What to do if I can't clean my coop for 3 months?

[citychicks99]

Yes, a dirt floor is just fine. But it really MUST have an anti-dig apron to make it proof against digging predators.

This coop has a dirt floor and a hardware-cloth apron.



My article: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/using-deep-bedding-in-a-small-coop.76343/

One of the major reasons for a Deep Bedding system to fail is that there are too many chickens for the amount of space/volume of bedding. If the dog house isn't providing generous space (the usually recommended minimum for any backyard chicken is 4 square feet per hen), then they produce too much manure and too much moisture so that no type of bedding can possibly keep up with it.

Other reasons for the system to fail are excessive moisture and insufficient ventilation -- especially top-level ventilation right at the roof level.

Would rain or snow be an issue for the dirt floor?

I have hardware cloth ready so I will install that when my brother's done.

I think there might not be enough ventilation in the dog house. I hope they would just sleep in the shed. It would save me so much money on bedding.

They aren't roosting currently though. Not sure if they'll sleep on the dirt floor but I'll leave some boards out if they want to roost.

 

[3KillerBs]

Would rain or snow be an issue for the dirt floor?

I have hardware cloth ready so I will install that when my brother's done.

I think there might not be enough ventilation in the dog house. I hope they would just sleep in the shed. It would save me so much money on bedding.

They aren't roosting currently though. Not sure if they'll sleep on the dirt floor but I'll leave some boards out if they want to roost.

You need to make sure that water doesn't run into the coop. That almost always creates a MESS. In my open air system a little bit isn't a disaster, but it's undesirable.

Ventilation is key -- at least 1 square foot per adult, standard-sized hen or enough that the temperature and humidity inside are the same as it is outside.

How old are your birds? They usually start roosting about when they start laying.

You can train them to roost by sitting them up onto the roost each night until they get the hang of it.

 

[Sydney65]

I have two. The first one is labrum repair. I believe that's the arthroscopic kind. The second one is PAO. That one is more intensive where they cut into my bone, move it to the right place, and hold it up with screws. So I think that one might take a little longer for me to heal.



Thanks for asking! My doctor called me a week before my scheduled date to let me know that they had to postpone my surgery because there was a shortage of hospital beds due to the rise in Covid. I'm rescheduled for March 4th.

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My brother is building the chickens a bigger coop the size of a shed. Is it okay if the grass and soil is their floor? He didn't want to add a floor for some reason. The chickens have been coming out in the yard during the day anyway. They're currently sleeping in a converted doghouse and we're going to move it in the new house in case they still want to sleep in it. I've been trying the deep litter method in the doggy house but I think I did it wrong because I didn't start out with enough pine shavings I think. There's an ammonia smell to it. I added a lot of shavings and it would smell great at first but as soon as I turn the whole pile the ammonia smell would come back. Does that mean I need to start over? I have to go get them more shavings and I might put the whole bag in there or half a bag in there along with a bunch of sweet PDZ.

Not the whole bag. Pdz reduces odor and absorbs some moisture. Sprinkle a couple of cups in every couple of weeks or more, depending on moisture/weather.
If he puts drop boards under roosts, clean up will be a breeze & coop stays cleaner longer. I clean drop boards daily and toss in a bit more bedding every 3-4 wks (low occupancy right now).
https://the-chicken-chick.com/the-deep-litter-method-of-waste/#:~:text=THE DON'Ts,the initial base litter material.

You want to make sure rain isn't seeping in. There's no way I could have a dirt floor, as my yard doesn't drain well. My coop is built on 10' runners to keep them up away from it.

 

[Jajika]

I use deep, very deep, shredded wood. It dries up the poop and I haven't had to change it in over two months. You want it to be at least four inches deep. The chickens scratch their poop in it and it dries. No smell, no muss and no fuss. Works great. You can easily leave it for three months and even longer. Very clean.

 

[Jajika]

It's me again. Check out this link about deep bedding. I'm really happy with it. I also had hip surgery (replacement) and three months is the magic number in terms of getting back to all your physical activities. Good luck
https://the-chicken-chick.com/the-deep-litter-method-of-waste/

 

[gtaus]

It's me again. Check out this link about deep bedding. I'm really happy with it. I also had hip surgery (replacement) and three months is the magic number in terms of getting back to all your physical activities. Good luck
https://the-chicken-chick.com/the-deep-litter-method-of-waste/

Here are the terms I try to use when talking about the Deep Litter System as compared to Deep Bedding. Although similar, they are not the same systems.

Deep Litter System = active composting in place of carbon and nitrogen sources inside the coop. It uses additional moisture to create the heat process for composting.

Dry Deep Bedding = Basically a deep litter system but without any moisture added to create an active composting in place. The bedding remains as dry as possible. The chicken poo will dry out and work its way down the bottom to the bedding, but very little to no composting actually takes place. No heat generated as no composting is taking place.

