turning litter and bedding into compost

[patandchickens]

calcium carbonate is the technical name for the kind of lime that is being recommended.

Pat

 

[Moabite]

Quote:
You need Calcium Carbonate

What does the Calcium Carbonate do?

I would only use Crushed or Ground. It should be a light brown color. Not white lime. That could burn their little feet.

The calcium carbonate neutralizes the acidity of your soil. (The biproduct of mixing CaCo3 with acid is salt.) A large chunk of Indiana is made of Ordovician Limestone. The best crinoid fossils in the world have come from Montgomery Co. and they are preserved in lime. Limestone is made of bazillions on tiny algae skeletons that settled out of the ocean and sank to the floor similar to the diatoms that make DE except DE is SiO2 (quartz). Animal bones are also made of calcium Carbonate. Limestone is organic (fossil), and that is why we where hoping to find it on Mars.

Before adding lime to your garden, you should do a simple litmus test to see if it is necessary at all.

 

[Moabite]

Quick lime is CaCo3 that has been baked at high temps to give of Co2 to make CaO (Calcium Oxide). Do not use quick lime or builder's lime.

 

[slc]

Each time we add new shavings to our deep litter I sprinkle some compost starter on the used litter first. I have had no smell in two years. Last fall when I cleaned out all the litter, the deeper layers where already composted.

 

[Sinfonian]

SLC, that's how DLM is supposed to work, but for some reason, most don't get those results. That's why I'm scared of it. I may build my coop with that potential in mind, but since my coop will be right next to my compost bins, I hope just to let the shavings etc. compost there. I love the idea of letting the composting action heat the coop in the winter, but even then 140 degrees sounds hot in a coop. That's how hot my compost pile gets after I turn it.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

What does the Calcium Carbonate do?

Calcium Carbonate is LIME = Safe

Calcium Hydroxide is HYDRATED LIME = Caustic when wet​

 

[Sinfonian]

I think I missed this the first time I read this thread... Did you mean you're using the DLM with DE? I've only heard of bedding being pine, leaves, straw/hay, sand, peat, etc. I've never heard of DE for bedding without something else that's compostable. DE is essentially rock, right? I'm confused.

 

[Redley]

Can you add pine needles into the deep litter method with the pine shavings? I have a TON of pine needles.

 

[mordarlar]

We just added a damp shovelful of dirt to our deep bedding and it has started breaking down faster. The dirt has the necessary bacteria to degrade the material into a usable compost. We just throw scratch down once a day and the chickens keep it all mixed. The bedding is also warmer since we added the dirt.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
No no, it is popular among many BYCers to add DE *to* a deep-litter pack made of other normal materials (shavings, straw, etc), the intent being control of moisture and odors.

I do not think it's generally a good approach myself, but, free country.

Pat