water source?? That water is free.

 

[Arielle]

Tucked my hand into the shavings in one of the coops-- it was warm!!!

 

[Beekissed]

Hate to sound blunt, but have you considered peeing on the litter as a water source?? That water is free.

Also has amazing nutritive value in compost. I've used straight urine on high nitrogen feeders in the garden with good results.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Quote: I don't see any way that's possible.
A compost pile won't just disappear

If you add material, and the chickens add material, it has to get deeper since it can't ALL turn to a liquid

The vast majority of of material in a coop isn't simply wet enough to truly compost, and many, if not most, of these coops being discussed don't have dirt floors

 

[Arielle]

I am trying DL in all my coops, well almost all. I like that the thick layer of material absorbs the ammonia. THat is my litus test. If I smell a hint of NH3, MORE shavings. SO far I am liking the results.

I have one coop that stayed so dry and ventilated that the poo just dried out. The clean out was very easy. Have layered in leaves again. I don't expect this coop to change its ways.

 

[Beekissed]

I don't see any way that's possible.
A compost pile won't just disappear

If you add material, and the chickens add material, it has to get deeper since it can't ALL turn to a liquid

The vast majority of of material in a coop isn't simply wet enough to truly compost, and many, if not most, of these coops being discussed don't have dirt floors

When's the last time you put compost or mulch on a garden? Within one season it just disappears. All those nutrients are just incorporated into the soil structure, taken even deeper by the worms and bugs and all that is left is just granules. Just loamier soil, but it doesn't build up...if that were the case every garden I know would be 4 ft. tall by now. It just incorporates into the soils below like it never was.

That's where the soil culture comes into play, all the various organisms and microorganisms just doing what they do and the more you have, the healthier they are, the quicker the process of turning compost into soil, soil into substrata.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Quote: Quote: You weren't talking about a "garden", where there's no way to measure soil levels, and where rain and wind CAN take material away

You were talking about an enclosed environment, where nothing is ever removed
That's not at all like a garden.