Who DOESN'T use the deep litter method?

[LynneP]

I was able to get the hens outside yesterday and close their pop door in order to shopvac the dust that was building on ledges and in corners. Oh and the spider webs! Now I can enter winter a little better with the dust down. A tip when you're buying shavings- if the bale feels extra-heavy it is probably the end of a run and contains mostly sawdust. Switch any of those for the light ones and you will get less dust from the bedding! (Sawdust sticks to eggs)

 

[tdgill]

great feedback, thanks! i needed that!

keep 'em comin'

 

[teach1rusl]

I do not use deep litter. I spot clean , fluff up the bedding, and scrape my dropping board daily. I do keep about 3 inches of shavings in there, and add a little about once per week to replace soiled bits removed during my daily pick-ups. I love having a clean, fresh coop! I sit in the coop with my chickens frequently, so it's as much to my benefit as theirs. I do an actual wash on my dropping about once per month. I still manage to keep a coating of dust on everything in the coop though???

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
Our 8x8 coop in Texas got quite dry and dusty. I used to take a hose, spray down the litter, and stir it up to add some moisture.

Our 4000 sq ft layer barn here in Wisconsin has enough moisture from the birds. There are a couple hundred gallons of water a day going in there to water the birds. I monitor the humidity and adjust the ventilation to strike a balance between too dry and too wet. Too dry and it gets dusty, too moist and ammonia becomes a problem.

 

[poultrygeist]

Deep litter is the only way to go. My coop is elevated and is 30 square feet. With DE there's absolutely 0 moisture problem no bugs , no smell and very little work. Going on 5 months now and no bugs no smell and no work!

 

[chickeydee]

I do not use shavings at all . I bouught all purpose sand and put two bags in the coop 5x6 .I have a home made shifter that I will use when I need to and I added a cup of de to it . It works great and the chickens lve it ,I was going to get the play sand ,but was told that the all purpose was better.It is cheaper too. When it gets to low I will add another ,but now it has been 3 months and still does not smell and recycle the sand is good .

 

[chickenwhisperer123]

I dont use it.... I would think the bottom layer would get soaked and mold? It just doesnt seem like a good idea to me...

I put a thin layer of shavings in, and clean it out every few weeks.

 

[Kirtusjon]

I have an 8X8 coop that's elevated 2 feet of the ground with a floor and the interior is 4 feet height with 16 hens ( 5 are young pullets ) and 3 roos. I use alfalfa hay (1/2 of a 40lb bale, cost $12 a bale @ Tractor Supply ). It's only 2 inches deep and my birds "turn over the floor" so I don"t have to mix it my self. They usually don"t "turn over the floor" under the roost, but a little of that gets covered from their scratching around the rest of the coop. No smell, no sickness, they love to play in it, and nontoxic.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
Usually the biggest problem with small coops is that it gets too dry and dusty. But then again, my experience was in Texas where it was pretty low humidity, I would add moisture with a hose and stir it in. Deep litter is supposed to be microbially alive, with a slow aerobic decomposition. That's hard to do unless you have a dirt floor where it can pull moisture from the ground.

 

[lngrid]

Quote:
Mac, would the deep litter method work in a coop built on a pre-existing concrete pad? If not what would suggest and why?