Newbie struggling with deep litter in run

[townchicks]

It's just too dry here right now. Deep litter needs moisture to start the composting process. My run is the same here right now. No need to turn the litter, just scatter a little scratch or BOSS in the run, and let the girls do the work. Easier for you, and enriching for them. I save some of my dead leaves back for adding when the rain starts. keep up what you're doing and it will come together.

 

[MissChick@dee]

I know how you feel. I feed treats in bowls because I don’t want them eating off the ground. Truth it’s usually wet treats and if it’s not gone in 5 minutes I pick up the bowls.
DLM is a compositing process. Yours might not really take off till spring. But you have to start somewhere. I throw sunflower seeds, mealworms dry treats into the run. The girls do the work for me. I do rake to turn the poop under and level out the run. The girls continue to do what chickens do. Right now the poop freezes so depcompisition isn’t really happening. The girls tend to kick the poop-balls (stuck on straw&leaves) to the edges.
I’m not sure of your climate. I for sure will not add moisture to my run. This morning it was 15 degrees in the run so moisture would only freeze.
It’s a process, next year it will be better. Just think of this year as building your base.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Thanks, everyone. It has been a source of frustration, for sure. Coldest it gets here is upper 20s, low 30s, so rarely any freezing, except on a few nights a year, usually in January. I will be patient. I promise! And I will look into hemp. I have gained a new appreciation for it since I saw while on vacay to Viet Nam how useful it can be and how environmentally responsible it is.

And I will get some pics of my girls' digs when I'm home again. I wanna show the inside of my coop, too. I just finished the nesting boxes. And, smh, they are super cutesy. So much for my resolution to be practical....

 

[blackdog043]

Add some untreated wood chips / mulch or go buy some pine bark nuggets at Lowes and add that to your run. You need an assortment of sizes for deep litter. This will help the poop drop to the bottom and decompose also. I use a good amount of untreated chips /mulch and add stuff to it.

 

[Folly's place]

Bagged shavings for stall bedding are good too.
Mary

 

[Aunt Angus]

I will head to the store tomorrow in search of these goodies. Had a plumbing mishap today, and it took up all my time. Thank goodness for Thanksgiving break. I can finally get some work done!

 

[tigger19687]

I am thinking of also adding some Tree mulch. I can get free at the local compost facility. Does it matter what kind of tree? I thought I read that somewhere. We usually have pine but it could also have other types in it too

 

[Folly's place]

I would avoid black walnut if possible; it's toxic to horses, don't know about chickens, and if you then spread it around your garden, some of your plantings won't be happy.
Mary

 

[Aunt Angus]

I am thinking of also adding some Tree mulch. I can get free at the local compost facility. Does it matter what kind of tree? I thought I read that somewhere. We usually have pine but it could also have other types in it too

Good question!

 

[Aunt Angus]

Ok. Here are some pics of the run. I got so caught up in prepping for today's rain, that I forgot about my deep litter situation. The pics aren't great, and I had just thrown down some shavings. The ground under the run was dug out a bit, so the litter is deeper than it looks in these images.