Layering Bedding for Compost: Unpleasant for Chickens?

[RedStarMadame]

Weve started layering the coop bedding (cover poop with hay for 6 months, then clean out and put in compost pile). Coincidentally, my 6 chickens have started roosting on top of the coop at night. It could be the heat (91 today), but I wonder if having layered bedding in a small coop could make the air quality bad for the girls. Anyone have any experience with this? I'm including a photo so you see the size of my small coop.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Weve started layering the coop bedding (cover poop with hay for 6 months, then clean out and put in compost pile). Coincidentally, my 6 chickens have started roosting on top of the coop at night. It could be the heat (91 today), but I wonder if having layered bedding in a small coop could make the air quality bad for the girls. Anyone have any experience with this? I'm including a photo so you see the size of my small coop.

91°F outside temp - do you have a thermometer inside the coop? I suspect that the inside is way too hot for them.

How much ventilation do you have inside the coop in addition to the round vent shone in the pic?

-I apologize if you’ve gone through the ventilation debate before. Sometimes I can’t remember who’s posted what.

 

[nuthatched]

They're roosting on top because that coop is only big enough for 2 chickens and not built to their benefit.
The designers of coops like that have never had chickens besides in their freezers and the dimensions they use are the same as inhumane egg farming, 1sq foot per bird.

You need to look into building a bigger coop, if you can.
The minimum dimensions you want are: 4sq feet per bird for the coop, 8 sq feet per bird in the run, 1 square foot of permanent ventilation per bird, 1 linear foot of roost bar per bird, and the roost bars should be high so they feel safe.

 

[RedStarMadame]

91°F outside temp - do you have a thermometer inside the coop? I suspect that the inside is way too hot for them.

How much ventilation do you have inside the coop in addition to the round vent shone in the pic?

-I apologize if you’ve gone through the ventilation debate before. Sometimes I can’t remember who’s posted what.

Thanks for responding. I'm very new, so I have not heard much yet. No thermometer. We are three weeks into this. I keep the coop doors open unless it's raining, so the ventilation is from the round vent, the side door, and the inside door in the cage part.

 

[RedStarMadame]

They're roosting on top because that coop is only big enough for 2 chickens and not built to their benefit.
The designers of coops like that have never had chickens besides in their freezers and the dimensions they use are the same as inhumane egg farming, 1sq foot per bird.

You need to look into building a bigger coop, if you can.
The minimum dimensions you want are: 4sq feet per bird for the coop, 8 sq feet per bird in the run, 1 square foot of permanent ventilation per bird, 1 linear foot of roost bar per bird, and the roost bars should be high so they feel safe.

Thanks for the dimensions. They are out in the yard with us during much of the day and there is a large dog kennel/run surrounding the coop. They only sleep and lay eggs in the coop. There is a roosting bar inside the coop and three nesting boxes in addition to the rest of the space inside and beneath. Just adding some context to see if it.changes anything...

 

[DonyaQuick]

I have that coop or at least some version of it that I've used for the odd single bird or pair over time that don't have a bigger setup yet. You can't really build up deep bedding in such a small space; it just gets nasty and/or cramped due to the vertical space being limited by the chickens shifting the bedding around (an issue I periodically have to sort ot with the underneath portion, which is prone to pileup at the back where it's also hardest to reach). I've found it's better to just use pine shavings in both areas and then for the interior portion do frequent, kitty-litter-style manure removal there. Otherwise it will get stinky fast in the heat given the extremely limited ventillation. On mine I clean the elevated interior area daily. The bottom area gets cleaned less frequently and that process varies a lot based on weather.

I don't have the temperatures you're getting but mine does stay slightly cooler than ambient on the inside portion even when in direct sun. Only very slightly cooler though; even if that trend held at 91F, it would still get stinky fast if not cleaned daily even with just 1-2 birds.

 

[RedStarMadame]

I have that coop or at least some version of it that I've used for the odd single bird or pair over time that don't have a bigger setup yet. You can't really build up deep bedding in such a small space; it just gets nasty and/or cramped due to the vertical space being limited by the chickens shifting the bedding around (an issue I periodically have to sort ot with the underneath portion, which is prone to pileup at the back where it's also hardest to reach). I've found it's better to just use pine shavings in both areas and then for the interior portion do frequent, kitty-litter-style manure removal there. Otherwise it will get stinky fast in the heat given the extremely limited ventillation. On mine I clean the elevated interior area daily. The bottom area gets cleaned less frequently and that process varies a lot based on weather.

I don't have the temperatures you're getting but mine does stay slightly cooler than ambient on the inside portion even when in direct sun. Only very slightly cooler though; even if that trend held at 91F, it would still get stinky fast if not cleaned daily even with just 1-2 birds.

Thank you, I was afraid of that. The flies are getting awful (we have a horse) on the sand inside the run. I think I'll remove the bedding tomorrow. Do you know if I can just add poop straight to the compost pile and forego the layering (separate topic...)? TIA

 

[DonyaQuick]

Do you know if I can just add poop straight to the co.post pile and forego the layering (separate topic...)?

I just dump whatver I have on my compost pile and don't worry about the structure of what I'm adding - but I'm only doing slow/lazy composting. I had very little success getting a fast & hot decomposition process going, so if that's what you're trying to do then throw this post of mine out the window, since I haven't figured out how to sustain the internal heat in my climate yet lol. I mainly just try to control how much pine shavings ends up in there since I don't have a lot of other "green" to add to the mix most of the time.

The flies are getting awful (we have a horse) on the sand inside the run.

This is unrelated to anything you asked about, but just want to tack it on just in case: with heat and a lot of flies about, keep an extra close eye out for messy chicken butts and clean them quickly if it happens to minimize the chance of fly strike. It doesn't have to be related to any underlying health problems or illness; hot chickens drink more, more water makes wetter manure, and sometimes a chicken will poo itself by accident and then the mucky feathers situation can snowball rapidly and start to attract the flies.

 

[RedStarMadame]

I just dump whatver I have on my compost pile and don't worry about the structure of what I'm adding - but I'm only doing slow/lazy composting. I had very little success getting a fast & hot decomposition process going, so if that's what you're trying to do then throw this post of mine out the window, since I haven't figured out how to sustain the internal heat in my climate yet lol. I mainly just try to control how much pine shavings ends up in there since I don't have a lot of other "green" to add to the mix most of the time.


This is unrelated to anything you asked about, but just want to tack it on just in case: with heat and a lot of flies about, keep an extra close eye out for messy chicken butts and clean them quickly if it happens to minimize the chance of fly strike. It doesn't have to be related to any underlying health problems or illness; hot chickens drink more, more water makes wetter manure, and sometimes a chicken will poo itself by accident and then the mucky feathers situation can snowball rapidly and start to attract the flies.

Thanks, I just read about fly strike tonight. Sounds awful! I'm learning a lot.

 

[rosemarythyme]

They only sleep and lay eggs in the coop. There is a roosting bar inside the coop and three nesting boxes in addition to the rest of the space inside and beneath. Just adding some context to see if it.changes anything...

Ventilation is needed both day and night - it'd be like shutting off air flow to your bedroom at night because you only sleep in there, but I bet it would get stifling in there if you were to do that.

The recommended 1 sq ft of ventilation per bird 24/7 is a minimum and for moderate climates. If it's 91F in April it sounds like you're in a hotter climate where 2-3 sq ft of open ventilation is the recommendation.