Will Deep Litter Work in rain?

[TheDisease21002]

I am considering the deep litter method for my coop, however, in the UAE when it rains, it rains very hard. It rains a few unpredictable times a year(roughly 2-4 times). My question how will the deep litter method be affected by rain. And even more importantly, is it possible to do with sand. Like clean sand you see in deserts.

 

[chickens really]

I use sand..It's fantastic. My Runs are covered with tarps.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The purpose of the litter is to act like a diaper, absorb moisture to keep your coop (or run) dry. That is your main goal, keep the coop (or run) dry. If the poop stays wet for two or more days it can start to stink and become unhealthy. It doesn't hurt for it to get wet as long as it dries out fairly soon. If it is wet that blocks oxygen from getting to it so the microbes eating the poop change from aerobic to anaerobic. The anaerobic microbes stink. But it takes two or three days of wet for this to occur. Whatever method you use as long as the litter dries out in a couple of days you are OK.

The deep litter method (DLM) is kind of a specialized method. It's purpose is to not only absorb moisture but to turn your coop (or run) into a compost pile. If done right you can develop beautiful compost for your garden. So the DLM has two purposes, keep the coop dry and provide compost. For the aerobic microbes to live and reproduce, they need a certain level of moisture. If it gets too dry they die and the compost material just sits there, does not decay. Too wet for too long and it goes anaerobic and stinks. People in climates a lot wetter than yours manage to maintain this balance. Your issue with maintaining the DLM will probably be keeping it moist enough to decay and not your rare experiences with rain.

Sand drains really well as long as the water has some place to drain to. If you dig a hole in water-tight clay and fill it with sand you dug a bathtub and filled it with sand but the water has no place to go so you have wet sand and anaerobic bacteria. But if the sand can drain it works really well. It's like any tool. If you use it properly it can work really well but if you use it improperly it doesn't work very well. Some people use sand as the bedding. Some use sand as a well-draining base under bedding. Many don't use sand at all.

I do not use the deep litter method, I keep my coop too dry. The bedding does not decay, but it does absorb moisture really well. I have enough ventilation so it can dry out if it does get wet, which occasionally happens. The chickens do a good job raking the bedding with their scratching so it does dry out.

Another potential issue is that chickens poop a lot. If the poop builds up enough thickness it can retain moisture. Chicken density and how you manage them can be a big factor. The more room they have the less thick it gets. If they spend a lot of time out of the coop they poop less in the coop. This will be different for all of us. But an area you may need to look at is under the roosts. They continue to poop while on the roosts but they are not moving around. It can build up under there, maybe getting thick enough to stay wet even in your climate.

There are different ways to handle this. For some few the roost space and chicken density is low enough that it doesn't really build up that much. Many of us use what we call droppings boards, some way to catch the poop under the roosts so we can remove it from the coop and keep it off the coop floor, thus reducing concentration. There are all kinds of different ways to do that involving flat surfaces that can be scraped, trays filled with some type of material (sometimes sand) that you can scoop the poop out of, or bins under the roosts that you can pick up and carry out to dump when you need to. Some people don't do anything special but just dig that poop out from under the roosts when it builds up.

Another way, depending on chicken density and your coop, might be to scatter some type of treat under the roosts. The chickens will scratch for it and scatter that poop all over your coop floor, preventing it from concentrating under the roosts. How well this will work will depend on how many chickens in how much space but can work with the DLM or just dry bedding

This is probably a lot longer than you expected and you may have already known all of this. I have trouble looking at isolated parts but try to look at the overall poop management system. How well the isolated parts of that system works will depend on how they fit the rest of the system.

Good luck!

