Deep litter method

[heiditam]

I am loving deep liter so far! BUT...what about the poop freezing? I stir it all up and add new pine as needed, but in these low temps, I notice that the poop is just hard frozen balls... it won't mix so well like that...any thoughts?

 

[Latestarter]

Thank you! I have some time yet - my chicks won't arrive for another 11 weeks but I want to have the coop and pen ready before they get here, so I don't have to worry about getting it set up after they get here. I expect I'll be busy enough, between the chicks and my regular day-to-day stuff, and I'm afraid if I don't do it before I won't have it done by the time they're ready to move in.

If they are actually "chicks", they'll probably be better off inside in a brooder for a few weeks till they fully feather out. Don't know where you are in FL, but they won't be ready for temps much below 80 degrees for a couple of weeks minimum. And, you don't want to try keeping the temp up in a large enclosure (coop) with heat lamps... That would get pretty costly

I started building my coops in March (the construction is done but the runs are not yet) and the chicks came the end of May. They didn't go out to the coop till the middle of July. I think they were about 6 weeks old when they left the brooder for the cruel, cruel world

(they are actually soooo spoiled!)

I am loving deep liter so far! BUT...what about the poop freezing? I stir it all up and add new pine as needed, but in these low temps, I notice that the poop is just hard frozen balls... it won't mix so well like that...any thoughts?

Not sure where you're located Heidi but Yup... it freezes

and I'm gonna leave it just that way till mother nature decides it's time for it to thaw. Over time, it just "freeze dries" and crumbles to dust with the birds scratching it and kicking it around. Since I haven't experienced my first spring yet, I'm really interested in how it will all work. I expect I'll be adding more pine chips and extra moisture to help it start cooking again after the cold winter. Then about 1/2 of it will be cleaned out and turned into the garden. That's the plan anyways

 

[HennaRose]

Well, of course they'll be indoors, in a brooder, with a heat lamp, for the first several weeks. I hadn't planned on putting day-olds out in a coop with no heat in February, even in Florida! It's about 45 degrees outside at that time of year. I expect they'll be inside until they're fully feathered, because I'm paranoid and overprotective like that, and because it doesn't get warmer than 75 degrees here till May.

I meant for when they're ready for the coop, because I've read that I can do the deep litter thing in the brooder and just transfer the litter to the coop with them. I just don't want to have to be building the coop while trying to tend to chicks. I'd rather have it all ready before they arrive so it's one less thing I have to worry about once they're here.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Thank you! I have some time yet - my chicks won't arrive for another 11 weeks but I want to have the coop and pen ready before they get here, so I don't have to worry about getting it set up after they get here. I expect I'll be busy enough, between the chicks and my regular day-to-day stuff, and I'm afraid if I don't do it before I won't have it done by the time they're ready to move in.

I'd go ahead and get it built as long as the weather allows you to do such things.

If they are tiny chicks, I'd get a cardboard circle and hang your heat lamp so it cannot fall. Perhaps have two... in case one burns out but mostly so the water doesn't freeze and isn't too cold for them, giving them life threatening chills.

You don't need to heat the whole coop but just the one area. They will learn where it is at. As they get older, you can increase the diameter of your cardboard circle until you can remove it altogether giving them the run of the whole coop. You could also put a heating pad in there for them to hunker down under. It's more natural and as long as they know where it is, they can go under when they need to warm up... just like having a broody mama to care for them.

 

[HennaRose]

I don't want to start them in the coop - it just won't be big enough for that. It'll be big enough for all four of my own hens, but I'm fostering my aunt's babies too until her coop is ready. (She's getting five, same projected hatch date as mine so they'll all be the same age.) They don't have any space to brood chicks inside and they don't have an enclosed porch. They do have a large enclosed outdoor shed, but it doesn't have electricity and it's too far from the house to safely run an extension cord for the heat lamp. I have room in my garage for my own chicks plus hers, so I offered to keep them here where they'd be inside, warm and safe, until they're feathered enough to go outside.

