Deep Litter Q, Grit Q, and a few others

[Miriahbrown]

We have finished our coop and run and our chickens are moving out there today from the brooder (they've been spending 6-10 hrs in the run the last week or two already). I have a few things I still have questions about and want to focus on, now that we have all of that taken care of.

1. I want to make sure they have access to grit. They will be in an 8x12 run a lot of the time, though they will be allowed out most days for several hours to free range (while supervised). I want to make sure they have enough grit. How do you put yours in your run? Does it need to be next to their food? I''m considering attaching a plastic container to the edge of the run on a board (saw that on a post here).

2. We are using the deep litter method for our coop. Does anyone have a certain tool they recommend for shifting the shavings around occasionally? I know the camp is pretty divided on if people just toss on fresh shavings when it stinks or stir it around. But IF we decide to stir.. what do people use to do that?

3. For people that use deep litter method and use it for compost when they clean out the coop 1-2x a year - do you put that straight into your garden beds or do you let it rest? I've read it can kill plants if you put it straight on the beds.. but I've also read it's the best thing ever. Do you set the pile somewhere to rest a few months and then use? Personal experience seems like the best answer here instead of googling for information.

Thank you so much!!

 

[Sally PB]

I''m considering attaching a plastic container to the edge of the run on a board (saw that on a post here).

This will work fine. They will get grit from the ground too.

But IF we decide to stir..

The chickens will probably do plenty of stirring! I have a long handled small rake for pulling the shavings toward the door when I want to rake them out into the run. I do that once or twice a year.

3. For people that use deep litter method and use it for compost when they clean out the coop 1-2x a year - do you put that straight into your garden beds or do you let it rest? I've read it can kill plants if you put it straight on the beds.. but I've also read it's the best thing ever. Do you set the pile somewhere to rest a few months and then use? Personal experience seems like the best answer here instead of googling for information.

Here's what I do. If I clean out the shavings in the fall, they sit in the run for 5-6 months. Plenty long enough to put them on the garden in the spring. In the spring, I dig out shovelfuls of wonderful, rich compost that I put on the garden.

I clean out the coop in the spring, but I do that after I take some compost out of the run. So those shavings sit in the run for a year.

Another thing I do with the poop I scoop off the poop boards daily is dump it in my compost bin. It can sit there for 5-6 months or longer. When I want a big batch of compost and I know it has fresh (or fresh-ish) chicken poop, I do a "hot rot" method of composting, and it'll be done in 3 weeks. Caveat: It's more physical labor.

Check this link for more information on the Berkeley hot rot mthod.
https://deepgreenpermaculture.com/2010/05/08/hot-compost-composting-in-18-days/

 

[Miriahbrown]

Here's what I do. If I clean out the shavings in the fall, they sit in the run for 5-6 months. Plenty long enough to put them on the garden in the spring. In the spring, I dig out shovelfuls of wonderful, rich compost that I put on the garden.

I clean out the coop in the spring, but I do that after I take some compost out of the run. So those shavings sit in the run for a year.

Another thing I do with the poop I scoop off the poop boards daily is dump it in my compost bin. It can sit there for 5-6 months or longer. When I want a big batch of compost and I know it has fresh (or fresh-ish) chicken poop, I do a "hot rot" method of composting, and it'll be done in 3 weeks. Caveat: It's more physical labor.

Ooh, this is good information, thank you. So you simply add your shavings to your run when you clean out the coop? Is your run covered/attached? We have a roof and it's all attached. I hadn't thought about adding any of that into the run when we cleaned it out. Our run currently has lots of dry leaves, twigs, and stuff from the woods in our yard. Would fine pine shavings mix into that easily? And when you take that in the spring to put in the garden, does it matter that the chickens will have fresh poop that they'll have added to that since they'll be in the run daily for most of the day?

We don't have poop boards or anything under our roost bars. Thanks for the link about the hot rot method.

 

[Sally PB]

So you simply add your shavings to your run when you clean out the coop? Is your run covered/attached?

Yes, and yes. Cleaning out the coop is a dusty job, so I do wear a mask. That dust is icky stuff when you think about it. It contains chicken dander and dried, pulverized chicken poop.

We don't have poop boards or anything under our roost bars.

Total. Game. Changer! I would never be without one now.

Chickens poop a lot at night. All that poop ends up on my poop board under the roost. Two minutes a day with a kitty litter scoop, and it's in the bucket, not in the shavings on the floor. Here's a picture of my poop board.

I put 1/4-1/2" of sweet PDZ on the board. It takes care of the ammonia smell, and helps to dry out the poop. It's actually zeolite, a mineral, and is fine for organic gardening, so no worries about it going into the compost.

Our run currently has lots of dry leaves, twigs, and stuff from the woods in our yard. Would fine pine shavings mix into that easily?

Yes! I'm going to be raking up the leaves soon, and the chickens LOVE the piles. Well, at first they run away, terrified. Then they start scratching around, and have a blast. By spring time, all that stuff is broken down into wonderful organic matter.

And when you take that in the spring to put in the garden, does it matter that the chickens will have fresh poop that they'll have added to that since they'll be in the run daily for most of the day?

The amount of really fresh poop is small, compared to the total volume. I like to do this in the early spring, though, so that the fresh stuff can age a bit. Since I'm in Michigan, I can't really plant anything until mid to late May. Long about April, I want to garden, so digging up a bunch of compost out of the run seems like a nice spring day project.

 

[aart]

Deep litter(damp) or deep bedding(dry)?
Big difference.

I used to put granite grit in a container, one bird gorged on the stuff and packed her gizzard so full she couldn't digest anything, now I just toss a bit out with the scratch grains in the morning on occasion.