Although I think the deep litter would be great in the proper setup, I use almost the same type of system except that I keep everything dry. I have been told my system is a deep bedding setup because I keep everything dry in the coop and it does not compost in place. I clean out my coop twice a year, throwing the coop bedding out into the chicken run where it is exposed to rain and will start to compost once outside. I typically start with about 4 inches of dry wood chips (this year I am using shredded paper) and continue to add fresh layers of bedding on top of the old bedding as the winter progresses. By springtime, I will have about 12 inches deep of dry bedding in the coop. After the snow melts in the spring, I will empty out the coop bedding and start over until late fall, when I will clean the coop again.

Although I clean out my coop bedding every 6 months, I think I could go even longer. Winters in northern Minnesota are long and I cannot clean out the frozen poo until spring. But adding fresh layers of bedding keeps everything looking clean and I don't have any issues with bad smells all winter long.

I find that if I want any particular area to get a good turning over, I will throw scratch and other treats in that area and the chickens will scratch and peck the bedding to eat the food, doing the work of fluffing up the bedding instead of me.

Also, I built my coop to hold up to 12 inches of bedding/litter using linoleum going up the sides of the coop. The bottom of my pop door is 12 inches off the floor, so I have a little ramp inside the coop for the chickens to walk out the pop door. By springtime, the ramp is pretty much buried under all the bedding.

OP wants a break from cleaning the coop, then I think either system would be the best way to go. Works great for me.

 

[citychicks99]

Here are the terms I try to use when talking about the Deep Litter System as compared to Deep Bedding. Although similar, they are not the same systems.

Deep Litter System = active composting in place of carbon and nitrogen sources inside the coop. It uses additional moisture to create the heat process for composting.

Dry Deep Bedding = Basically a deep litter system but without any moisture added to create an active composting in place. The bedding remains as dry as possible. The chicken poo will dry out and work its way down the bottom to the bedding, but very little to no composting actually takes place. No heat generated as no composting is taking place.

Although I think the deep litter would be great in the proper setup, I use almost the same type of system except that I keep everything dry. I have been told my system is a deep bedding setup because I keep everything dry in the coop and it does not compost in place. I clean out my coop twice a year, throwing the coop bedding out into the chicken run where it is exposed to rain and will start to compost once outside. I typically start with about 4 inches of dry wood chips (this year I am using shredded paper) and continue to add fresh layers of bedding on top of the old bedding as the winter progresses. By springtime, I will have about 12 inches deep of dry bedding in the coop. After the snow melts in the spring, I will empty out the coop bedding and start over until late fall, when I will clean the coop again.

Although I clean out my coop bedding every 6 months, I think I could go even longer. Winters in northern Minnesota are long and I cannot clean out the frozen poo until spring. But adding fresh layers of bedding keeps everything looking clean and I don't have any issues with bad smells all winter long.

I find that if I want any particular area to get a good turning over, I will throw scratch and other treats in that area and the chickens will scratch and peck the bedding to eat the food, doing the work of fluffing up the bedding instead of me.

Also, I built my coop to hold up to 12 inches of bedding/litter using linoleum going up the sides of the coop. The bottom of my pop door is 12 inches off the floor, so I have a little ramp inside the coop for the chickens to walk out the pop door. By springtime, the ramp is pretty much buried under all the bedding.

OP wants a break from cleaning the coop, then I think either system would be the best way to go. Works great for me.

I don't recall adding moisture to the deep litter method in the articles posted or any other article I've read on this.

I'm a little confused as to how your bedding remains dry? My chickens' poop makes the bedding very wet.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I don't recall adding moisture to the deep litter method in the articles posted or any other article I've read on this.

I'm a little confused as to how your bedding remains dry? My chickens' poop makes the bedding very wet.

Deep litter needs a certain amount of moisture to optimize the composting action, same with your compost pile if it gets too dry (like I water my compost in summer). This is why deep litter is generally recommended for runs, while deep bedding (dry) is used in coops.

If the poop alone is making the coop bedding "very wet" then you probably need more bedding volume to compensate.

 

[citychicks99]

Deep litter needs a certain amount of moisture to optimize the composting action, same with your compost pile if it gets too dry (like I water my compost in summer). This is why deep litter is generally recommended for runs, while deep bedding (dry) is used in coops.

If the poop alone is making the coop bedding "very wet" then you probably need more bedding volume to compensate.

That makes sense as to why the bedding isn't composting.

I know I need to add more bedding. I will get some this weekend.

Has anyone tried equine pellets for bedding? This seems much more cost effective than what I'm using now.
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...-pine-pellet-stall-bedding-40-lb?cm_vc=-10005

 

[rosemarythyme]

That makes sense as to why the bedding isn't composting.

I know I need to add more bedding. I will get some this weekend.

Has anyone tried equine pellets for bedding? This seems much more cost effective than what I'm using now.
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...-pine-pellet-stall-bedding-40-lb?cm_vc=-10005

I've considered it but haven't tried it. Currently using hemp under the roost for easier poop scooping, and happy with that, though pelleted bedding could possibly work the same way in my set up at least.