 

[gilcamp4]

Greetings HennaRose:

and to the deep litter thread. It is absolutely possible as I'm doing just that

What I did was paint the floor of the coop (3/4" plywood) with a liquid rubberized roofing product called Black Jack #57 (

) which I got at http://www.lowes.com/ I painted it on the floors and up the surrounding walls ~ 24-36 inches making sure to seal/fill all cracks and crevices as I went. Essentially, I turned the inside of the coop into a nice black rubber bowl

I then added the pine chips and leaves and dirt and weeds and grass clippings and anything else, along with the little extra moisture required to allow composting, and it's doing great.

There is virtually NO smell, and no daily/weekly/monthly cleaning chores! If it does start to smell, I know it's time to freshen up the pine chips with more because it's too wet. If it is getting too dusty, then I know it's time to add some more water as it's too dry. I don't have to worry about the wood floor or walls rotting because they are protected and coated with rubber! I do admit that it's very dusty in there right now as the temps have been below freezing so I have not been able to add additional moisture to keep the dust down. But the chickens like it just fine. I throw scratch grains in there and they dig around and turn everything for me keeping it all mkixed up. Even with their sharp nails and the scratching, they haven't put so much as a nick in it. There has been no peeling issues or cracking at all.

It is non toxic to the chickens after it dries, it is very strong and virtually indestructible. I've been very impressed with it so far and wouldn't change to anything else at this point.

Here's a pic of the inside of one of my coops with 2 enclosures during the build when it was first applied. The coop is raised 18-24" above ground. The long cut outs are where the external nest boxes were placed, and I painted the insides of them with this product as well once they were installed.


Here's the same coop right after the chicks were first introduced to it.

Here's a more recent picture but still before adding leaves, weeds and grass etc.


Good luck, and keep reading here. There's a wealth of knowledge and experience to be had, as well as lots of opinions

Edited for spelling

we don't have trees in open land for about a mile before you even see a tree, it is farm land, i was given cider chips any one ever use them in coop, i do use pine chips plus we planted pine trees so i get the needles from under them plus i put hey in there. it worked for the last 4 yrs, but i am just not sure about cider, i speak to the man at our feed plant, they make the feed right there, and he said he uses it all the time, but i had heard something about it and forget what it was.

 

[HennaRose]

I've read the oils in cedar chips can be irritating for chickens and may cause respiratory problems. (I plan to use pine because I can buy it super cheap from a feed store locally.)

 

[Latestarter]

There are several different types of cedar... the ones that cause respiratory issues are the aromatic cedars... I doubt it would cause a huge issue as long as you mixed them in with the pine chips in small amounts. Or you could scatter them around in the run area where there's no confinement of the air the chickens will be breathing. Just my thoughts.

 

[gilcamp4]

There are several different types of cedar... the ones that cause respiratory issues are the aromatic cedars... I doubt it would cause a huge issue as long as you mixed them in with the pine chips in small amounts. Or you could scatter them around in the run area where there's no confinement of the air the chickens will be breathing. Just my thoughts.

our run is confined i have two coops with an enclosed run between them, my hubbie idea, i asked for a enclosed run right at the coop, but he but it so they could go from one coop to the other, i had heard it was bad for them to, but the feed store we get our feed from makes the feed right there and they also have chickens too, they said they use it all the time, i am thinking that they mix it with the pine also, i may try it i will be out there this monday as it is going to be 70, ( so they say ) right now it must be 35. but i need to fix one of the roost for them, it broke

 

[Latestarter]

Glad to hear you're getting some warmer weather. After the arctic vortex that lasted about a week, we have gotten back to more "normal" temps here in CO. Was about 60 or so yesterday, but 40's and 50's are more the norm this time of year with occasional cold snaps till later in the winter. Hope you get the roost fixed... the birds will appreciate it

As long as you're not trying to do specific breeds (purebreds), mixing the flock should provide for much more diversity and healthier chickens over all (IMHO). I shouldn't think there's any issue with them being able to move back and forth between the 2 coops. Must also make it a lot easier for you folks as you only have to work in one run as opposed to several.

When I said "confined", I really should have said "enclosed" or shut off from outside air circulation (such as inside a coop or building). The run is in the open air outside where wind and rain or snow and the sun has access to it. Therefore, the cedar chips would eventually degrade and "compost" along with any other carbon based materials (grass/weed clippings, hay straw, pine chips etc.) that are in the run. But while they are there, it might help with potential muddy spots and the like, and the aromatic "odors" would blow away with the wind so as to NOT irritate or cause other respiratory issues with the chickens...