Dennis' Playhouse Coop--deep litter?

[moodusnewchick]

Does anyone with the playhouse coop type design use the deep litter method? I was planning on it, but it doesn't seem to work for me. The ammonia smell was just too much. I'm not sure if I just didn't do the deep litter method correctly, or if the area is too small to work.

 

[SewingDiva]

We sort of do deep litter in our Playhouse coop. I put about 2-3 inches of pine shavings on the bottom but I change them every week because the coop is so small there is no room for it to really build up as in the classic method. This might be overkill because I could probably just pick out the poo and not use so much, but again the coop is small and they seem happier with fresh bedding on a regular basis. Plus I hate that amonia smell!

I did have to nail a piece of wood about 2-3 inches high across the inside of the door to keep them from kicking the pine shavings into the run. I think in the winter the pine shavings will add some extra insulation. The floor is covered with viynl self stick tile as well for easy cleaning.

A 5 gallon bucket is perfect for measuring out the right amount of shavings with this size coop.

~Phyllis

 

[moodusnewchick]

Thanks Phyllis,

I have the vinyl flooring to for ease in cleaning. I did some more research on deep litter, seems it works best on dirt. I never realized that. So more frequent changes it is!