struggling with DLM in small raised floor coop

[ptone]

I love the concept of Deep Litter, but am struggling to get it going in my coop.

I have a raised coop with a fiberglass floor. I put in about 6-8 inches of shavings initially in the 5 x 7 coop for 5 birds and it stayed manageable and odor free for some time. It stayed very dry however, which meant no odor, but lots of dust. I've composted for years and knew without some moisture it would never break down. However adding moisture results in ammonia smell, and then it dries out again. Without being able to easily keep a steady moisture level the bio-breakdown never really gets going (I tried seeding it with a couple handfuls from my worm bin).

Its amazing how much water I have to keep adding to keep it even slightly moist. I'm about to give up on it for this particular coop design location. I think the raised floor, warm dry climate (S. Cal) and good ventilation make it hard to keep the composting going right. If I bail I'll just go to changing out 50% of the shavings every couple months.

Feedback? Anyone get DLM to actually kick in with a small raised coop?

-Preston

 

[chookchick]

I don't really think it is possible to do a true "deep litter method" in a small raised coop. With my small coop, I cleaned out most of the poo every few days (didn't have a dropping board then), and completely changed out the litter every month. Litter was about 2-3 inches thick. It is really important to not have any fumes in such a small space. You can take the litter that you remove, and compost it outside the coop, or I just throw it directly on the garden. A true deep litter needs to be about 1' thick and on a dirt floor.

 

[LynneP]

I agree, and I think spot-cleaning is a better choice when you have an elevated floor. The deep-litter method *can* be used with a floor but it was designed for dirt floors in the beginning and I'd say that if you have to add water ( never a great idea with chickens) that the coop is begging you for spot-cleaning rather than the deep-litter method.

 

[CityChook]

Quote:
First,

from Minnesota!

Do I understand that you want to compost the deep litter INSIDE the coop? Without a dirt floor, I don't think it's going to work. Even with a healthy amount of chickens, I just don't think there's enough nitrogen in their poo to balance the carbon in the wood. Especially if youi have 6-8 inches of litter. And you're exactly right -- if you add necessary moisture for decomposition, then you get ammonia (and health problems, so don't do that). Just my $.02.

I don't really think that it's a good idea to have compost under the chickens anyways. Remember that it's a decaying process and there are microbes and bacteria involved. It's probably better to keep the shavings from the chickens and manage a separate compost pile.

That does not mean that the shavings can't be composted. I have a pile of old shavings in my backyard that I compost for 1 year before putting it on the garden. I have been known to put 6 mo. old shavings as mulch around my flowers, but only use well broken down compost in the vegetables. Anyways, I have to add a fair amount of grass over the summer to even begin to get the shavings to start decomposing. And I keep it fairly moist. Turning it frequently helps as well.

Good luck!

 

[patandchickens]

What they said. If it isn't working, don't do it

(And I would be pretty surprised if you COULD get harmless composting going in your situation, so don't feel bad!)

Try other management approaches til you find one that works. If you don't have a droppings board, you might consider installing one and cleaning it daily and see how you feel about that -- you get the benefit of much longer-lived bedding AND better air quality, at the expense of literally about 10 seconds of work per day.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[poultrygeist]

My coop is 5x6 total area and deep litter works great and lasts over 6 months. The coops floor is raised 2.5 ' off the ground. Your defeating the purpose of the deep litter by adding water

 

[darkmatter]

Quote:
I disagree, I have been using composting deep litter in the coop for over 15 years. I clean it out in the Spring to put on the garden and add grass clippings, pine needles/cones, and wood chips and whatever all summer long. There are microbes and bacteria everywhere in the environment---Its my belief that aerobic compost has benign organisms. If you allow anaerobic compacted compost, you get the nasty ammonia smell and toxic organisms. To keep the compost aerobic, I will fork it over if it starts to look matted or crusted over. I also toss a little scratch in now and then so the chickens do the turn over and mix.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Quote:
First,

from Minnesota!

Do I understand that you want to compost the deep litter INSIDE the coop? Without a dirt floor, I don't think it's going to work. Even with a healthy amount of chickens, I just don't think there's enough nitrogen in their poo to balance the carbon in the wood. Especially if youi have 6-8 inches of litter. And you're exactly right -- if you add necessary moisture for decomposition, then you get ammonia (and health problems, so don't do that). Just my $.02.

I don't really think that it's a good idea to have compost under the chickens anyways. Remember that it's a decaying process and there are microbes and bacteria involved. It's probably better to keep the shavings from the chickens and manage a separate compost pile.

That does not mean that the shavings can't be composted. I have a pile of old shavings in my backyard that I compost for 1 year before putting it on the garden. I have been known to put 6 mo. old shavings as mulch around my flowers, but only use well broken down compost in the vegetables. Anyways, I have to add a fair amount of grass over the summer to even begin to get the shavings to start decomposing. And I keep it fairly moist. Turning it frequently helps as well.

Good luck!

I'm with you. I compost it after it's out of the coop. In the coop, I toss DE and a handful of scratch once a week and they turn it for me.

 

[ptone]

Quote:
6 months is not really deep litter. For compost to be active it needs a balance of water, nitrogen, and carbon. There can be good and bad organisms present in compost, but a healthy compost can be plenty "safe"

In the end I'm bailing on DLM. My environment is just too dry. droppings were just desiccating and no bio activity was happening.

So I think I can get 4+ months on a load of shavings in my current setup, and I'll just add droppings board under the roost.

-Preston

 

[SurprisingWoman]

I use a modified DLM in my small coop/tractor with my five girls.

I change the shavings a few times a year. I use shavings to help keep the humidity down and because there isn't a way I can put in a droppings board.

The shavings have kept my girls from getting frostbite and it keeps things dry and fresh smelling. I take the shavings out and put them in the compost (or in the winter on top of the snow for traction.)

I have four to six inches of shavings in the coop at any given time. I am actually very happy with my coop and how it is working.

HTH