Will the DL method make compost if I use wood chips?

[chookchick]

Sonew, do you have poop boards? If not, I bet that would make a HUGE difference in the cleanliness and smell of your coop. You have a lot more chickens than me, but I haven't added any more shavings in at least a month. Mine is like a tray with DE in it, but a plain board you could scrape works good also.

 

[sonew123]

Quote:
No I dont in that coop-I better think of something though-I do have 2 hge trays that sit on top of breeder boxes that they all sleep on and I do dump those and clean those but they find the worst spots to poop on that is almost impossible to get to! I am redoing the whole garage this Spring so next winter I wont have to worry about this stuff. poops boards.. different nexting boxes...alot more insulation and fans for circulation etc...You just never know until you experience it and Im still learning so much everyday....I do know my babies are fat and healthy-I just want to keep them that way

 

[wishful]

Quote:
Do you have moisture? If so, find its source and get rid of it. If the droppings dry out then you will not have the smell.

I use all kinds wood in my compost. The chips will take longer to break down, but with a good hot compost method, it will not be long at all. If you still have chunks, screen your compost with a 1/2" screen to get rid of the 1/2" or larger. Some smaller chunks are good they give your soil air and good drainage!

ON

yes there is moisture in there and we have a heater in ther enow to try and dry it out some its 50 degrees in the garage/coop but with the heat comes teh overwhelming smells..bleahhh..we do use shavings and chips maybe I should add alot more DE???

I'm not sure and now it sounds like maybe you've got it sorted from what other people said, but maybe the heater would make it worse? If there's not enough ventilation, the heater's not going to dry it out, it's just going to make it so you have hot moist air instead of cold moist air - not really an improvement if the issue is the moisture. Could you just leave a door open for a while or something and see if that would help the smell? Or is it too cold where you are for that sort of thing? Good luck