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Chicken_Ninja said:
Hello guys

So I have been seeing videos and reading a lot on the deep litter method and it seems very convenient especially to someone who can use lot of compost for the plantation.

I would appreciate your personal knowledge and experience with that, how to do it, what to do, and most importantly what can go wrong with it.

My coop is planned to be 8x13 ft and the run 26x10 ft. I am planning to protect the run from the rain too (zinc plates roof and fenced walls with nylon protection from the rain). The coop and run will be constructed over concrete. The location is dry, windy with hot summers and somehow cold winters (that includes a total of 20 days of frost).

Questions are something like:
  • Does this work for coop and run?

  • What is the initial depth of litter? How often you add new layers of litter? When to stop?

  • What material to use? ( I don't have lot of pine shaving supply but random types of wood shavings available), does green plants count as litter?

  • Do you need to add some moisture especially in my hot dry summer?

  • Do you keep a base from the previous bedding for the next one? I have read this would keep some of the good composting bacteria for the next bedding.

  • And one last question, is deep litter different than deep bedding?
Thanks folks!
Click to expand...
The deep litter method is different than just deep bedding. The idea behind the deep litter method is to frequently turn the bedding over, leaving all the poo in the litter to sort of compost itself. Feasibly you can go 6 to 12 months without cleaning the coop. The good bacteria is supposed to help support their immune systems. I have never used this method, I am too much of a clean freak to not clean up poop daily. :D

You might start a thread on this in our Coop and Run forums for more input... https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/coop-run-design-construction-maintenance.9/
 
TwoCrows said:
The deep litter method is different than just deep bedding. The idea behind the deep litter method is to frequently turn the bedding over, leaving all the poo in the litter to sort of compost itself. Feasibly you can go 6 to 12 months without cleaning the coop. The good bacteria is supposed to help support their immune systems. I have never used this method, I am too much of a clean freak to not clean up poop daily. :D

You might start a thread on this in our Coop and Run forums for more input... https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/coop-run-design-construction-maintenance.9/
Click to expand...

It sounds more 'natural mechanism' to allow the poop to decompose into useful stuff, plus that would eliminate bad odor with less work (I wish I had the time to clean daily...).

I did post there but got no feedback, I guess I will try again :fl

PS, just checked your coop, really nice work and I think I will copy the ventilation openings design from you, very practical :D:D
 

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