Inexpensive coop litter options

[RoyalChick]

I think I'll have to watch a couple more videos on how the deep litter method works.It won't work in the coops I have now but

Don’t be too sure.
The official version is that deep litter composts. Inside the coop mine is too dry to compost, but it rots down somehow and then when the chickens and I sweep it into the run there is more moisture (even though the run has a roof) and so it turns into soil.
If you have a floor to your coop it will be too dry to compost but as long as you have a nice deep layer of bedding it should still be fine.
I think mine may be a foot deep by end of winter as I keep adding to the top.

 

[McChooky]

Don’t be too sure.
The official version is that deep litter composts. Inside the coop mine is too dry to compost, but it rots down somehow and then when the chickens and I sweep it into the run there is more moisture (even though the run has a roof) and so it turns into soil.
If you have a floor to your coop it will be too dry to compost but as long as you have a nice deep layer of bedding it should still be fine.
I think mine may be a foot deep by end of winter as I keep adding to the top.

I only have 2 raised coops and a chicken tractor and all of them were built to house about 5 chickens .The deep litter method would work better if I had a bigger flock thanks! I use the old bedding I have now to make compost just not in the coop.

 

[gtaus]

I'll have to watch a couple more videos on how the deep litter method works.

If you are new to the concepts.... Deep bedding is a dry, non-composting method of using litter in the coop. Deep litter is a moist, composting in place system, of using litter.

There are many great articles and discussions on both methods here on BYC forums, plus YouTube.

If you are in the planning stages of building a new coop, the only real consideration that I needed was to add a way to hold up to 12 inches of litter in the bottom of the coop and an easy way to clean it out. In my case, with an elevated coop, I have a section of the back wall on hinges that I drop down and just sweep the old litter into a wheelbarrow or garden cart. That's about the easiest way to clean I know of.

For more context, I start off with about 3 inches of litter in the coop in late fall. I add a fresh thin layer of litter (currently paper shreds) about every 2 weeks. By springtime clean out, I might have as much as 10-12 inches of litter in the coop. The old litter gets mixed in with my compost and later used in the gardens. It's a pretty good workflow and my garden plants have really benefited from the chicken compost.

Here is a link to my discussion of comparing using paper shreds to wood chips as litter in my coop. I advocate using free resources for coop litter, and in my case, I think paper shreds I make at home is about the best method for me.

 

[gtaus]

The deep litter method would work better if I had a bigger flock thanks!

Well, I don't think either deep bedding or the deep litter method really matters how many chickens you have. Both would work. But check out some YouTube videos for the knowledge, if nothing else. With only 5 chickens, maybe the pull-out poop tray would not be such a big issue.

I use the old bedding I have now to make compost just not in the coop.

I turned my entire chicken run into a chicken run composting system after my birds ate and pulled out all the grass down to the roots. Would have been a muddy mess if I did not do something with the bare dirt.

At first, I just put down wood chips in the run so the dirt would not turn to mud after a rain. That worked fine. But later I started adding grass clippings for the chickens. My riding mower has a 3 bagger collection system, so I just dumped all the clippings into the run on top of the wood chips. Our daily kitchen scraps chicken bucket would get tossed on top of the grass clippings, along with a daily portion of chicken scratch. Already, I could see how the chickens would scratch and peck through everything looking for good stuff to eat. Anyways, weeds from the garden got tossed into the chicken run, more good stuff to eat for the chickens. In the fall, I mowed up the leaves and tossed them into the chicken run. Everything gets mixed together by the chickens. With rain, things start to compost in place.

My old coop litter gets tossed out into the chicken run twice a year. I let it sit outside and compost in place for about 6 months before I harvest it for the gardens. I now have lots of black gold compost sitting in my chicken run ready to harvest anytime I want.

Another good thing about having all that organic material in the chicken run is that it is full of bugs and worms, which the chickens love to eat. They stay outside all day long scratching and pecking through the chicken run litter, looking for good things to eat, all the while turning and mixing the liter which makes everything compost even faster.

After I dumped my lawn leaves into the chicken run this fall, my run litter is about 18 inches deep. The winter snow and decomposition will bring it down to about 12 inches next spring. I typically harvest most of my compost in the spring right before I plant my gardens. Chicken run compost is great.

My chicken run compost is ready to use long before my pallet compost is half ready. That is because the chickens are constantly scratching and pecking at the run litter, whereas I never turn my pallet compost bins. I like to tell people that I have composting chickens that give me eggs as a bonus. Chickens and gardens are a natural combination.

 

[Jenni Hen]

I've never managed to turn my weed piles on the allotment. Letting the chickens do the aerating etc sounds good!
I like how I can use good vegetable matter that otherwise would be wasted, for example taking brassica stalks and leaves into the run and being greeted with squeals of delight.