Deep litter method

[Leahs Mom]

PS on the wood chips - I usually let them "cure" before putting them in the run for a couple months on a pile. When they get nice and full of worms it's ready to go in

 

[triplepurpose]

I'm going to be starting it in the spring, should I just use shavings since I wont have any leaves?

Like the other folks said, the point here is to use whatever you've got access to. You can also use combinations of materials, which can be even better, as long as none of them are chicken-toxic (eg cedar shavings = no good).

The key principle is that you are using dry, slightly course, but absorbent organic material rich in carbon but very low in nitrogen, which balances/captures/complements the very WET organic matter coming out the chickens butts that is very high in nitrogen and low in carbon. It should be fine enough to absorb moisture from the manure and react with it, but not so fine that clumps when wet, breaks down too quickly, or blows around if dry ( wood shavings, straw, or shredded leaves are ideal, whole palm fronds and twigs or fine sawdust, not so much). Like with making a successful compost pile, these ingredients combine to make a balanced and healthy environment where volatile compounds like the N are captured and efficiently digested by microorganisms rather than lost to into the air (as nasty odors). That's why a stink is the surest sign you're not doing it right, and a pleasant, mild smell like a healthy forest floor after a rain is a good thing. In practice it isn't always as perfect as we'd like, but there's the idea...

 

[armorfirelady]

I also use whatever I can find. Free is better. Post a request on craigs list. I found a man who does wood work and every couple months I get several bags of wood shavings. I also collect bagged leaves to use over the winter.

 

[detz]

So if my coop floor is wood should I seal it so it doesn't rot? Would I benefit from having holes on the floor so it can fall out onto the dirt DLM ground below?

 

[armorfirelady]

So if my coop floor is wood should I seal it so it doesn't rot? Would I benefit from having holes on the floor so it can fall out onto the dirt DLM ground below?

I don't have a wood floor but I know of others on here who have covered it with linoleum, sealed it with paint (make sure its animal safe.....fumes are bad the hens) or used a sort of roll on rubber coating

 

[RonP]

So if my coop floor is wood should I seal it so it doesn't rot? Would I benefit from having holes on the floor so it can fall out onto the dirt DLM ground below?

Every situation is different.

My coop is a converted 40+ year old cedar shed.

It is not elevated, sitting on a natural dirt floor.

The coop floor is wood.

There have been areas where the floor has rotted, from the underside, not from my deep litter.

I simply screw down exterior grade plywood scraps on top of the rotted areas.

I keep 8-12 inches of pine shavings as the floor medium.

I fluff perhaps once per week, and change it out once per year, dumping everything into the outside run.

Judging by its current condition and age, this shed will outlast any grandchildren I may eventually have.

This is not exactly deep litter composting, I do not have sufficient moisture for that.

The pine shavings assist in drying the manure, and degrade very slowly, until I toss them outside.

Very easy. My coop is also very well ventilated...over 12 square inches per bird...

 

[triplepurpose]

DLM works best on a dirt floor, which is how it's always supposed to be used, according to just about everyone. But if a dirt flor is not possible, I'd just work with what you've got and put DL over the wood floor and see how that goes. Deep litter is should stay fairly dry, and chickens don't have liquid urine, so it's not clear to me how making holes in the wood is going to help anything one way or another. If using litter on your house floor doesn't work for whatever reason, you might consider replacing it with an appropriate wire floor (like in in some coops and rabbit hutches) so poop falls through, but I'd only recommend this in a fairly warm climate. Also it might have to be maintained more regularly, because the poop won't always drop straight through without some coaxing.

 

[Shining Hill]

Hey All-
Just moved back to NC and after three years, back to having chickens again. I'm outfitting my coop and would like to have a dirt floor again but have some questions.
1) my last dirt floor was super dry and DUSTY because of never getting moisture on the earth inside the building. Do you ever hose the litter down like you would in a compost heap to prevent this? Could this help with getting the composting action going? And with keeping dust down? I hear everyone speaking about it being so important that the floor is dry? But shouldn't it be moist in order to compost at all?

2) is it possible for snakes to dig in under a dirt floor? MUST I skirt the whole thing with a barrier on the perimeter? I read something about 12" of barrier or mesh/hardware cloth? I'd rather not. I don't recall snakes digging into my last dirt floor coop but I wasn't using DLM so they would've been easier to see than they will if I try these two things this time.

Thanks so much in advance for your help. I'm so excited to have chickens again! We have more acres this time I plan to fill with guineas too, turkey's, meat and egg birds.

 

[armorfirelady]

Hey All-
Just moved back to NC and after three years, back to having chickens again. I'm outfitting my coop and would like to have a dirt floor again but have some questions.
1) my last dirt floor was super dry and DUSTY because of never getting moisture on the earth inside the building. Do you ever hose the litter down like you would in a compost heap to prevent this? Could this help with getting the composting action going? And with keeping dust down? I hear everyone speaking about it being so important that the floor is dry? But shouldn't it be moist in order to compost at all?

2) is it possible for snakes to dig in under a dirt floor? MUST I skirt the whole thing with a barrier on the perimeter? I read something about 12" of barrier or mesh/hardware cloth? I'd rather not. I don't recall snakes digging into my last dirt floor coop but I wasn't using DLM so they would've been easier to see than they will if I try these two things this time.

Thanks so much in advance for your help. I'm so excited to have chickens again! We have more acres this time I plan to fill with guineas too, turkey's, meat and egg birds.

During the summer when its dry I will spray down the coop a little so the DL has some moisture. I clean out the coop in the spring and add very little materials to the coop during the warm months. The hens only sleep in there. I think most people say it needs to be dry because most people think when they say it needs moisture that they make it to wet? I also add some peat moss to my DL year round and for me it really helps keep the DL not to wet & not to dry.

I have garter snakes in the area. I have never had a problem with them trying to get in the coop. Of course I have plenty of moles & voles around to keep them well fed. I dont know if other snakes are more likely to dig under the coop or not?

 

[Shining Hill]

Yes. I think I'll try not skirting the sleeping room of the coop. It's quite large and the labor and expense will be an issue. I don't want to use wood because we already have termite issues now here and the birds will only be sleeping in there here too. I'm not even sure they would get the termites there because they will just want OUT to go range. What I recall previously is that snakes got in only through the door. Mostly if I left it open too long at night. I'm going to try not skirting it and just watch carefully for signs of snakes or some other digging animal. Then act accordingly.
Thanks for the tip about keeping the litter lower in the summer. That is a helpful hint. I was thinking flies would be bad too.