Deep litter method

[SadieT]

That was in response to "Confidently Clueless".

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Have been using Deep litter for a few weeks now.
I do like the difference its made, even with the ducks/geese in the coop at night.
Ventilation is definitely important, i got the sawzall out and started cutting hehe!
I did install a small squirrel cage type fan it the southern peak of the building to pull air thru for more ventitlation.
Also added a hardware screened sliding vent "doorway" on the east and west wall that can be closed off if it gets cooler at night.
Very pleased, no ammonia odor every morning when i walk in, just pine.

 

[Colton]

I have some questions on deep litter. I have a nice size coop with 17 chickens and 12 are going to be added soon. The coop is 20' by 26'. the bottom of my coop is just dirt. My bedding of choice is hay. Is that alright? I was wondering how much bedding should i put down at first? Is 3" enough. How often should i add more bedding to it? Do i have to like stir it up every day or so or can i put dome corn down and have my chickens do it? I have my waterer on a wooden square. No water get on the ground so can i leave that how it is? Should i put DE in? Where? Thanks for all the help! I'm still really new at this.

 

[Susan0264]

When using the DLM and cleaning out once or twice a year, would using tea tree oil (diluted with water)to clean the coop be ok for the ladies?

 

[tdgill]

Lots of different opinions. You can do some searching and weigh the pros and cons. Wish I could give you a definite answer but at least this'll bump the topic

 

[armorfirelady]

I have some questions on deep litter. I have a nice size coop with 17 chickens and 12 are going to be added soon. The coop is 20' by 26'. the bottom of my coop is just dirt. My bedding of choice is hay. Is that alright? I was wondering how much bedding should i put down at first? Is 3" enough. How often should i add more bedding to it? Do i have to like stir it up every day or so or can i put dome corn down and have my chickens do it? I have my waterer on a wooden square. No water get on the ground so can i leave that how it is? Should i put DE in? Where? Thanks for all the help! I'm still really new at this.

I am a newbie but I can tell you that I use straw in my 4x8 enclosed run that i rake up once a week or so to get the mosit areas to the top. With the FF feed there is no smell. It takes longer to break down but I do add grass clippings & will add leaves when they start falling. And at least once during the week I throw in some crack corn so the hens stir it up on their own.

The main coop I use shavings. Again I only rake it once a week and add a small amount of new shavings. No smell & 2 months worth of droppings in there. Again crack corn to make the girls works ensures the most spots are brought to the top.

Currently I have about 6-8 inches of shavings in the main coop since I started in August. In the enclosed run there is about 6 inches of straw. I really dont add straw to that run except maybe once a month because they are outside free ranging.

 

[Mskayladog]

Why isn't my litter decomposing in the coop. I have a dirt floor, and a mix of pine shavings dried pine needles and a small amount of dried grass. It's dry and dusty.

 

[Beekissed]

Takes time and it takes extra time for pine to decompose, particularly if the coop is dry. Give it time and more manure, humidity from winter weather, etc. It will happen eventually.

 

[binders]

I have been trying to do DLM but I also don't see my litter decomposing at all. I live in a very dry climate and am wondering if the litter can be too dry for this method to work well. All I have is dried out poop and shavings. It is very dusting in the coop from the dried poop but I don't see any decomposition taking place. I have been doing this since the spring so there is quite a lot of shavings and poop. Is there such a thing as too dry for this method to work?

 

[Beekissed]

You might try it with something that has more natural moisture than shavings, like hay or lawn clippings?