Deep litter question

[aart]

The tree came down about 10 days ago. Not old.

I'd just add them slowly a bit at a time, scrape them off the outside of pile.

Is this your run?
Hard to manage.
How many birds in there?
Does it drain well?

 

[gtaus]

My questions is, every source I have looked at for deep litter talks about turning the top layer over so the droppings are now underneath. However, when you only have 4 inches, it's hard to split that in half and only turn over the top layer. I find myself just going to the bottom with the pitchfork and turning the whole thing over (basically just mixing it around). Is that going to be ok? So far it seems fine, I'm just not sure I am doing it right.

Welcome to the BYC forums!

If your goal is to have dry deep litter, then you can just add more shavings to top of the existing litter. The chickens will naturally scratch up some of the shavings on their own, but what I have done from time to time is just fluff up the litter into a mound and let the chickens scratch it back down to level. You could also throw some chicken scratch into the litter to encourage the chicks to turn the litter over. Chickens love doing that and it's less work for you.

My dry deep litter (wood chips) in the coop is about 4 inches deep at the moment. So I just throw fresh wood chips on top of the older bedding as needed. My coop design will hold about 12 inches of deep litter, so at that point, it would be easier to turn over the top layers of the bedding. At 4 inches, it's easier for me to just repile the chips and let the chicks run on the mound and scratch it all back down to level. They seem to enjoy the process anyway.

It sounds like whatever you are doing is working for you. The smell will tell. All I can smell is my wood chips, but if I start to smell anything funky, I just either fluff up (turn over) the bedding and/or throw some fresh litter on top of the old.

If you are trying to do a wet, deep litter compost system, then it would be a different process. I have not done that. But I'm sure there are many people here at BYC that could offer advice for that method. Good luck and hope to hear more from you in the future.

 

[trumpeting_angel]

I'd just add them slowly a bit at a time, scrape them off the outside of pile.

Is this your run?
Hard to manage.
How many birds in there?
Does it drain well?

It is my run. Managing the run is easier than managing DH who built it with much complaining, his own way.

4 birds. Excellent drainage. Thanks in advance for any more excellent advice!

I did manage to score some pine needles at the dump.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I'd just add them slowly a bit at a time, scrape them off the outside of pile.

I'd recommend this as well. Sometimes you have to weigh benefit vs risk and if your run is a muddy mess like mine was, sometimes you can't really wait to start adding some chips, so aim to use the driest ones you can find, which are on the surface of the pile.

 

[trumpeting_angel]

Fortunately, I have spread a lot of these chips out between my raised beds, where they have been baking in the sun. I used some of those. I was able to get pine needles from the dump (score!) and I mixed in some of the hay.

I’m not really having a mud problem, but the hay with the pine shavings, combined with some digging, dust bathing, and rain (also probably cecal poop) to make a blackish mess. So far this is better.

That tragic aspergillosis thread was one of the first I read at BYC, so I’m especially nervous about those “raw” wood chips.