Deep litter method

[youthpastor]

ok, if you do use ashes from the woodstove, should you wait until the the chickens are older? mine are 5 weeks. Also, do you just sprinkle it on the shavings or do you make a pile in one area of your coop? Does it do the same thing as DE? Sorry for all the questions.

 

[wefanjr]

I mix Cedar Cat Litter and mix it with my pine shavings. It seems to help.

 

[youthpastor]

Ok, I've heard that cedar shavings can be toxic to chickens.

 

[Lunachick]

I've heard that the cedar can be toxic also. Especially for the younger birds. Be on the safe side and use the PINE shavings.

 

[wefanjr]

Yeah, better safe than sorry, I'll skip the cedar. It's time to spring clean the coup anyways and start the litter over.

 

[speckledhen]

Cedar is toxic, especially for young birds, however, I have used it in small amts under the roost and under the straw in the nest boxes, a few handfuls at most, to deter bugs and alleviate smells. In small amounts, it will not harm older chickens when mixed in with the pine shavings.

 

[wefanjr]

thanks i feel better. I don't use it in large quantities. I'll stop anyways.

 

[spook]

Here in the colder climates the deep method is best for the 'girls' as it insulates and it holds what warmth there is. We clean in the spring as thaw and warm summers this keeps everyone happy. We too put scratch feed in on the floor-usually when we tuck them in (fresh warm water). That way they are amused until bed time and have something to wake up to in the morning before they get their hot mash.

 

[Anny]

Can the deep litter method still be used is very small coops? like 2 chicken coops, or is that over kill.

 

[Dawn419]

I'm using the deep litter method in all 3 of our small coops. It worked out great! Here's links to them...

Modified Chick-N-Barn/Yard

Kid's Playhouse Coop

Post-Brooder Coop


Hope this is some help!


Dawn