Newbie struggling with deep litter in run

[Folly's place]

It looks nice, except for the lack of hardware cloth on the run walls. Maybe later?
Mary

 

[aart]

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.
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Nice run!
Lots of 'stuff' to 'do'.

Shavings do not make a true composting deep litter,
no matter how 'deep' they are piled,
time will tell how this bedding works at breaking down the poops.
Hopefully the birds keep it 'turned', keep and eye out for wet (anaerobic) matting.

Might want to put some cleats on that ramp.
1/2" x 1/2" abut 4" apart.

Do they actually use the swing?
Have seen a few that love it, most of them sit unused.

Is that bale of straw wrapped in plastic?

 

[Aunt Angus]

Nice run!
Lots of 'stuff' to 'do'.

Shavings do not make a true composting deep litter,
no matter how 'deep' they are piled,
time will tell how this bedding works at breaking down the poops.
Hopefully the birds keep it 'turned', keep and eye out for wet (anaerobic) matting.

Might want to put some cleats on that ramp.
1/2" x 1/2" abut 4" apart.

Do they actually use the swing?
Have seen a few that love it, most of them sit unused.

Is that bale of straw wrapped in plastic?

I got some leaves from a neighbor (our trees have aphids, and their leaves are super sicky with aphid poo). I will add those later (up to my elbows in cooking and family today). Hemp, peat, and grass clippings have been suggested. Is three anything ese you'd suggest? I'm open to anything! I'm ridiculously frugal (cheap), but I'm good at finding/making/recycling things. I can rake it out, too, and replace it. So far, the shavings have kept everything dry. I know my cochin's feet appreciate it.

I put treads on that ramp immediately after I took the pic - LOL! I just put it there for the pic to see if I'm happy with it. I put some on a second ramp in the coop, too. And I am happy with it, but I want to add a few branch roosts.

My brahma loves the swing! She's super curious, so I knew she'd figure it out. I've read that some people train their chickens to use it using treats. She just jumped up there on her own. I'll try to get a pic, but it's hard because as soon add I make my presence known, the whole flock comes running.

And no plastic on that bale.

Thanks for the feedback! As I said, I'm open to suggestions. Oh - and Happy Thanksgiving!!!

 

[pwiker]

We put together a e-book that may be of interest to you. We list out a few different litters and give pros and cons. The link is in my signature.

 

[Aunt Angus]

We put together a e-book that may be of interest to you. We list out a few different litters and give pros and cons. The link is in my signature.

Fantastic! I'm on it!!! Thank you!

This is why I love BYC!

 

[tigger19687]

I missed my window to get the mulch. it's frozen now lol.
i did put more Straw out there on top of the hay that had already been out there.
Need to make sure that there are air pockets for things to compost in. Straw is good for that too.
I also toss out stuff for them to scratch around to find. So they turn things as they go.

 

[CanadaEh]

I have deep bedding in my coop. It's going splendidly. I am trying deep litter in my run, but I have no idea if I'm maintaining it correctly. I started with a dirt "floor" and added things from the yard: dried grasses from the mower, fallen leaves, some sand, some gravel, some pine shavings. I mix it up with a rake every morning and add stuff every week or so.

that is too much work. your chickens are supposed to be interested in finding stuff in the litter scratching and turning it for you. Is there is nothing to find this time of the year - throw some scratch or whole grain over the litter, that will get them interested

It doesn't stink, but I am a lil concerned by the amount of poop that's accumulating. I only have 4 birds in a 113 sq ft run. They are in the run while I'm at work. I let them out to free range in the afternoons and on weekends. They peck at stuff in the deep litter. Frankly, I'm worried about them ingesting parasites from the junk on the ground, from birds that probably get in there, from other critters. The run is uncovered at the moment (no rain yet, and it doesn't ever snow here).

your deep litter is not deep enough or they not turning it enough? I don't see how it would work in your coop (presumably less sq.ft. per bird) and not the run. Chickens living over dirt and deep litter develop immune system and become much healthier than those living in sterile environment with access to bagged feed, water and own feces only. I would not concern of them eating anything bad from the ground - it all good for them.

Am I doing anything incorrectly? Is three something I should be doing that I'm not? Is the run too dry, and the poop isn't breaking down properly? Is everything fine and I'm just being impatient/paranoid?

post pictures of what you think is wrong.

 

[aart]

I got some leaves from a neighbor (our trees have aphids, and their leaves are super sicky with aphid poo). I will add those later (up to my elbows in cooking and family today). Hemp, peat, and grass clippings have been suggested. Is three anything ese you'd suggest? I'm open to anything! I'm ridiculously frugal (cheap), but I'm good at finding/making/recycling things. I can rake it out, too, and replace it. So far, the shavings have kept everything dry. I know my cochin's feet appreciate it

I would leave it as is for now...if anything is added I would suggest larger chunks of wood. Be patient and observant of how it fares.
You might poke under it a bit here and there, but nothing drastic.
Raking out and replacing would not be very frugal.

 

[Aunt Angus]

post pictures of what you think is wrong.

In my coop, I have deep bedding, not deep litter. I think it's working because the girls don't spend much time in there. I don't think I can express it through a photo, tbh. There just seems to be a lot of poop that isn't breaking down. I think I just need to be more patient. Maybe I'm crazy, but I kinda like the work. I work in a classroom all day, shuffling papers and herding teenagers. Raking the run and fixing up the coop is highly enjoyable. It's me time, which I don't get otherwise. I work 10+ hour days in that classroom with no breaks, no lunch, no nothing except grading and copying and typing and admonishing... *sigh* I love my job, but it affords neither quiet nor solitude. My chickens give me that.

Whew! Sorry for that sob story! Back to chickens!

 

[CanadaEh]

I can only suggest you have unrealistic expectations from deep litter than. Like you not suppose to see any poop or it is not suppose to attract any flies in the summer. DL/DB does not need cleaning (just adding more from time to time), does not smell much, and more beneficent for chickens than their poop over fresh sand - that is good enough for me. I also found that depending on the season and amount of rain it either not decomposing at all (dry summer) or shrinks into couple of inches within a week (rainy fall).