HELP! Fly Problem - Deep Litter Method

[austintxchick]

I just started the deep litter method in my run using pine shavings and turning/raking them around every day or so. I've recently noticed a huge fly problem. I also have noticed alot of food spillage in the run. The feeder is on the ground right now and I plan on hanging it. Is hundreds of flies a normal thing? I haven't yet added diatomaceous earth so maybe that will help?

Any suggestions?

 

[vehve]

And double eww on the maggots. I think I'd think about that everytime I ate one of their eggs. You are what you eat!

(If they're allowed to free range, they're going to find some sort of insects)

 

[austintxchick]

The pic is my droppings deck with food grade DE (Amazon) and Sweet PDZ (feed store).

We live in fly territory thanks to the area corporate chicken farms and it can get bad, like now. I have zero flies on my poop deck which is amazing.

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/10/the-deep-litter-method-of-waste.html

The above discusses the deep litter method.

Good luck and have fun.

Wow, that is a super clean coop! How are there no droppings on the bars even?!

 

[hudsonhousechicks]

I live in Austin as well. I'll tell you what has been the ideal coop litter for me for the last several years. I do have a large area for my girls (and rooster, mustn't forget the boys). They only use the enclosed coop at night. In their coop (which is roughly 6' x 8') I rake it completely clean. Then I add 4 bags of general purpose sand from Home Depot. Then I sprinkle very generously with diatemaceous earth, then I put...and here's the magical part, rice hulls that I buy from Buck Moore on Lamar and 51st. I used to use wood shavings but they took forever to break down in the compost bin and I don't mind saying I am a master composter. Even when they did compost, I really didn't care for the quality of the compost compared to the rice hull letter compost.

Rice hulls are not easy to find. You can pick composted rice hulls at Natural Gardener for an arm and a leg but you want dry rice hulls. The only place that I know to get those in Austin is at Buck Moore. Ken makes a trip a good ways out of town to pick them up. It's the best litter I've found. The coop is dry, easy to clean and very few flies. I hope that helped. If you do this, remember to thoroughly remove/clean out the old bedding first and raise that feeder!

 

[hillcrest10Hens]

I recognize that Tea Pot!

 

[dvcrztb]

I have sand in the run. It drains fast and is super easy to clean the poop. Wet poop attracts flies. Dry poop doesn't.

 

[1chickendog142]

This is a big problem for anyone who does the deep litter method. First I tried a elec. bug zapper to no avail, then I bought these milk jugg traps that you put bait attractant and water into a gallon jug and set on ground in the coop area and day by day watched and waited for the hoards to fly in - nope! (Just clear stinky water ) Finally on a lark, tried Pinterest, saw a post on there about how to get rid of flies, so I tried it. IT WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Walmart -3 pack Little trees Vanillaroma in the Auto section $2.43 My coop is 10x10 and. I used 6 in mine. And hung them about knee height or less . Smells good in there and chickens didn't seem to notice at all. I didn't want to use DE in my coop because I didn't want to kill all the bugs that we're good food sources for my flock. I use DE on my birds only when I dust them and in their nest boxes. I hope this May help some of you during this summer heat. Good luck!

 

[Dougurs]

Chickens are not Vegetarians, mine enjoy meal worms, earth worms, maggots, black soldier fly grubs, mice, and Any Bugs they can peck, or even small snakes or lizards that can't stand and fight, Then in the springtime the tadpoles in the shallow pond water are for ever in grave danger of losing their life as an edible treat to my chuucks also. Stop worrying about what they eat and enjoy the healthy eggs they produce, and know you 'll have a clean Chicken meat when you butcher,, if you don't just raise them as pets..

---30---

 

[ktdeluxe]

Isn't it amazing the difference chickens bring to one's sense of happiness? I call them my Ladies. They don't know they are living in Disneyland, but when I started prepping my fenced in vegetable garden, I opened the gates and let them come in to eat all the bugs that had been tilled up. That, for them was truly Disneyland and it delighted me to see them anticipate those gates being opened. Now, however, that planting has begun, they will have to wait until fall to have such fun again. I don't think I could handle more than the 11 I have now. I can only imagine having 30 something in an incubator! That is ambitious, indeed. Take joy in it!

 

[Firekin1]

I have never started deep litter until at least fall where it's used as a heat source...it produces a LOT of heat and of course there would be a problem with flies.