Results from First Year with Deep Litter Method

[Ridgerunner]

For mine I just cut a hole out between studs, framed top and bottom with 2x4’s like you would for a window or door, and covered that opening with hardware cloth. Lots of different ways work.

 

[Beekissed]

I did the same thing on my last coop...just cut out a hole, covered with wire, put a cloth flap on it so the wind didn't go directly into the coop but still could seep it's way in just fine.

 

[dhining]

Hi Hokum., you wrote something that piqued my interest . Do hens sometimes lay hens "by accident" during the night? My roosting poles are 2 and 3 feet above the floor. Is this something I should prepare for? Thanks, Deborah

 

[Beekissed]

Not the addressee, but will answer the question. Yes, on occasion an egg is laid from the roost...some of which are shell-less eggs. Deep litter will keep those from breaking. I always have roosts around 4 ft. on up and have never had an egg break from the roost since using deep litter.

 

[dhining]

Thank you!

 

[beverly evans]

Hi, I just saw this post with the questions--so sorry for my late response.

1. Gravel. I think if you have some water coming in from outdoors you should definitely keep the gravel there. The gravel under my coop was the kind used to make a driveway (previous owners dumped their extra) so it's pretty big rocks, not pea gravel as I understand it. But, I really don't think the gravel would get stirred up if you make a deep enough base on top of it. I'd start with something thick and heavy like wood chips or even a layer of soil--put down 3-4 inches of this and I think the gravel will be there to help with drainage but not get up into your litter.

2. Big area to fluff. I intentionally dump the kitchen scraps right under the roosts where the manure accumulation is the heaviest. This is the place where I most want them turning the litter because the action turns under the fresh (and smelliest) manure. It's great that you have a large square footage percentage per bird! But, even with this there will probably be some favorite spots where they poop the most so you can target the scratch/scraps to those areas where the fluffing is most needed and then go over other areas occasionally with a pitchfork yourself as needed.

3. Straw. Everything I've heard and experienced says straw is the absolute worst item to use in a chicken coop. What works best are small bits of lightweight items that the chickens can fluff easily. I use my own yard scraps exclusively. I dry and then bag up grass clippings and leaves. Right now I have seven of those huge construction site garbage bags full of grass and leaves to head into the winter. It's lovely stuff to use first, because it's free! Second, because it makes the coop smell nice when I drop it in, and third, because it's a good "brown" to add to the "green" of manure and kitchen scraps to enable composting to occur.

In summary, if I were in your situation I'd be going for depth. The higher you build up the bedding the farther away from dampness your birds will be. I like that my birds have a deep mat of composting bedding underneath them in the miserable cold of February. Good luck!

And here I am throwing scratch and scraps only on the cleanest hard packed ground so that my chicks won't miss a speck of their goodies and not be accidently eating any poop! Who knew? I get a lot of moisture around the edges after a rain and hope by deep litering with peat moss I can avoid disaster from dampness. I'll put some lime powder down first, maybe that will help.

 

[beverly evans]

Barrdwing, I'm glad you're feeling good about the deep litter method. I really love all the perks of doing it.

One thing...you commented on the weather and I wanted to clarify that I use deep litter in my coop all year round. It is at it's deepest in March right before I clean most of it out in early April to put on the garden before planting. But, even when I clean it out I never remove all of it as you want to leave behind the organisms that make composting happen. So, in April after the clean out it is down to about 3-4 inches and then slowly begins building again till a year later it's up to 24 inches in some places.

I'm also curious as to why you want to use straw. Is this something you already have access to? If not and you're buying bales I'd suggest buying hay. Hay will break down and compost much better and also be easier for the birds to turn under while scratching. I really think you'll still have increased smell if you use straw. I had some that I used in my nesting boxes but my habit is to dump out any poop-covered nesting box material into the main coop and even a few handfuls of straw increased the smell in the coop because it holds the manure up instead of allowing it to be turned under to compost.

Another thought is to get lawn clippings from neighbors. I asked an older gentlemen neighbor of mine if my boys and i could rake his leaves and he was thrilled! Some garbage removal places also store the lawn clippings they pick up and let people come to get them for free. Of course you do want to dry everything completely before putting it in storage. You do not want any mold in their bedding.

Good luck on your new endeavor, though!

I don't understand how you can manage 24" ? I have a walk-in coop and could not navigate in 24 inches of shavings and poop! My chickens would be under it! Really, do they walk on top of all that! Someone called it "fluffy" which sounds like they would be swimming in it?? Or if it packs down that defeats the purpose. ???

