Deep litter questions

[yodelinginca]

(Background info at top, qs at bottom):
My husband and I are very interested in the deep litter method for our run. We have 5 hens all about 15mo. We have a 4x6 coop with about 2' space underneath, that also extends to another 5x6 of covered run. Currently our run bedding is sand, but it's terribly dusty and no matter how often we scoop it, still smells like barnyard. We are looking at deep litter method for dust reduction, compost generation, smell mitigation, and easier maintenance.
Q1: What kind of bark should we use/ things to stay away from?
Q2: Should we leave under the coop sandy for dust baths? (We'd put a border to keep the chips contained). It's only about 2' now, so if we put chips 1' deep they wouldn't have much room underneath, and there'd be no dust bathing unless we put a bin out that they can't tip over.
Q3: Is it even worth it for the size space we're looking at? (We do hope to add on another 4x4 section of run, but weren't able to this year due to COVID budget cuts)
Q4: We give our birds scratch & scraps every day, just throwing it on the ground. If we do deep litter, will they still be able to find it or should we get them a trough?

 

[Alaskan]

Q1: What kind of bark should we use/ things to stay away from?

Nothing aromatic or poisonous. So no cedar or hemlock.

Nothing with added coloring.

All pine and spruce is good...

Big chips/ chunks are good, but whatever is most cost effective will work. Just super fine stuff is liable to mat up and rot. Anything sold as landscape mulch size would be good.

Q2: Should we leave under the coop sandy for dust baths? (We'd put a border to keep the chips contained). It's only about 2' now, so if we put chips 1' deep they wouldn't have much room underneath, and there'd be no dust bathing unless we put a bin out that they can't tip over.

Keeping the 2 areas in separate substrates will not last long... or at least not without a bunch of work on your part, so I would make it all the same.

Yes, I would put out a dust bathing bin... if it will not get rained in.

Q3: Is it even worth it for the size space we're looking at? (We do hope to add on another 4x4 section of run, but weren't able to this year due to COVID budget cuts)

Nice bedding that helps reduce smell and dust is always good. However, with that small of a run, and that many chickens... it will probably always be somewhat stinky and poo filled. Tossing some PDZ in it will greatly reduce poo moisture and stink.

Q4: We give our birds scratch & scraps every day, just throwing it on the ground. If we do deep litter, will they still be able to find it or should we get them a trough?

Just toss the scraps and scratch on the ground. It encourages the birds to mix up the bedding and that way everything stays cleaner.

 

[3KillerBs]

Q1: What kind of bark should we use/ things to stay away from?

As long as you avoid aromatic cedar, which is hard on the respiratory system, dyed mulch, and things like black walnut, which could make your compost hostile to future gardening, you can use whatever you can obtain readily.

If you have space to accept and age a truckload you can often get wood chips free from a tree service. Green chips should be used only in thin layers and with caution.

You can also use wood shavings, pine straw, straw, fall leaves, dried lawn clippings, and any other compost "brown" material you can readily obtain -- even shredded paper in moderate quantities with due attention to the potential for it blowing away.

A mix of different materials and textures helps prevent packing and matting.

Q2: Should we leave under the coop sandy for dust baths? (We'd put a border to keep the chips contained). It's only about 2' now, so if we put chips 1' deep they wouldn't have much room underneath, and there'd be no dust bathing unless we put a bin out that they can't tip over.

This is one of the reasons why the Little Monitor Coop will be set higher when it's remounted in it's permanent position. I had 18" under there with deep litter and a 2-foot-tall Brahma rooster.

However, you do not necessarily have to give the chickens a specific dusting place. They will dig their own holes with great enthusiasm.

Q3: Is it even worth it for the size space we're looking at? (We do hope to add on another 4x4 section of run, but weren't able to this year due to COVID budget cuts)

I had one too many chickens for the size of my in-town facilities and never had an odor problem that another 4" layer of fresh bedding couldn't solve. I removed the litter to the compost spring and fall or when it got inconveniently high and started to spill over too much.

Q4: We give our birds scratch & scraps every day, just throwing it on the ground. If we do deep litter, will they still be able to find it or should we get them a trough?

This is a recommended practice to encourage the chickens to dig in and stir the bedding. You might have to occasionally break up mats or crusted areas with a manure fork, but harnessing the power of chicken labor is one of the benefits of the Deep Litter Method.

 

[ThatTeowonna]

So you can deep litter a run? My run is covered by the sides are open. That's where my chicks sleep... not inside the coop. Will the composting process work in an open air run?

 

[3KillerBs]

So you can deep litter a run? My run is covered by the sides are open. That's where my chicks sleep... not inside the coop. Will the composting process work in an open air run?

You might need to add some moisture to keep the composting process working, but the deep litter benefits from contact with the natural earth because that brings in the composting organisms.

I know that adding moisture seems counterintuitive to the idea of dry chickens being healthy chickens, but it's moisture, not sogginess. The moisture of a forest floor on a nice day.

 

[Zs mama]

So you can deep litter a run? My run is covered by the sides are open. That's where my chicks sleep... not inside the coop. Will the composting process work in an open air run?

Following...

 

[ackie]

I'm just learning the deep litter method. I thought throwing pine straw down over and over without cleaning in between was me being lazy.

 

[ackie]

I did learn that the chickens will spread your pine straw for you if you just untie it and chuck it in there. Well, mine anyway, very big foragers.

 

[paintedChix]

Here's what I wrote to someone else on the same subject this morning -

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/run-and-deep-litter-help-please.1430600/post-23583301

Easier to send you to that link than to do another complete post.

And yes, I think that that would be helpful. I don't have experience with an open space under an actual coop, but have found that open space under chicken nesting areas and feed/water areas quickly become part of the DLM, so don't think keeping the area open as a dust bath would work. But, you can start out that way and certainly see what happens!

 

[aart]

I'm just learning the deep litter method. I thought throwing pine straw down over and over without cleaning in between was me being lazy.

It is.