Deep Litter

[rosemarythyme]

Thanks so much for the info! I was planning on using deep litter for compost in my garden. Regarding moisture, I have no idea what it will be like. We don't live in an area with high humidity, and I ventilated the coop well. I don't intend to keep the water inside the coop unless it gets too cold and they refuse to come out. I did pick cold hardy birds, so we shall see =) My floor is rubber. I guess I will just have to try and see what will work best for my situation. I didn't realize there were two different definitions. Thanks again =)

If you want to create compost for the garden, I'd aim for deep litter in the run. Very rare to find a coop set up where deep litter works as you really want ground contact for microbes and insects and the increase in moisture is bad for the wood, bad for the chickens (in near freezing-below freezing temps, the increased moisture can lead to frostbite).

Dry deep bedding using organic materials from the coop can be tossed directly into the run, to mix with and break down with the deep litter in the run.

 

[RubySue]

If you want to create compost for the garden, I'd aim for deep litter in the run. Very rare to find a coop set up where deep litter works as you really want ground contact for microbes and insects and the increase in moisture is bad for the wood, bad for the chickens (in near freezing-below freezing temps, the increased moisture can lead to frostbite).

Dry deep bedding using organic materials from the coop can be tossed directly into the run, to mix with and break down with the deep litter in the run.

 

[RubySue]

How specifically do you go about deep bedding then? You say you have a sort of collection area under the roost and clean that so often? The rest, if it gets bad remove some top layer and add that to the run to compost, and then add more pine shavings to top the deep bedding in the coop? This would allow me to only have to do a major clean out once a year? Because we live in a dry climate I suspect a deep bedding inside the coop may be the best bet. The other thing is the run will end up being about 8 ft x 20 ft. I doubt that will end up deep.

 

[Ridgerunner]

How specifically do you go about deep bedding then?

I keep the coop dry. Occasionally a little rain or snow may blow in through some venting but it's not much and with good ventilation it dries pretty quickly. A lot of rain or snow blowing in or ground water runoff from rain would be a problem.

I use wood shavings but others use different things. I have a feeder inside the coop so the chickens scratch around that and pile the bedding up around the far walls. As they scratch the dry bedding they scratch it to bits, just shred it. I add more bedding as needed.

I have weather that they can spend practically all day every day outside. That way they drop the daytime poop outside, it doesn't pile up on the coop. In winter you may have problems with that if they can't get outside but if the poop freezes on the coop floor it stays dry, will not cause problems until it thaws in the spring. I have not kept chickens in your kind of winter, I don't know if that will be a problem or not. If the poop builds up too much it can stay wet, not dry out. It can help to rake the bedding to mix the poop in. Some people toss treats like scratch on the bedding to get the chickens to turn it for you as they scratch for the treats.

I use a droppings board under my roosts. I have a built-in 3' x 6' brooder under my main roosts, the top is a flat sheet of plywood. There is a section of my main roosts that is not over that brooder, I keep a couple of plastic bins on the coop floor to catch that nighttime poop. I also have a roost over my nests, the top of the nests also collect poop. Other people use other set-ups. I scrape the poop off those collecting boards into the bins when I need to. That varies from once a week to maybe once every 6 weeks. That depends on how many chickens I have in that coop, can vary from 8 to 40 through the season. How humid the weather is also affects how fast it dries out and how often I need to move it to my compost pile. Others use trays with sand or PDZ and may scoop the poop every day, much like you do cat litter. There are all kinds of different ways to manage the poop.

The main idea is to find a way to keep it really dry. A larger than absolute minimum size can help with that.

 

[NatJ]

How specifically do you go about deep bedding then? You say you have a sort of collection area under the roost and clean that so often? The rest, if it gets bad remove some top layer and add that to the run to compost, and then add more pine shavings to top the deep bedding in the coop? This would allow me to only have to do a major clean out once a year? Because we live in a dry climate I suspect a deep bedding inside the coop may be the best bet. The other thing is the run will end up being about 8 ft x 20 ft. I doubt that will end up deep.

Different people do it different ways.

@Ridgerunner described a system where very few droppings actually get in the bedding inside the coop. That can work fine, but it is not the only way. It can also work to have all the droppings in the coop with the bedding (although that tends to require more total bedding, and more ventilation, to keep it from stinking or otherwise becoming a problem. Keeping it really dry is important.)

Some people prefer to remove droppings each day, no matter how they manage the rest of the bedding. Some people (including me) do not. Just like some people prefer to change smaller amounts of bedding frequently, and others prefer to add more as needed but clean it out rarely.

It really comes down to a combination of personal preference, and what works for you, with your coop, your climate, and your chickens.

 

[3KillerBs]

How specifically do you go about deep bedding then? You say you have a sort of collection area under the roost and clean that so often? The rest, if it gets bad remove some top layer and add that to the run to compost, and then add more pine shavings to top the deep bedding in the coop? This would allow me to only have to do a major clean out once a year? Because we live in a dry climate I suspect a deep bedding inside the coop may be the best bet. The other thing is the run will end up being about 8 ft x 20 ft. I doubt that will end up deep.

Here is a detailed explanation of my method: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/using-deep-bedding-in-a-small-coop.76343/

 

[rosemarythyme]

How specifically do you go about deep bedding then? You say you have a sort of collection area under the roost and clean that so often? The rest, if it gets bad remove some top layer and add that to the run to compost, and then add more pine shavings to top the deep bedding in the coop? This would allow me to only have to do a major clean out once a year? Because we live in a dry climate I suspect a deep bedding inside the coop may be the best bet. The other thing is the run will end up being about 8 ft x 20 ft. I doubt that will end up deep.

I don't do deep bedding so I'm not the best suited to answering on that point. I'm a sifter... I sift under the roost and add that poop to the compost bin, so my coop is surface clean every day.

Yes you'd likely have more luck with deep bedding in the coop but you specifically were asking about deep litter prior, so I was addressing the concerns with that.

I only clean my coop out once a year but you may or may not be able to get away with that - it's really a matter of space vs chickens vs climate vs litter choice/management.

 

[RubySue]

Here is a detailed explanation of my method: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/using-deep-bedding-in-a-small-coop.76343/

Thanks for this! I think I will try this first. I just have no desire to use pans or have to clean as frequently. I live in a relatively dry climate with an average of 20-30% humidity and can most likely keep it dry easily which would be the deep bedding rather than litter. I also have an ample supply of pine needles =)

 

[RubySue]

Does anyone know if there is any danger in the chickens going into a run and pecking around where a horse was housed? There are a few bits of manure, but most have been composted and broken down. Are there any precautions or anything I should be aware of? Or will they be just fine. Spread some diatomaceous earth, maybe? Thanks =)

 

[Ridgerunner]

Chickens enjoy scratching around in cow or horse manure. They often find delicious treats. On farms where chickens often free range and forage for a lot of their food animal droppings like that are a good source of nutrients. Some people that pasture their chickens like to follow cattle around so the chickens can spread the manure when scratching in it looking for treats, helps the manure break down faster.

Any precautions? If it is wet try not to step in it, you don't want to track that into your house.