Deep litter method

[akyramoto]

This is the first time i've heard of the 'deep litter' method. I might give it a try - that is if i know my coop will stay dry. I have one area that needs repair - sideways rain will come in

I've been using straw - my coop is an old horse stall that i enclosed with chicken wire. I put perches at the top & a shelf going around half of it with nests. My girls seem to like it. the stall is about 10x10 or 12x12, i'm not sure of the exact dimensions. I have a run attached that is about 30' long & 12' wide & 6' tall. I haven't had any problems with the smell - i clean out the coop once a week. I have a method of breaking down my straw.

Fresh straw for the nests & directly under the perches, the 'poo zone' after a week all the straw in the coop gets drug outside & piled into a mound. fresh straw goes back into the poo zone. the pile of poo straw gets 'broke' down by my chickens, or 'composted' after a week of getting battered by the girls i haul the now teeny tiny straw pieces to the compost pile out of the pen.

They're pretty efficient at breaking the straw up! This is working well for me. So far.

 

[BigMama]

When deep littering, can you purchase the DE already mixed in with the feed or do you mix it yourself. Where do you purchase DE?

 

[wynedot55]

you should be able to get DE at your feed store.

 

[Blondie]

I saw Diatomaceous Earth at Lowes in the organic gardening section yesterday. However, I bought mine from a goat supply website: http://www.hoeggergoatsupply.com/

 

[annp]

I have pictures of my deep litter if I can figure out how to post them. I live in Maine, so I don't know if warmer climates will have a different experience than I, but my deep litter was about 12 inches when I harvested it this spring. You do not want to clean the litter out more often than once a year, because what you hope to achieve is a litter that composts throught the winter. In my climate I get the added benefit of heat from the composting manure. My house only smelled when I failed toflip it. This year I'm letting the hens scratch it themselves.

 

[Half-a-dozen]

I have an 8x8 coop with 12 girls. The flooring is plywood covered w/ the square lenoleum floor stickie tiles. (did this thinking it would be easier to clean over time).

When you put down the first layer of litter, how deep should it be???

I dumped whatever I had fresh (pine shavings and pellets) on the flooring when they first moved into thier coop but with them scratching around there are still small areas of uncovered floor.

Should I add to it now or only when it needs it?

And when are you suppose to add to it? When it looks dirty or smells dirty?

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Quote:
Yes.

If you ever walk into the coop and smell any ammonia, then you need to scatter more litter. If it starts to look too poopy under the roosts, scatter some litter under there. I like to keep an open bale of shavings in the corner of the coop, with a scoop on top. Or, you could use a container. It makes it really handy to just fling some litter on top, when it needs it.

You'll get the hang of it, pretty fast.

 

[annp]

I put a bale of pine shavings and a bale of straw in my freshly cleaned 8x8 house and now have about four inches of litter. As soon as I start to see or smell much manure, I'll add more litter and I'll add some dry leaves in the fall.
My house does not smell and I haven't had a fly problem. I'm a chicken newbie, though. I'm a longtime composter, though, and this is just inhouse composting.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
Have you seen any evidence of it composting in the coop? Mine is on top of a plywood floor and stays completely dry. Without moisture it doesn't do much of anything except provide insulation on the floor. Is yours on a dirt floor? I would expect it to actually compost on dirt with the added moisture wicked from the ground and the extra orgranisms that can get into the litter.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I do think that deep litter composts better on a dirt floor, than it does on a solid floor, precisely because of the increased moisture.

I've read recommendations that if you're not using a dirt floor, that you should let deep litter finish composting in a pile after you clean out a coop. That's what I've done. I'm really interested to hear about other's experiences.