In need of help with run and coop litter help

[bigern26]

I have read and read and read on here and other websites and I am totally undecided on what way to go for my floor in the run and the coop.

My run now is normal grass yard with dirt, sand, and clay underneath. My coop floor is concrete.

I want to do the best method for keeping smells down as I have some close neighbors.

I am getting 9 layers and 18 broilers this week to start out with and wont get anymore broilers till next spring.

My 2 thoughts right now are running deep litter in both the coops and runs with a tiered angled roost or raking the run and throwing a little shaving out there and on the coop floor
and having poop board roosts with PDZ on them.

My runs will be approx 10'X12' and not covered. We do get quite a bit of snow and it gets down to -20F on occasion. Spring time we can get a fair amount of rain and summer gives
us hot and humid with some good rain storms.
I am worried that they will have the runs turned in to poopy mud before to long and they will stink.

I like the idea of the PDZ and just scooping out and throwing the waste in the compost pile.

So with a concrete floor in the coop, open runs, and our weather in consideration what would you all recommend?

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

The broilers (I have read on BYC) are smellier and dirtier than the layers. I have never had them, but encourage you to read up on the meat birds section to see what others have done with their litter management. I have read some people were dismayed at the mess and you might learn something valuable.

In terms of your layer coop, I recommend you try the deep litter method and see how you like it. Some like to use sand and scoop the poo, while others prefer deep litter. Sand is heavy and difficult to move, and so you may want to try the deep litter first.

I use sand in my coop and LOVE it! It saves so much money in shavings. But if you have identified DLM as a possibility, then I think you should try it out. Many who turn to sand have tried DLM and were not satisfied with it. Since you are in the cold weather area of WI, I am not sure sand would work if it got a bit damp and froze. My weather here is totally different. You might try sand in a "sandbox" inside your coop and see if you like it, scooping the poo out with a kitty litter scoop to see if it would be good for the whole coop. Just a thought. There is a "got sand you should" thread that is good.

But I really would like you to know about the "poop board convert" thread- it is excellent and poop boards save a LOT of shavings when you are using deep litter!!!

 

[bigern26]

I have been reading those threads but thanks for the reply.

I have been leaning towards the deep litter method but am not all the way there yet.

I love the fact of having the really nice mulch for my plants and compost for my garden.
I just dont know about it being in a run without a cover. I think that is my biggest worry.
I want to keep smells down as much as possible and the benefits of the DLM seem worth it.

 

[Percheron chick]

If the run is not covered, don't attempt DL. If it gets too wet, it will be a rotting stinky mess. I would try fermented feed on the meaties. The poop doesn't stink as bad.

 

[henless]

I use DL in my 20x20 run. It's not a stinky mess at all. In fact, I need to put some more litter in it since the rain helps to break it down faster.

 

[RonP]

Deep litter is nothing more than cold composting.

Take take a carbon source, say wood chips, wet it, then smell it.

That is what your deep litter should smell like if balanced correctly.

Not much different than the forest floor.

Bad odors are usually the result of an imbalance, usually corrected by adding additional CARBON sources.

You can never have TOO much carbon in a chicken run, as manure is a hot source of nitrogen.

Imagine taking a garbage pail full of wood chips and burying a cup full of manure.

No bad smell...

Now take a garbage pail full of manure and bury a cup full of wood chips........

My uncovered run has at any given point 10 to 24 inches of carbons waiting for some chicken poop (nitrogen) to feed the microorganisms breaking it down.

My run has not been cleaned in over 7 years.

My run smells like a forest floor, really nice after a good rain.

Hope this helps.

FYI, fresh cut grass is another hot source of nitrogen, not carbon, so use it sparingly...

 

[bigern26]

Thanks for the posts,
RonP, you are in NJ so you get close to the same weather as me I am assuming maybe without the long below zero winters that we get. How is your uncovered run when the snow starts melting?

I assume since the smell of the DLM is that of a forest floor, that if I chose to clean up every spring or fall that it would be fairly pleasant?

I have helped people clean out coops and runs in the past and the smell was horrible, bad ammonia and bad rotting smells that make a lot of people gag.

That is what I am trying to stay away from.

 

[RonP]

If you have enough carbons, you will not have anything but rich black compost to clean out.

Not unpleasant at all.

Personally, the snow starts melting long before the deep litter "defrosts".

The deep litter acts like a block of ice.

Again, no odors, ever. Same as forest floor

My flock digs and turns the litter.

As it decomposes, they kick it out of the 1/2 inch hardware cloth, screening out the highly sought after compost.

 

[bigern26]

Perfect thanks, I think you have me convinced!

My biggest worries was when it is raining and not being covered.

I have 3 years of chopped leaves piled up at the edge of my woods and I was digging in there the other day and they seem good even deep down so I know I have plenty of those. Now to find a load of wood chips.

Do you think I will have good luck in the coop with the cement floor? I think that should be fine.

 

[RonP]

Last years leaves for this years compost.

That shredded pile is about 30x30x4 feet...

My birds and I make a lot of compost...

My coop floor is wood.

I use 6 to 8 inches of wood shavings, pine, store bought.

I will start with 3 bails, and add perhaps 2 or 3 more as time passes, to keep the level at 6 - 8 inches deep.

I fluff every once in a while, if the birds don't beat me to it. They often dust bathe in the shavings, go figure...

The manure dries to dust.

The coop is dusty, but no odors.

My coop is also very well ventilated, with over 1 square foot of draft free ventilation per bird. This is very important.

The shavings are replaced usually in the spring, but never more than once a year.

Everything goes into the outdoor run to complete the composting process.

My outdoor run is 14x14.

My coop is 8x8.

I have 14 birds.

My compost is more highly sought after than my eggs...I have Master Gardener friends, and I produce "Black Gold" for them.

Hope this helps.