Deep litter method

[paintedChix]

Here's a pic of the inside of that same coop. I will be adding both leaves and pine straw today/tomorrow & next week when I'm off for Thanksgiving. My hubby has fallen for this little girl (lost the other one the first night - not sure why - think failure to thrive even though she was older than a week - she was added to the batch I purchased at no charge... Maybe they knew?) and is on board w/ getting 4-5 more GLW pullets as soon as I find some. There is a mixture of hay (coastal bermuda that was OLD and removed from both my hay shed and the feed room (think it was the hay shed for the previous owner?), pine shavings from that white bag she's standing in front of, leaves and pine straw (just 1 trashcan so far).



I am LOVING this DLM and I'm soooooo glad that I found this thread. I will also be applying the concept to our pastures (to start - won't be any chicken manure UNLESS I go ahead & bring in chicken litter from one of the many commercial houses/farms in our area) - will be a mix of pony manure, pine straw, hay & leaves. ***edited to add - Will be a true, chopped mix - as I will be using the lawn mower & cyclone rake to pick up the pastures and under the trees and then will leave "lines" when I empty the cyclone rake. Then will use the ponies w/ a drag to spread the "lines". PROMISE - I'll post pics when I do that, if you want to see. ***

I will also be putting down a thick "bed" of just pine straw (maybe leaves?) in an area where I feed the pony boys that is lower and is constantly underwater during the rains we've gotten this summer (got 1.68" on Wednesday according to our rain gauge) . Maybe that will build it up? We shall see. The ponies have been moved out of that area directly when tied to eat at their feed buckets, but I have to walk over/thru it when I feed. Prefer not having slick mud since it's already one area that's not straight sand... and I don't want to do the "splits" if I slide

. Getting too old for that and it's painful to deal w/ pulled groin muscles these days. Plus, it upsets the ponies when you "fall down" - though it's good for them to learn it's OK -

and not to freak out...

 

[Beekissed]

I definitely want to see it!!!

And, if that place is soppy and you have to traverse it, I'd not add the leaves as they will cause you to slide even more. I'd put down some traction first, like wood chips or something bulkier, then maybe the leaves. Can't tell you how many times I've busted my butt in wet leaves over mud.

I can't WAIT to see what this does to your pasture....should be interesting.

This little vid is interesting about the use wood chips on an orchard and the runoff side effects....lots more and thicker growth of grass in adjacent chicken run and pasture. If you can watch it all the way through he mentions using wood chip on the pasture to improve pasture....all really neat stuff.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

I definitely want to see it!!!

And, if that place is soppy and you have to traverse it, I'd not add the leaves as they will cause you to slide even more. I'd put down some traction first, like wood chips or something bulkier, then maybe the leaves. Can't tell you how many times I've busted my butt in wet leaves over mud.

I can't WAIT to see what this does to your pasture....should be interesting.

This little vid is interesting about the use wood chips on an orchard and the runoff side effects....lots more and thicker growth of grass in adjacent chicken run and pasture. If you can watch it all the way through he mentions using wood chip on the pasture to improve pasture....all really neat stuff.

Thanks for posting this - it is so interesting!!! What sort of wood chips are though to be best?

- Ant Farm

 

[Beekissed]

They don't really say, but I'm thinking they like a variety...seems like a varied composting rate seems to be the ticket. Mine are just whatever was out there, mostly a variety of soft and hard woods, some pine and hemlock, but not too much.

 

[Latestarter]

If I remember from what I learned/read at the "back to eden" site, I believe he said wood chips from live trees. The kind you get from tree pruning places and the like. He had several tree services that would drive their trucks to his property and dump out. So it would have been whatever they trimmed and chipped over any given period of time to fill the truck.

 

[TheMallons]

Could people who use this method speak to how they keep the litter dry? We just started using using a suspended bucket with nipples and they leave quite a bit of water on the floor of the coop. Thinking about moving the water outside but it will be pain in our New England winter.

 

[Beekissed]

Could people who use this method speak to how they keep the litter dry? We just started using using a suspended bucket with nipples and they leave quite a bit of water on the floor of the coop. Thinking about moving the water outside but it will be pain in our New England winter.

For the most part, the upper layer of the litter is relatively dry, with the lower levels getting and retaining most of the moisture if one is flipping it or tossing dry on the more poopy areas.

For watering issues, it's just a matter of containing the leaks if you can...and if you can't, then take dry bedding and place over the wet on a daily basis....if it gets too deep there, just scoop that whole bundle of wet litter and put it over where it's dryer and start again with dry material. But...the best thing to do is contain or stop the leaking. I've used nipple buckets before and there never was a lot of moisture from them...if yours are leaking all the time you can crack the lid of your bucket a little on one side to let in some air and it may help stop the dripping from the nipple itself. If leaking around the threads of the nipple plug, you can caulk that to stop it.

 

[Blooie]

It also depends on whether you are using vertical or horizontal nipples. Horizontals don't leak like the verticals do. Vertical nipples leak while the chickens are using them. They also leak if they are bumped if a chicken runs into it or hits it with her back.

 

[Latestarter]

I have horizontal nipples and have had 1 or 2 "break" and leak... they broke at the pin area though, not around the seal. I just removed/replaced them. Other than that I've never had a leak problem. If the hole was drilled sloppily, it may be leaking around the thread area. I guess you could caulk it, but you could also just wrap teflon tape around the threads, like with a plumbing fixture and then re screw it in... That should stop the leak as well.

Mine is a 5 gallon bucket with submerged heater unit inside right now through the lid. It gets a bit cold here too in the winter... The water bucket is inside the coop. I have a major problem with my litter being too dry, not wet. very dusty.

 

[TheMallons]

Thanks for all the responses. Our bucket does have vertical nipples. It's all we could find at TSC. We also have a submerged heater snaked through the top hole. I don't think the threads are leaking; our birds just seem to be messy drinkers.

It also depends on whether you are using vertical or horizontal nipples. Horizontals don't leak like the verticals do. Vertical nipples leak while the chickens are using them. They also leak if they are bumped if a chicken runs into it or hits it with her back.