 

[MissChick@dee]

Invest in some tarps. Easy to put up and easy to take down and store for next year.
This year I completely covered my run. It’s been raining here for three days. My yard is a muddy mess. My run?
Dry! Nice and dry. I’m so happy I finally tarped everything...vast improvement over past years. No matter what you put down if you don’t keep the rain/snow out...it will get wet. Best wishes

 

[TheDisease21002]

The purpose of the litter is to act like a diaper, absorb moisture to keep your coop (or run) dry. That is your main goal, keep the coop (or run) dry. If the poop stays wet for two or more days it can start to stink and become unhealthy. It doesn't hurt for it to get wet as long as it dries out fairly soon. If it is wet that blocks oxygen from getting to it so the microbes eating the poop change from aerobic to anaerobic. The anaerobic microbes stink. But it takes two or three days of wet for this to occur. Whatever method you use as long as the litter dries out in a couple of days you are OK.

The deep litter method (DLM) is kind of a specialized method. It's purpose is to not only absorb moisture but to turn your coop (or run) into a compost pile. If done right you can develop beautiful compost for your garden. So the DLM has two purposes, keep the coop dry and provide compost. For the aerobic microbes to live and reproduce, they need a certain level of moisture. If it gets too dry they die and the compost material just sits there, does not decay. Too wet for too long and it goes anaerobic and stinks. People in climates a lot wetter than yours manage to maintain this balance. Your issue with maintaining the DLM will probably be keeping it moist enough to decay and not your rare experiences with rain.

Sand drains really well as long as the water has some place to drain to. If you dig a hole in water-tight clay and fill it with sand you dug a bathtub and filled it with sand but the water has no place to go so you have wet sand and anaerobic bacteria. But if the sand can drain it works really well. It's like any tool. If you use it properly it can work really well but if you use it improperly it doesn't work very well. Some people use sand as the bedding. Some use sand as a well-draining base under bedding. Many don't use sand at all.

I do not use the deep litter method, I keep my coop too dry. The bedding does not decay, but it does absorb moisture really well. I have enough ventilation so it can dry out if it does get wet, which occasionally happens. The chickens do a good job raking the bedding with their scratching so it does dry out.

Another potential issue is that chickens poop a lot. If the poop builds up enough thickness it can retain moisture. Chicken density and how you manage them can be a big factor. The more room they have the less thick it gets. If they spend a lot of time out of the coop they poop less in the coop. This will be different for all of us. But an area you may need to look at is under the roosts. They continue to poop while on the roosts but they are not moving around. It can build up under there, maybe getting thick enough to stay wet even in your climate.

There are different ways to handle this. For some few the roost space and chicken density is low enough that it doesn't really build up that much. Many of us use what we call droppings boards, some way to catch the poop under the roosts so we can remove it from the coop and keep it off the coop floor, thus reducing concentration. There are all kinds of different ways to do that involving flat surfaces that can be scraped, trays filled with some type of material (sometimes sand) that you can scoop the poop out of, or bins under the roosts that you can pick up and carry out to dump when you need to. Some people don't do anything special but just dig that poop out from under the roosts when it builds up.

Another way, depending on chicken density and your coop, might be to scatter some type of treat under the roosts. The chickens will scratch for it and scatter that poop all over your coop floor, preventing it from concentrating under the roosts. How well this will work will depend on how many chickens in how much space but can work with the DLM or just dry bedding

This is probably a lot longer than you expected and you may have already known all of this. I have trouble looking at isolated parts but try to look at the overall poop management system. How well the isolated parts of that system works will depend on how they fit the rest of the system.

Good luck!

Wow, that was a lot of information on the deep litter method. The climate here is quite warm so if I just mix the sans a little I will be fine as far as keeping this dry goes. The information was very helpful regardless and taught me a lot about the method. Thank you.

 

[TheDisease21002]

Invest in some tarps. Easy to put up and easy to take down and store for next year.
This year I completely covered my run. It’s been raining here for three days. My yard is a muddy mess. My run?
Dry! Nice and dry. I’m so happy I finally tarped everything...vast improvement over past years. No matter what you put down if you don’t keep the rain/snow out...it will get wet. Best wishes

Will invest in tarps then. I already have one but it's not big enough and is slightly damaged. I'll look into investing in a UV proof tarp for my coop. Thank you for the advice.