Results from First Year with Deep Litter Method

[Beekissed]

I'd put down some rich soil or compost, right under the roosts, then lay down a thin layer of hay, wet that down and cover the coop floor with a thick layer of leaves. Then I'd just barely flip the nightly poops under the leaves, right where they lie...or...flip dry leaves on top of them, but don't stir. The chickens will be doing enough of that and it's not always a good thing, especially when you want to jump start your DL into a working, composting DL.

I'd vary your leaf bedding with other things of different particle sizes and rates of composting, just to provide additional moisture and air pockets when needed.

You might want to add some ventilation about a foot up from the floor for clean air intake for winter, unless you are going to leave your pop door open all the time.

 

[MinnesotaNice]

My coop is elevated about 8-9inches off the ground (former ice house on skids). Winter will be coming soon here in MN and I'm still not sure what to do....pine shavings or hay...or both? I also have access to leaves, which I just toss in the outdoor run right now. I don't plan on changing out the coop bedding all winter, so I'm not sure what would be best for the chickens and, well, smell Thoughts?

 

[sophiaw00]

I've been trying to do the deep litter method as best as I can but I'm having some problems. I think my coop is too ventilated for this method because there is absolutely no moisture even on the bottom levels. Please help! I really want to get this going before winter so that it generates some heat!

Here's my coop:


It's not the prettiest thing but it works and is predator secure (although it doesn't look like it). It's made out of mostly scrap lumber, 2 by 4s, and pallets. The floor is heavy 2 by 6s with slats in between each piece (for air flow). This was right after it was finished and we have made some adjustments to it. The people door is now made out of plywood because I didn't think the chicken wire was secure enough. Also, you can't see it in the picture but every opening in the coop (such as the slats in the pallets) are covered with chicken wire or hardware cloth. The upper half of the back wall is windows made out of hardware cloth. The coop will be winterized by filling in the pallet frames with plywood that has insulation attached to it. Trust me when I say that it IS predator proof and it WILL be winterized.

Anyways, the material in the coop is:
wood chips
hay
straw
pine straw
leaves
grass clippings
food scraps (they eat most of it but some of it gets covered up)
twigs
dirt

There is about 5 inches of this on the highest part. I was just doing measurements of the walls today and I checked the deep litter by moving a large portion away and checking to see the moisture level under the bedding. Nothing. Zip. Dry as a bone. Is this going to prevent me from ever being able to do this bedding method correctly?

 

[Bridebeliever]

I think the problem with this is your depth and why it's drying out. You need to get about 7 more inches in there on top of your 5!

 

[Beekissed]

I agree.....you'll need to go much deeper in a coop with a wood floor and you'll also want to be adding some moisture if you aren't able to generate enough with the amount of fecal matter and rotting litter. I am very blessed in that I am on a soil floor and have a very~intentionally~leaky coop that deposits water right where I need it when it rains or snow melts. The ground also contributes to my moisture as my coop sits at the base of a hill/slope.

Also, if you are currently stirring it up all the time, I'd cease and desist. Just flip the poop over or flip dry bedding over the poop, but don't try to stir the bedding. You have enough differences in particle size to create air pockets in your litter, so just flipping it lightly to keep the manure under the top of the bedding should suffice.

Keep heavier, more absorbent material at the bottom, such as the hay, and the lighter stuff added to the top, such as the leaves. I found a couple of bags of sawdust worked well beneath my roosts as the initial layer of DL and it really acted like a sponge for moisture and was so heavy with that, that the leaves and such just kind of rode on top of it. The chickens scratch there but they never get down deep enough to hit that sawdust~now compost~layer.

Another thing you might consider if your DL is always dry, is to add things that are moist....hay is good(not too much at any one time), grass clippings, garden refuse, kitchen scraps that are nice and wet, etc. You'll want to concentrate these things at or very near the area under your roosts for maximum effect...that's where most of the composting occurs while the rest of the bedding can be used to flip over manure under the roosts each day to trap their moisture and such under the top layer.

 

[Beekissed]

Today we got and are getting a really good rain shower...torrential at times....and the windows at the rear of my coop are open, funneling rain right into the roost area floor~no worries, can't rain on my chickens from there. I'll be salvaging all the moisture there that I can get, then covering it over with deep bedding of leaves, pine cones and needles, thin layers of hay, and misc. green things from pulling weeds in the garden and raking the lawn.

