Deep litter question

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Plus being not necessarily great for respiratory health. I quite agree.

I think the confusion is because several VERY VERY DIFFERENT things are all getting lumped under the same name of "deep litter method". I post this periodically and guess I will again

...

one thing often called DLM is "my litter is really deep" but maintained normally otherwise, i.e. cleaned out regularly. THis provides floor insulation and something for hens to snuggle down into on cold days and dries out poo.

another thing often called DLM is "I don't clean my wood-or-cement-floored coop very often, although I add fresh shavings sometimes". This dries out poo somewhat, although not nearly as much as if you replaced the bedding more often, and it saves on labor and bedding costs.

The classical old-timey DLM is "I don't clean my earth-floored coop very often, although I periodically fluff it up and frequently add more litter, and I let the litter get mildly moist (like garden soil), and it starts composting down in place". This does not dry poo out but it composts it away to a large extent; it provides a bit of heat, at least if you have a lot of chickens in there to provide plentiful 'fuel'; it reduces the total volume of stuff to be removed from the coop over the course of the year because the bedding will lose a certain volume as it composts; before store-boughten feeds added all the vitamins they do today, it helped counteract a particular nutritional deficiency as the chickens ate microbe-processed stuff from the litter; and of course it saves on bedding costs and labor.

You can't do the latter, classical form (with the composting) without an earthen floor and litter that is noticeably more humid than you would otherwise have.

All of these are perfectly legitimate management strategies IMHO depending on the situation; it's just important not to get 'em mixed up in terms of what you expect.

Pat

 

[swampducks]

I'm raking dried leaves into my coop even few days as well as arm loads of straw now and then. I've got a few too many birds at the moment, but it's still working very well. Will work even better after that trip to the Amish on Nov 20th when I'll have a more manageable number.

 

[scooter147]

A board under the roost with linloeum on it. I have had this for years and the ease of taking care of my coop with the board and without are like night and day. Chickens do a lot of pooping in their sleep (reminds me of my son when he was an infant) and then spend most of the day outside.
The board is elevated approximately 3 feet off the floor. I simple pick it up with a dust pan, place in a five gallon bucket and spread in the garden and flower beds. I clean it once a week in good weather and daily when they are confined during the days of winter they can't go outside otherwise they scratch in it.

 

[backintime]

Derby, I use the food grade DE generously in my pine shavings, and honestly, those big giant wobby-gob poo bombs dry up so small they are difficult to find in the bedding! In a 4X8 foot coop I probably use about 1 flour-sifter full of DE per big bag of pine shavings. About once a week I take a little rake and fluff up the bedding to keep it "airy." I have 8 chickens in there, and honestly, I made it 6 months without changing the litter and still didn't need to change it when I did (but wanted to till it all into the garden). I had used a total of about 2 1/2 bags of litter over the 6-month time period. BUT, I also have a "shelf" under the roosts and keep it covered with old newspapers, which I also sprinkle generously with DE. For 8 chickens, I change out the paper once a week, and the DE keeps the poop from sticking to the newspapers (mostly) so I just dump the poop off into my manure pile and bag up the soiled newspaper for the garbage - though I imagine I could till that into the garden as well. I think it saves about half the poop from ending up in their bedding. Good luck!

 

[scooter147]

Ground up corn cob can be used on the dropping pit instead of DE if you prefer.

 

[squat]

I'm reading about the DLM method and how some put a board underneath the roost or newspaper to easily remove the droppings . . . I have a dumb question. Is the roost the area where they lay their eggs? We have three boxes (look like wood filing boxes) with sides where the hens sleep and lay their eggs. These are up off the floor of the coop. I keep wood shavings in the boxes so they have a soft place to lay their eggs, but I have to clean out the poop every couple of days or it gets all over the eggs. Then I put new shavings in the boxes.

Is there something I'm doing wrong? Should I line the boxes with newspaper? Open for suggestions to make my life a little easier through the cold winter months.

Squat

 

[squat]

Another question about the coop. In the very top of the coop there is screening to allow for light and ventilation. Should I cover the screening with clear plastic or something else to help hold the heat in? As it gets colder and colder, I worry about any heat escaping at the top of the coop through the screen. The coop is about 4X5 feet. We have six chickens.

Squat

 

[waynesgarden]

Squat

The roost is where the birds should sleep, not in the nest box which are the boxes where they lay their eggs. The roosts should be wood like a 2x4 with rounded edges or even heavy round pieces like the wood handrail which I am using.

If you haven't built proper roosts, (which should have been done long before the birds were ready to start laying,) then you should do so immediately and train the birds to use them. Otherwise, you're doomed to filthy eggs and having to clean the nest boxes every day.

Locate the roosts higher off the floor then the nests and every evening before dark, cover the nest boxes to prevent the hens from sleeping in them. Remove the covering as soon as it is light in the morning so the birds can use the nests for their proper purpose. As soon as the hens get the idea of roosting on the roosts and not in the nests, you can stop covering the nests.

You have a small floor area for 6 birds. How tall is the space? Ammonia and moisture can build up in a small space without enough venitlation. Closing off all means of ventilation except perhaps on the coldest of nights is not a good idea. Chickens are hardy birds and can withstand cold temps, but not high humidity and ammonia levels. Maintain some fresh air flow into the coop while preventing exposure to direct drafts on the birds. (Not always an easy thing to do, particularly in tiny coops such as yours.)

How cold does it get in your area? I don't know where you're from, but a cold night in South Carolina is not like a cold night here in Western Maine.

Wayne

[Edited for spelling errors.]

 

[squat]

The coop is probably 3 to 3.5 feet high on the sides and then the center (A-frame roof) h igher than that. There is plenty of ventilation because of the open doorway and the screened area at the very top of the coop. My husband built the coop like one that he saw in the Intermountain Farmer's Association store where we buy all our livestock supplies. The roosts run along both sides of the coop from the front to the back, so there is plenty of room for them to roost, but I know they sleep in the nesting boxes which are at the back of the coop and up higher than the roosts. I'm not sure we can change them to be lower than the roosts at this point.

I will try covering the nesting boxes at night and training the hens to sleep on the roosts. I know some of them do, but not all of them. There is no odor or ammonia build up in the coop. I keep it very clean. I have not covered the floor with anything, but I plan to do so today and make sure there is plenty of pine shavings to make some cushioning for them.