Results from First Year with Deep Litter Method

[yolksonus]

This is such a great thread and thank you to everyone who has contributed. I wanted to use a poop board in our coop but hubby wants to do the DLM. The way the coop is being built though, I would be able to reach the poop board without crawling into the coop as it is on the far wall. So DLM it is. I have a couple of questions though. It sounds like the climate makes a difference. We live in NH where we have cold cold winters, usually wet spring, and most humidity for a couple of months in July, August, and September. Will the DLM still work? We have sand in our run....so I take it we should cover the sand with dried leaves and grass clippings? We have been using pine shavings in the brooder- is it not a good idea to use this in the coop along with the dirt/leaf/grass clippings layers!

Thanks so much for all the info!!

 

[amenfarm]

Yep, it will work. If necessary you can mist the DLM if you need to keep the composting going. I use both methods, poop hammock ( was boards) and dlm throughout the coop.

 

[yolksonus]

Thanks! I've been doing a lot of reading on this as I am a newbie and I think it's what we are going to do.
This site has been extremely helpful!!

 

[monkcat]

So, I'm sitting in the chicken coop watching the chickens and the rain. I'm so loving the DLM. As you can see, it had trained enough that water is standing in parts of the pen. But most of the pen will be dry, at least on top shortly after the rain stops. And as beekissed mentions in her video, the chickens love going to the moist sections and finding bugs that are running ino the coop in the moist areas. So much fun watching them scratch and forage.

 

[Beekissed]

This is such a great thread and thank you to everyone who has contributed. I wanted to use a poop board in our coop but hubby wants to do the DLM. The way the coop is being built though, I would be able to reach the poop board without crawling into the coop as it is on the far wall. So DLM it is. I have a couple of questions though. It sounds like the climate makes a difference. We live in NH where we have cold cold winters, usually wet spring, and most humidity for a couple of months in July, August, and September. Will the DLM still work? We have sand in our run....so I take it we should cover the sand with dried leaves and grass clippings? We have been using pine shavings in the brooder- is it not a good idea to use this in the coop along with the dirt/leaf/grass clippings layers!

Thanks so much for all the info!!

Sounds like my climate here and it works great here in WV. I'd remove the sand if you can...worms and soft shelled bugs don't much like to come up through sand to reach the manure....too gritty and sharp. If you can't remove it, just mix it good with the rest of the materials until it's overpowered and finally disperses amongst the soil that is made by the decomposing materials...if that can be accomplished. Not sure how long something like that would take...guess it would depend on how deep the sand is.

You can use pine shavings but I wouldn't rely heavily upon them as they take a long time to decompose. I'd intersperse the pine in with finer particles like the leaves and such. The key to good decomposition is variety in the size and density of the particles and the ability to retain moisture in the bottom layers.

 

[monkcat]

My flock has been outside in their coop for about 4 weeks. I had a fairly thin layer of litter to begin with. This morning I put down a good layer and they are going crazy scratching and catching bugs! It should be pretty trampled down in an hour or two! What was raked up was all sorts of leaf matter. Everything from whole leaves, to broken leaves on the bottom of the forest floor that are in the decay process. Leaf mold in there and lots of pine straw. Everything all mixed together. It's like a smorgasbord of insects in there for them. So happy to have found this thread and decided to try it.

Thank you Beekissed for sharing so freely with us!

 

[skychickwen]

Hello! I'm new to the chicken thing and really enjoying it...I had no idea I'd love these girls so much! Here's my (possibly silly) question: My coop is built and ready to go, but both the little chicken door and the big "clean out" door in the back are pretty close to the floor of the raised coop. I am interested in the DLM and looking for ideas to keep the DL in the coop! I can add a bit of wood as a "lip" to the big back door to keep the litter in, but if I add a lip to the chicken door would they jump over it to get in and out of the run? The nest boxes are also right along the floor…can I just extend the litter in to the boxes? How shallow of a buildup can I get away with and still enjoy the DLM benefits? I'm wondering if I'll have to forgo it in the coop and just stick with the run...

Thanks to everyone for making this such a friendly and informative site! It's been a real wealth of information as I've been getting this project rolling!

 

[amenfarm]

I have a lip at both of my big doors, just to keep the litter in. I haven't done a pop door yet. I would say to should be able to add a ramp, if necessary you could add a block or ramp to that lip of the pop door.

 

[yolksonus]

Our pop up door for the chicks is 6 inches from the coop floor- we are Hoping that is enough. We will also have a lip I. Fro t of the main 'clean out' door- maybe 10 inches high but not sure yet.

 

[skychickwen]

Thank you! I guess if some falls out into the run when the door opens it won't be a big deal…I just don't want DL to block my cool auto chicken door!