Deep litter method

[Beekissed]

I absolutely don't know what I am doing...got 'chickens' on Wednesday and discovering as I go that I need a nesting spot and so on. The farmer I got the hens from said that deep litter was best....but I don't know if they will lay there?? I have a high up place for them to lay with just a little dusting of sawdust on it. Should I have that as deep litter??

You'll need nesting boxes in which they will lay...there are threads on BYC that show all kinds of neat ideas for nest boxes out of this or that material or such. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/41108/show-us-your-nest-boxes-ingenous-design-post-it-here

Deep litter is for the floor of the coop and run and helps digest the droppings so you don't have to clean out the coop for the year, but it's a process that one has to study on so that you can provide the right materials and ventilation in the coop for your climate. Believe me...it's WELL worth the time it takes to study up on it and this thread is a great place to read.

Deep bedding is not the same as deep litter....one is just a place for poop to fall into and an attempt to keep the coop environment dry and clean smelling while the other is an actual composting system that converts the manure into compost while it's still in the coop. I find the deep litter system to be more beneficial and efficient at keeping a healthy coop environment than a deep bedding system and definitely less labor intensive.

Sawdust can be one component of the deep litter system but you'll want a variety of materials that break down at different rates to get the best result....the more variety of materials and particle size you have, the more successful your deep litter system will be. These can be leaves, grass clippings, garden and yard debris, bark , pine cones and needles, sawdust, pine shavings(best if these are not the bulk of the materials), wood chips, straw, hay, etc.

A deep litter system works best on a soil floor but can still be implemented on a wood floor if there is a moisture barrier in place. If you have a little dollhouse style coop and run, it's probably going to be easier to just have a deep bedding system but if you have an actual coop and a goodly number of chickens, you may want to explore the deep litter system....it will make you life much easier and the life of your chickens will be a more natural one, a healthier one.

 

[Kusanar]

I absolutely don't know what I am doing...got 'chickens' on Wednesday and discovering as I go that I need a nesting spot and so on. The farmer I got the hens from said that deep litter was best....but I don't know if they will lay there?? I have a high up place for them to lay with just a little dusting of sawdust on it. Should I have that as deep litter??

You should give them a nesting box (or more than one, you didn't mention how many chickens you have), one of the cat litter boxes with a lid seems to be a easy way to go, just put some straw or hay (or shavings maybe) in the bottom so they can make a nice soft nest. They also need a roost, this needs to be higher than the nest box.

 

[hiagain]

Thanks so much to you both for your advice...making more sense now. I have 4....but I feel one won't last the night. She is very lethargic. I wasn't sure whether to leave her out in the run or to put her in with the rest of them for the night. She's there now anyway. I think deep litter will have to wait!

 

[WichitaKSClucks]

My chicken run is beginning to smell. I have 11 chickens in a 12x24 foot run. Parts of the run do get wet from the rain and sprinkler system. Help before my neighbors call animal control.

 

[Intheswamp]

The first thing I'd do is stop the sprinkler system from wetting the run down.

What and how much litter do you have in the run?

Ed

 

[WichitaKSClucks]

I don't have any litter in the outside run. Been using a grass rake to try to keep it clean. It's killing me. I have a tarp on the side of the the run that the sprinkler hits and a tarp on part of the top for shade but here in Kansas the wind and rain is impossible to keep out of the run. The chicken coop is super easy. Just an issue with the run/pen. I did let them free range but a hawk eats them one by one when I let them out.

 

[Intheswamp]

Whichita, what you need is carbon material, and lots of it. Dried leaves (they're great!), wood chips (don't over use them), dry pine straw, dry grass clippings, hedge trimmings, garden trimmings, shredded newspapers (no glossy pages), etc.,. You've got an overload of nitrogen (poop) in your hen yard but not enough carbon material for the nitrogen to feed on. You want to use dried leaves, grass, etc., because simply adding green stuff will add more nitrogen, though eventually it should dry out and be carbonaceous. The ideal would be around a foot thick of organic matter, but several inches is will help. Raking poop up is good, but don't remove carbon material (if you can help it). Once you get a good layer of carbon material in there then the chickens will be scratching in it and turning it over for you so raking the poop will be a thing of the past. But, you have to keep adding carbon. Once you get an adequate amount of carbon material in there the smell should diminish some and once you get a good balance going then all you should really have is a good earthy smell (with the occasional cecal stink ).

I was going to suggest a tarp but you've already got that going. Get the carbon in there and I think you'll notice a big difference!!

Best wishes!
Ed

 

[Intheswamp]

One more thing, Whicita. Think of your run as a giant compost pile. If you get too much nitrogen in a compost pile it will stink. When you have the correct ratio of nitrogen/carbon then the process works good and you don't get the ammonia smell. Here's a good "compost pile" trouble-shooting guide that you could problem get an idea of things from it that can apply to your run. Hope it helps!

http://www.planetnatural.com/composter-connection/making/troubleshooting/

Ed

 

[mckngbrd]

WOW!

so much great information! we'd like to use this method, but i find it hard to sift through all the info.

Is there a good ESSENTIAL/STARTER GUIDE deep letter method?

thanks so much everyone!

 

[Intheswamp]

Well, I don't agree with everything in this article but it's pretty good and has lots of links to different threads that deal with different situations.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...e-easiest-way-to-deal-with-chicken-litter-dlm

Best wishes,
Ed