Sand vs deep litter method??

[Ragfrey]

Louisiana
8x8 coop
16x24 run
12 pullets coming
already have river silt (sandy) floor.

I am new, finishing up the build of my coop/run. Been doing a lot of research trying to figure it all out and what’s the best.

Read a lot about DLM and using sand as the floor.

I wonder what the pro’s/con’s of each are?

Why would someone pick DLM over sand and vice versa?

Sand seems a lot simpler but with some extra work- DLM just kinda takes care of itself??

I have read and researched DLM but cannot find a 1-2-3 step by step instruction on how to create it, ingredients to use and maintenance required- does somebody have access to a good instructional link?

You experts out there….why would you choose one over the other?

 

[Evadig]

No help, just saw you’re from South LA and wanted to say hi - it’s my favorite place in the country.

 

[Ragfrey]

Bump.

 

[Birdinhand]

I have not used sand, but have the impression that it’s easier to keep ver tidy, if that is a high priority for you.

I’ve given up on tidy. I’ve used DLM for almost a decade, my motivations for it have evolved as I’ve gotten more into gardening. I believe from a “animals make is human” angle, deep litter offers the non free range coop a way to provide activity and interest to the bird that plays right into their primary instinct, scratching and pecking. The way I manage the content of the deep litter is now squarely directed at how I wish to create a soil amendment for my gardening that is truly “black gold”. For my layer hens,I add native sandy soil, wood chips, weeds from the garden and any soiled hay from the layer boxes. I take advantage of the fact that the chickens are like rototillers/shredders and a source of the perfect balance of NPK in their manure for growing the veggies we all like to eat. Surely the birds get the occasional worm/bug from the bit of soil that is left on the weed’s rootball, and this gives them all the motivation to continuously turn the soil. The aerobic micro biome that thrives in this mix with all the turning that the chickens do, completely eliminates the odor of their droppings. I more frequently swap out the litter under their roost and exchange it with the soils from the larger run to keep the amonia more well managed. As needed I take from the run and throw the litter, with the more concentrated droppings from my meat bird grow outs and place it into an insulated tumbler composter and compost it for about a month, with peak temps in the 130-150f range, killing all weed seeds. From there, the compost is used to amend our fruit trees and veggie garden. The outcome is an especially valuable fertilizer, having broken down the wood chips into little nitrogen sponges, rather than the nitrogen sinks. We get some pretty epic veggies out of this, along with happy chickens and an odor free coop!

 

[Sally PB]

I've read several times from several people that sand works really well -- if it stays dry. It dries out the poop, which is then easy to sift out. If sand gets wet, then it stinks to high heaven.

In my run, I have the dirt that was my yard, wood chips, and leaves. It's covered, but I empty the waterers to keep it from being dusty dry. Lots of poop, but it only smells if a chicken has just dropped a cecal poop.

It's been a lot more humid lately, but my run smells like the woods. A nice, damp earth smell. I add buckets of weeds from the garden, and the chickens love to scratch through them. The weeds work their way into the dirt/wood chips/leaves. It all breaks down into compost. In the spring, I shovel out lots of excellent compost for my garden.

 

[Ragfrey]

@Birdinhand
@Sally PB

Thanks so much for your response!
You are significantly helping a newbie!

 

[Sally PB]

Thanks so much for your response!
You are significantly helping a newbie!

You're very welcome! All of us were newbies at one time, so feel free to ask questions. The knowledge pool here on BYC is wide and deep.