Topic of the Week - Coop Bedding and Waste Management; Deep Litter Method etc.

[FlyingNunFarm]

- Bedding in the coop: What do you use?
​I use sand in the summer and do a daily sift like I giant litter box. They have pine shavings in the nest boxes. My coop is elevated so in the cold Ohio winters I use pine shavings on the floor too. I scoop what I can and turn the rest.

- How deep do you let it get?
I've never measured. As it gets scooped and packed down then turned again I add more.

- How often do you clean it out?
In summer I sift daily into a few buckets. Those get emptied as needed. I put pine shavings for winter right on top of the sand. Once the weather will be steadily warm I clean all the pine shavings out. Then add sand again.

- What is your coop floor? (Earth, wood, protected wood.)
Wood. Painted with something, pre existing structure so no idea.

- Do you use a poop board or something similar? If "yes", tell us more?
No. I've thought about it but my birds go to the center rafter to roost. Any type of poop catching device would be a face height.

- Anyone use the deep litter method? Tell us about your experience?
I guess what I do in winter is sort of deep litter.

- What products, beside bedding materials, do you use to keep smells/moisture under control? (For example lime, sweet PDZ)
I add sweet PDZ to known poop zones. I sprinkle it around with the sand in summer and add it while turning and adding more shavings in winter.

 

[RustedOak]

Bedding in the coop: What do you use?
Anything compostable: fall leaves, grass clippings, garden waste, kitchen scraps, etc.

How deep do you let it get?
As deep as I can, currently about 14 inches

How often do you clean it out?
Whenever I need compost for the garden throughout the year and majorly in the fall so I can start over with leaves

What is your coop floor? (Earth, wood, protected wood.)
Open air hoop coop with dirt floor

Do you use a poop board or something similar? If "yes", tell us more?
No, it all falls into the deep litter and they're constantly scratching and turning it. I throw in scratch and meal worms from time to time to encourage them to scratch more.

Anyone use the deep litter method? Tell us about your experience?
Absolutely and I'll never use another method. It eliminated the need to turn compost and clean out the coop while disposing of all of my 'waste'. When I do clean it out in the fall, it's when I need the compost for topping off garden beds anyways so it's no hassle!

What products, beside bedding materials, do you use to keep smells/moisture under control? (For example lime, sweet PDZ)
None are necessary. Just smells earthy. I live in the city and my coop is right next to the fence. My neighbor was shocked that they had never smelled them. Moisture isn't a problem because the carbon content is high and the litter is deep.

 

[dunnmom]

We use pine shavings as coop bedding. We clean it as needed, about once every 1 or 2 months. Basically, if it stinks I clean it, if I can see a lot of poo but it doesn't stink, I turn the bedding, or clean it. My 6 girls aren't too nasty in the coop, so it stays pretty clean. We spread the shavings out to about 4-6 in. thick. We don't ever just amend the bedding. If the girls don't do a good enough job turning the bedding and I see a bunch of poo on the top, I turn it for them about midway through the cycle. The coop floor is solid wood with Thompsons water seal over it. The poo does not stick to the Thompson's so far, so we don't see a need for a poo board. There's always a fine layer of sand from the run, PDZ and poo/shaving dust at the bottom when we clean so that probably helps keep poo from sticking, too. PDZ is awesome stuff! It works like magic to keep the ammonia down. We dumped a lot of poo'd shavings in our vegetable garden over the winter, but stopped this week as we will be turning the soil for planting soon. Now it will be used in our flower gardens. My girls love coop cleaning day, and immediately get in the fresh bedding to kick it around and make nests. They nearly always lay an egg or two in their newly made nests, and I usually have to redirect them to lay in the nest boxes.

 

[delor]

Thank you for all the advice. I have one baby chick I saved four days ago. It is so sweet but stinky. At this time I have the chick in a ups box and clean it often. I have been feeding the chick wild bird feed that I give to the cardinals; I also let the chick out to walk around when I let my two dogs out to do their business. I plan to build a small coop on wheels like the one my son in law built for his chickens. He just moves the coop around the yard and when he is home lets them out for a while. At night calls them in and locks the door. It's pretty cool. Thanks again.

 

[CrazyPetunias]

I currently have 3 girls and plan to add 4 more this spring. The most I have had in the coop at one time is 10 chickens.

Bedding in the coop: What do you use?

pine shavings in the coop, I use grass clippings and cyprus mulch in their run. I found the cyprus mulch works really well to keep the girls clean when the ground is muddy.

