deep litter method

[nellynelly]

how long can i keep adding material. it has been 1.5 years now, no smell, any issues with a deep deep litter?

 

[Daisy8s]

Wow, you must have a lot of depth in the coop if you can go that long. By the end of one year my litter is 18-24 inches deep and the birds are stooping to get under the bottom perch.

I clean mine out in the spring to put on my garden as wonderful mulch/fertilizer.

I also think it's healthier for the wood walls of the coop if they get to dry out for several months rather than having litter against them year-round. That's the only issue I can think of regarding long-term deep litter, though.

 

[BillM2]

Can you use the DLM with concrete floors? I've been piling up the pine shavings but remove around 50% every couple of weeks because it gets smelly. I sprinkle in pelletized lime and diatamaceous earth but it gets rather stinky after a couple of weeks. Thoughts on this?

 

[nellynelly]

the coop is 8-10' tall, so i have plenty of room for the litter to accumulate. i have not noticed any moisture buildup.

 

[Daisy8s]

I had the stinkiest and slimiest litter the one time I used DE in my litter. Never again! The DE killed off all the healthy organisms that create a composting action. If you have a bad smell then you're not getting a composting action happening.

i began my deep litter with 3-4 inches of well-rotted material from a 2 yr old compost pile to bring in those healthy organisms. Then, when I clean out the coop I always leave a couple inches to keep those organisms in my coop bedding and I'm sure to turn the bedding every few weeks.

Yes, you can certainly do it on concrete--that'd be better than wood which would certainly rot. (My coop is on dirt/gravel, which is great for drainage of any excess moisture.)