Right now the DL is about 12 in. deep in that area, which is my fall/winter depth...come summer that goes way down as the composting speeds up in the warmer temps.

 

[sophiaw00]

I agree.....you'll need to go much deeper in a coop with a wood floor and you'll also want to be adding some moisture if you aren't able to generate enough with the amount of fecal matter and rotting litter. I am very blessed in that I am on a soil floor and have a very~intentionally~leaky coop that deposits water right where I need it when it rains or snow melts. The ground also contributes to my moisture as my coop sits at the base of a hill/slope.

Also, if you are currently stirring it up all the time, I'd cease and desist. Just flip the poop over or flip dry bedding over the poop, but don't try to stir the bedding. You have enough differences in particle size to create air pockets in your litter, so just flipping it lightly to keep the manure under the top of the bedding should suffice.

Keep heavier, more absorbent material at the bottom, such as the hay, and the lighter stuff added to the top, such as the leaves. I found a couple of bags of sawdust worked well beneath my roosts as the initial layer of DL and it really acted like a sponge for moisture and was so heavy with that, that the leaves and such just kind of rode on top of it. The chickens scratch there but they never get down deep enough to hit that sawdust~now compost~layer.

Another thing you might consider if your DL is always dry, is to add things that are moist....hay is good(not too much at any one time), grass clippings, garden refuse, kitchen scraps that are nice and wet, etc. You'll want to concentrate these things at or very near the area under your roosts for maximum effect...that's where most of the composting occurs while the rest of the bedding can be used to flip over manure under the roosts each day to trap their moisture and such under the top layer.

Thanks! I'll keep adding layers. Would it help if we to take a spray bottle to dampen the litter a little bit?

I'm not stirring it up but the girls defiantly are. It used to be just wood chips and hay and now that I've added all the other stuff they have been scratching in it like crazy. It's all really light and fluffy so they can easily get to the bottom layer. I also always dump the food scraps right under the roost. My dad is just starting another project I'll be sure to collect any bags of sawdust he has.

Whenever it rains, the top layer in certain parts of the coop gets soaked but within a few hours it dries completely and is bone dry. The only moist part in the coop is right under the waterer as they make a mess with it and there is a very slow leak in it that I haven't fixed yet (should I even fix it?). One of my girls also perches on top of the water bucket when it starts to get empty instead of drinking out of the cups so she tips the bucket over a lot, making a watery mess of the bedding but it dries quickly. I fixed that problem by attaching the bucket to a hook though.

 

[Beekissed]

If it evaporates that quickly, I'd be a little more liberal than a spray bottle....I'd throw a bucket of water in it every now and again. Especially if you score some sawdust, scrape back what you have currently under your roosts, spread some rich soil or compost, then spread that sawdust over it and wet it down thoroughly, cover it with some hay to keep the hens from displacing it too much, then pile the leaves on as deep as you can get them. Just layer it in like lasagna and then just keep that spot there moist as you can for awhile until it starts to really cook there. You seem to have enough ventilation right now to handle it.

When you place food scraps there, put them to one side or the other of the roost area...when the hens scratch around the scraps they'll just be piling the DL deeper under the roosts for you. I try to keep them from scratching directly under the roosts if I can help it but I do put food scraps beside that area. Anything that doesn't get eaten gets turned under the litter for the bugs and worms

 

[sophiaw00]

If it evaporates that quickly, I'd be a little more liberal than a spray bottle....I'd throw a bucket of water in it every now and again. Especially if you score some sawdust, scrape back what you have currently under your roosts, spread some rich soil or compost, then spread that sawdust over it and wet it down thoroughly, cover it with some hay to keep the hens from displacing it too much, then pile the leaves on as deep as you can get them. Just layer it in like lasagna and then just keep that spot there moist as you can for awhile until it starts to really cook there. You seem to have enough ventilation right now to handle it.

When you place food scraps there, put them to one side or the other of the roost area...when the hens scratch around the scraps they'll just be piling the DL deeper under the roosts for you. I try to keep them from scratching directly under the roosts if I can help it but I do put food scraps beside that area. Anything that doesn't get eaten gets turned under the litter for the bugs and worms

Will do! Should I put some worms in it after I get it going some under the roost? I'm not afraid to dig in the dirt to find critters so I'd be willing to do it. I'd obviously wait until it was moist enough so that they had a chance of survival (because what's the point if they are dead). If it would be a good idea to put some bugs in the litter, what kind?

 

[beginnergirl]

Is mold a part of the deep litter process?