- How deep do you let it get?

I usually start around 3-5" and go up from there

- How often do you clean it out?

In the summer I clean it out about every 2 months. From December through March, I do DLM.

- What is your coop floor? (Earth, wood, protected wood.)

My coop is a 7x7 plastic shed. Everything is plastic including the floor.

- Do you use a poop board or something similar? If "yes", tell us more?

no

- Anyone use the deep litter method? Tell us about your experience?

In the winter, I turn the shavings under the roost area as needed and just keep adding new shavings about once a month. It gets pretty cold here in the winter so the mulch on the bottom actually freezes solid (no smell). In March it starts to thaw. When it starts to smell, I know its time to clean it all out.

- What products, beside bedding materials, do you use to keep smells/moisture under control? (For example lime, sweet PDZ)

none

 

[sumi]

Thank you for all the advice. I have one baby chick I saved four days ago. It is so sweet but stinky. At this time I have the chick in a ups box and clean it often. I have been feeding the chick wild bird feed that I give to the cardinals; I also let the chick out to walk around when I let my two dogs out to do their business. I plan to build a small coop on wheels like the one my son in law built for his chickens. He just moves the coop around the yard and when he is home lets them out for a while. At night calls them in and locks the door. It's pretty cool. Thanks again.

Welcome to BYC @delor ! If I can make a suggestion, rather feed the little one chick starter crumbs. You should be able to get a smallish bag at a Tractor Supply or a good pet shop. Also, if you can, get another chick or two to keep the the lone chick company. I found from experience that they are much happier when they have company of their own species to hang out with. For ideas and plans for your coop (it's known here as a "tractor", have a look in the Coops tab.

 

[Sandy80]

What is the advantage you see using the pine shavings in the coop vs straw? Do you take or scoop out the poo in between cleanings or turn it over like in deep litter method?

I live in upstate NY - this winter has been really cold & snowy. My feeling was the straw provided more warmth than the shavings. Your experience?

 

[Crazy QuailLady]

Keep the chick warm! They can't regulate their body temp very well until they're nearly fully feathered. Get some chick starter crumbles instead of bird food. Birds need grit in their crop to grind up the seed hulls, and chicks haven't had time to get the grit built up in their crops. Good luck with your baby and have fun with it. I had a chicken chick by itself for a while. When it was a chick, she would sit on our shoulders. After she grew up, she would occasionally come up to sit on our shoulders again. We learned to wear an old shirt over whatever we were wearing so we wouldn't get droppings on our "good" clothes.

 

[Beekissed]

One thing any chicken keeper will tell you is that chickens can get messy and keeping the coop clean(ish) and not too smelly can be a challenge, especially over winter, when many of our birds prefer to spend their time indoors. This week I'd like to hear you all's thoughts on coop bedding, waste management etc. Specifically:

- Bedding in the coop: What do you use?
- How deep do you let it get?
- How often do you clean it out?
- What is your coop floor? (Earth, wood, protected wood.)
- Do you use a poop board or something similar? If "yes", tell us more?
- Anyone use the deep litter method? Tell us about your experience?
- What products, beside bedding materials, do you use to keep smells/moisture under control? (For example lime, sweet PDZ)



For a complete list of our Topic of the Week threads, see here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

1. Leaves, twigs, pine needles, pine cones, straw, hay, garden waste, wood chips, bark, hair, kitchen scraps, etc.

2. Up to 3 ft. under the roosts and around a foot in the rest of the coop.

3. Never. I clean out the composted materials that is moved to the front of the coop by the chickens and use that material for the garden, but I never fully clean out the coop.

4. Soil

5. Nope.

6. Yes, I use the DL method...it's been GREAT. As soon as I learned to work it well, it has been the best addition to the coop ever. No smells, no flies, good and rich compost being produced, added warmth for the flock in the winter. Soft and healthy footing for the flock all year round. Clean eggs in the nest.

7. No products used, just good ventilation and good management of the DL.

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

What is the advantage you see using the pine shavings in the coop vs straw? Do you take or scoop out the poo in between cleanings or turn it over like in deep litter method?

I live in upstate NY - this winter has been really cold & snowy. My feeling was the straw provided more warmth than the shavings. Your experience?

I use shavings in winter and both scoop and turn them. I have completely frozen poops that I can pick right off the top. What I can't pick I turn. I add as needed. When it gets low in shavings or the weather gets colder.