gonzo&hispeeps :
Am I doing something wrong? I cleaned out the coop in the fall, put de on the floor, and 1 bag of the wood shavings down, with more DE. I add a bag of pine shavings every month, and add DE every 2 weeks. all this for 27 chickens (5 are bantams), in a 10x12 yard barn which I converted to a coop. And the amonia smell was bad today! Theres vents on both front and back for ventilation.. Am I doing something wrong? The litter was even wet! Could it be all the rain we've had? What should I do? I went out this morning, fluffed up alot of the litter and added alot of DE, mixed it in, and add more shavings.. Anybody have any ideas on what I'm doing wrong or need to do?
My DLM is working fine, it has been six months so far, litter is dry, smell is minimal and chickens are happy.
Questions:
1. What kind of floor do you have in your barn/coop? Mine is a painted wood floor and dry as a bone.
2. Do your chickens roost all in the same corner of the coop? Maybe dropping boards would help control the problem.
3. How deep is your litter? Mine is 6-8" deep, but I also clean out under the roosts every month or two to remove the top layer of dirty litter and then rake the older litter under the roost and then add the fresh shavings near the nest boxes. Clean entrance litter to the nest boxes and used litter under the roost bars.
4. If your litter is too wet and smelly, then it may be time to remove it and start over again. Some of us can go a whole year and some of us might have to change it out every 6 months. Obviously, your nose will tell you when to do it.
My chickens don't get wet, they have a completely covered run.
Hope this helps,
Hugh
