Deep litter method

[patandchickens]

Well, it's a free country, you can try it. I wouldnt' do it myself, though. First because I really dislike wire floors for chickens (except arguably maybe the smallest size of baby chicks in a brooder), it's not great for their feet; second because you would have to brush or hose the wire floor regularly because not all the poo will fall *through* it, unless it is way too large-mesh for chickens to walk on well; and thirdly because just newspaper with a couple inches of shredded paper on it is going to be VERY cold, and probably rather drafty when it gets dislodged in places, for a subzero winter. In cold winters it works best to have deep bedding. I don't mean it has to be all moist and composting, it can be brand spankin' new stuff if you want, but at least 6" and ideally more, so it insulates their feeties and the hens can snuggle down into it when they're feeling chilly.

If you still really want to try a wire floor for summertime, at least do your winter conversion by covering it with a few thicknesses of very heavy cardboard (fit snug so they won't shift) or better yet a very accurately-fitting piece of plywood and then put a substantial depth of your bedding on that, til the next summer.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[hlmiller69]

Hi! I am new to the group and new to raising chickens. We currently have 4 chicks that are about 5 weeks old that we are raising indoors and we are getting 7 older chickens (about 17-22 weeks old) tomorrow. I have researched a lot while trying to come up with the plans for a coop and hen house. I am hoping that what we have built is good. Our coop is 10x10x6 with the hen house inside at one end. The coop is actually a dog kennel with a door. We are getting a low pitch cover for the kennel today to put up tomorrow morning before we get the chickens to provide shade for them. One side of the coop has a tarp on it to block the wind.

The hen house is 6 feet long x 4 feet wide by x 4 feet high and is on stilts 2 feet off the ground. Inside there are 3 nesting boxes towards the back leaving a 6'x2' area in the front for litter. Above the nesting boxes are 2 perches that run the 6' length of the house. There is a door on the side with a ladder for them to get in. There are 2 windows on the front with chicken wire over then and plexiglass that can be flipped down for the winter. The entire house is made of plywood.

We will have a total of 11 chickens in there once the little ones join the older ones. Does this setup sound sufficient?

We have the food and water bucket out in the coop. My plan was to let them in the coop during the day (starting a little free ranging in the evening) and lock them all back up in the hen house each evening. Do I have to have any food and water during the evening hours in the hen house or will it be enough for them to just eat and drink during the day out in the coop?

My main questions are about the deep litter method. Can I do this in the 6x2 area in the hen house? I have bought cedar chips and DE to use. Also, right now the floor of the coop is grass but I'm sure it's quickly going to become dirt. Am I assuming I should use straw or cedar chips or grass clippings with DE as a deep litter method in there as well.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[billfields]

Quote:
Howdy and welcome!

My understanding is that cedar is not good---oils are too strong and may cause respiratory problems espically in young chicks. Pine or aspen are suppose to be better. 6x4 is 24 sq ft. If you use the 3 per bird rule that is good for 8, perhaps a bit crowed for 11 (standard size) If your space is 2x6 that's 12 sq ft which is really small. How big is your outside space?

 

[hlmiller69]

My outside area is 10x10x6 ft high. They would only be locked in there at night for extra safety from wild critters. The outside area around the hen house is locked too.

The hen house is 4 feet high and has 2 perches. I guess I was taking the height into consideration as well because of the perches.

Believe it or not, Southern States is who told me to get the cedar chips. They talked me out of pine. What about just plain grass clippings? Would that work in the hen house instead? I read on here somewhere where someone uses those.

 

[billfields]

Quote:
There is a discussion of grass right above here in this thread. In a brooder at least the wood chips are great because they adsorb so well. I expect the same is true in the coop. I plan to go with about 6 inches of pine shavings. I have an 8x8 coop with an outdoor run that I'm thinking is going to end up about 220 sq ft for 18 standard chickens of various breeds. Not sure how you factor in the perches. I would go with the whole floor space whatever that is. even with perches I don't think you can "stack" em.

But be aware that various people will give you various answers as to how much floor space per chicken. If yours are out most of the time---you have 100 sq ft out there and the "standard" I see most is 10 sq outside feet per chicken so that's close for 11. You may well be okay. Their behavior is going to tell you if they are too crowded

 

[Skye_k23]

I was wondering about the deep litter meathod. I can not seem to get a straight answer as to when you add it to garden. Can you take it from the coop in the spring and add straight to garden or do you need to compost it more? Thanks.
Brook

 

[WoodlandWoman]

It depends on how it looks. Plan on letting it finish composting in a heap for a bit. If you find out that it composted more than you thought it would, that's wonderful and you can send it to the garden. If it didn't, you can just use it a little later as side dressing in the garden, instead of digging it in before you do your spring planting.

Dirt floor coops seed litter faster with microorganisms. So does leaving some of the old litter in the coop. Warmer temperatures and more moisture also make it compost faster. Dirt floor coops provide a more moist environment at the bottom, while also allowing drainage. I think they're easier to manage for a beginner.

I think a lot of the newer people are doing deep litter not on a dirt floor, running the litter much drier and some people have a lot of shavings for the amount of poop. That all slows things down. It can also cause the coop to be dustier. In that case, it will look more like dirty litter than broken down compost. Some deep litter coops are just a warehouse for dirty litter.

On the other hand, some people skimp on shavings to cut costs and the litter is too wet and has too much poop in it, for the amount of shavings. Then it can be a stinky mess, off-gassing ammonia. A deep litter coop needs balance, like a compost pile in the garden. Sometimes, we just guess wrong when we're managing the litter, too. Especially in the beginning. The good news is that it's easy to adjust things to fix any problem.

What you want to aim for is something in the middle, where the litter is being broken down by organisms that has a sanitizing effect on the litter. Just like a garden compost heap has a sanitizing effect on the things you put in it. It can start out as rotting vegetables when you put it in and still end up as dark, sweet, earthy smelling compost.

 

[Skye_k23]

Thank you for your insight. I do have a dirt floor however I believe I am doing to much litter not enough poo. Could just be that it is still quite new. Chicks only been out for about 2 weeks. I will keep an eye on it thank you.
Brook

 

[BoltonChicken]

Skye_k23,

Do not add used litter from a hen house/coop directly to ANY garden. It needs to age in a compost pile for a least one year prior to
amending your garden soil with it. I know someone who bought a pickup truck load of "chicken manure" from some jake-leg and spread
it all over his front yard. Within a week he had maggots by the pound, a smell you wouldn't believe and very soon the whole neighborhood
was filled with clouds of flies. It also killed all his grass. He is still being talked about in the community.
Chicken manure is potent stuff, and needs to age out before use.

 

[darkmatter]

Quote:
I tilled in 8 wheelbarrows of Deep Litter Compost from my Coop this spring directly from Coop to Garden. But...... I have a sub-ground level dirt floor in my Coop (See my BYC page for Pics of my Setup) which composts nicely in place. I've already begun adding pine cones/needles and lawn-clippings to the Coop and starting the Composting again. When I removed the finished compost, it smelled of dirt and earth, not the sour putrid smell of overloaded chicken$hit by anaerobic decomposition. I think that the pine cones and dry stuff picked up by my lawnmower bagger provides enough air space to promote aerobic decomposition. Also occasionally the handful of scratch tossed in keeps the chickens turning it over. It composts down to a rich dark brown crumbly material. If late in the winter, it starts to mat down, I will turn it over with a spading fork once a week or so to help it.
Chicks raised by Motherhens on the litter seem to do well.