Dusty Deep Litter

[DellaMyDarling]

Hmm. Doing something a bit wrong.

Primarily pine shavings deep litter in coop.

Coop smells "dusty" all the time.
I wouldn't otherwise say the smell is offensive. It doesn't bother us to be in there at all.

Poop accumulation is really starting to bug me out too.
I scrape poo off flat surfaces and freshen nest boxes if icky about every 10 days.

Meh. Still, everything looks like poop and air seems dusty.

Was under impression that I didn't need to do much, but sounds like it needs a bit of help.
Started using coop in spring, maybe May. Ideally I'd like to get my litter to spring tilling time.

Suggestions?

 

[ValerieJ]

I don't do deep litter in my coops, only in my run. All coops are completely cleaned out every week, and nesting boxes whenever soiled during the week. All that and my coops get dusty. I think chickens are dusty.

 

[jreardon1918]

Sounds like your coop is deep bedding. That is a decent method of poop maintenance. The pine shavings dry out the poops and yes they are dusty. Your description sounds kind of like our coop. But there is not a lot of poop in the pine shavings. That is because we have poop boards. So most of the poop is removed weekly. The shavings were last changed in the spring. Very dry and dusty. Here is a picture. You can see the floor is very dry. Will do a removal of the shavings this fall.

 

[MomJones]

I admire the deep bedding method. The whole permaculture practice has been highly advanced by Joel Salatin. Here's something I lifted from a site of his.
For the floor of their coop (if their housing stays in one spot).

Include at least 8” of organic carbon material like leaves, wood chips, straw, hay, etc.


But this presumes you're starting with a dirt floor. My floor is wood so I use pine shavings which I clean out every two weeks. 18 birds currently sleep in there at night so there's plenty of poop. I sweep it out onto a tarp, drag it to a mulch pile, and enjoy rich, free fertilizer each Spring (unless I lose track of where I dumped the stuff).

My situation is this: I need to keep the coop super clean so I can keep the girls super healthy. So it it smells dusty, or moldy or too ammonia-ny, I clean it out. Oh--and I do put down a layer of baking soda first. For some reason it helps with the dust as well as ammonia build up.

Reference site from Joel Salatin : https://abundantpermaculture.com/getting-started-with-chickens-the-ultimate-guide/

 

[igorsMistress]

If your floor is dirt under the shavings you can wet the litter down and rake it to mix it all up.

I rake mine 2 or 3 times a week and when it's dry all the way to the dirt floor I wet it down and stir. Not soggy, but enough that when I stir it everything is damp. More frequently in summer but less often at other times of the year. It helps with dust.

Vacuuming your coop with a shop vac helps too. Good luck!

 

[DellaMyDarling]

We do not have a dirt floor, coop is in a walk in building.


Since it's a big walk in coop, I see no plausible way to use poop boards in our current set up.
Even if set up is altered to allow for boards, they spend a tremendous amount of time pooping EVERYWHERE, not just off the roosts.

I did ask once about using pine mulch instead of dry shavings. That still seems like a better idea to me...

 

[Criticalicious]

Chickens themselves cause a lot of dust. To reduce ammonia or poop smell, you might try adding PDZ to the coop. You can find it in the horse section at TSC. A large bag will last a good long while.

 

[CatWhisperer]

I would find some way to add poop boards. I scoop poop off the poop boards every morning. Since the birds only sleep in the coop the deep litter stays pretty clean. I add grass clippings thru the summer while removing some of the shavings. I clean out everything spring and fall and do a good scrub down of the coop and run. My birds get to free range and coop always smells good.

 

[townchicks]

Since it's a big walk in coop, I see no plausible way to use poop boards in our current set up.
Even if set up is altered to allow for boards, they spend a tremendous amount of time pooping EVERYWHERE, not just off the roosts.

How much time do they spend in the coop? Do they have a run, or free range? My hens are only in the coop to lay, or sleep, the rest of the time they are in the run or the chicken yard. Pictures might help to get some suggestions.

 

[aart]

Meh. Still, everything looks like poop and air seems dusty.

Is your new coop just losing it's 'shine'?
Is the Reality throwing shade on the Romance?
Ummm...it's a chicken coop... so, yeah.

Since it's a big walk in coop, I see no plausible way to use poop boards in our current set up.

Hmmm...how big?
Works here.

What kind of bedding you use may depend on how you manage the manure.
This is about cleaning, but covers my big picture

-I use poop boards under roosts with thin(<1/2") layer of sand/PDZ mix, sifted daily(takes 5-10mins) into bucket going to friends compost.

-Scrape big or wet poops off roost and ramps as needed.

-Pine shavings on coop floor, add some occasionally, totally changed out once or twice a year, old shavings added to run.

- My runs have semi-deep litter(cold composting), never clean anything out, just add smaller dry materials on occasion, add larger wood chippings as needed.

Aged ramial wood chippings are best IMO.

-Nests are bedded with straw, add some occasionally, change out if needed(broken egg).

There is no odor, unless a fresh cecal has been dropped and when I open the bucket to add more poop.

That's how I keep it 'clean', have not found any reason to clean 'deeper' in 5 years.



The terms 'deep litter' and 'deep bedding' are often misunderstood and misapplied.
I've always liked this explanation:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-method-with-this-coop.1075545/#post-16440037