 

[Beekissed]

I get moisture around the edges in a rain also but have learned to leave it alone. I've found that the middle of my coop gets too dry and in a rain that doesn't change...but the outside edges get a good bit of moisture. If I leave it, the bugs seem to migrate there and the worms come up into the bedding there. Within a couple of days of rain, the chickens are digging out the edges and corners of my coop after those insects and worms, throwing the wet bedding to the middle of the coop...leaving the edges and corners open to the air and they dry off. Meanwhile, the moisture deposited into the middle of the coop is being wicked into the bottom of the dry litter, which must then attract more bugs because a few days later the chickens go after the bugs there, tossing the litter back to the edges and corners of the coop. The litter has then been effectively dried out sufficiently but moisture has been distributed evenly...it's perfect!

Before I learned that, I was placing dry litter from the middle of the coop over the wet litter at the edges to absorb the moisture...only to find the birds had flung it all out in search of bugs under that wet litter, destroying all my work. So, now I leave the DL alone except to very lightly throw a little dry litter on top of feces under the roosts....and when I look under that a few days later, the poop has disappeared....the bugs will come up and get it quicker if they can hide while doing so. Much like when you feed earthworms...they will eat scraps quicker if you just place them under the top layer of soil so they won't have to be exposed to eat them.

 

[beverly evans]

Thank you so much for your input, Daisy8s! I am feeling a heck of a lot more "can-do" about this deep litter project now.

It's ironic that the weather has recently warmed up considerably: I'm all fired up to place the litter, and today was in the seventies. Well, all of the necessary parts are now in place. I've laid in a stock of wood shavings plus two bales of straw (maybe straw mixed into twice as much shavings won't be as much of a disaster; goodness knows the chickens EAT whatever I put down, and straw is less scary in that regard). One side of the barn has a few inches of shavings in place, which the birds are having fun with. It is very nice to have something to sop up the manure and the smell has improved considerably.

I do wish we had more trees, or that hubby would do like he keeps saying he'll do, and get the dratted lawnmower fixed. We have no lawn as such, just a lovely lot of weeds that could at least act as chopped bedding. But oh well--that's the big secret of keeping chickens: they constantly inspire bigger and better projects "for the sake of the girls," and you end up planting trees and grass and a giant vegetable garden and turning an expanse of "nothin'-much" into a pretty little yard!

Hi, Like you I had a barren backyard that over the years the dogs had killed all the grass and the huge Hackberry that had shaded the whole yard had fallen over and died. (The neighbors, not wanting baby hackberrys popping up in their yard, had cut all that grew over their yard off, and being lopsided, after a few good rains it gave way.) Suddenly it became important to have trees, bushes and edible plants for the chickens! They must be able to hide from hawks all year long and have things to eat from the yard. So I have planted all kinds of plants and vines, but only now am going to get trees. I am 72 so have to think of fast growing trees and very drought tolerant ones as well since they take our watering privileges away in the summer's hottest months. I used to at least mow the weeds and it looked okay after, but now I have these strange little holes all over the yard such that my yard kinda looks like the surface of the moon, you know, all pock-marked? I made them the loveliest spot to dust bathe. but would they use it? He-- no! Good luck on your yard. I really have to get busy on mine if I want to enter our meet ups funky coop tour in the spring. : )

 

[beverly evans]

I get moisture around the edges in a rain also but have learned to leave it alone. I've found that the middle of my coop gets too dry and in a rain that doesn't change...but the outside edges get a good bit of moisture. If I leave it, the bugs seem to migrate there and the worms come up into the bedding there. Within a couple of days of rain, the chickens are digging out the edges and corners of my coop after those insects and worms, throwing the wet bedding to the middle of the coop...leaving the edges and corners open to the air and they dry off. Meanwhile, the moisture deposited into the middle of the coop is being wicked into the bottom of the dry litter, which must then attract more bugs because a few days later the chickens go after the bugs there, tossing the litter back to the edges and corners of the coop. The litter has then been effectively dried out sufficiently but moisture has been distributed evenly...it's perfect!

Before I learned that, I was placing dry litter from the middle of the coop over the wet litter at the edges to absorb the moisture...only to find the birds had flung it all out in search of bugs under that wet litter, destroying all my work. So, now I leave the DL alone except to very lightly throw a little dry litter on top of feces under the roosts....and when I look under that a few days later, the poop has disappeared....the bugs will come up and get it quicker if they can hide while doing so. Much like when you feed earthworms...they will eat scraps quicker if you just place them under the top layer of soil so they won't have to be exposed to eat them.

THX Bee, how's your weather? First day this season I have to put on a jacket to stay outside. My cx don't do much scratching in the coop, mostly outside. I have feed inside up on round pavers so they don't get so much trash in it. If I deep littered anything like what she does the feed would be covered in shavings and poop! : (