chicken are notoriously mussy , so reach a clean Gallus gallus hencoop may seem unacceptable without invest lots of time . However , by succeed a few simple praxis , you may have an amazingly ship - shape henhouse that only needs freshen a brace of times per yr .
The exercise used to maintain a clean chicken coop with less employment are collectively called the deep - bedding material direction method acting . In this method acting , you grant the droppings and bedding material to roll up and moulder inside the coop instead of regularly scooping out and replacing the soiled chicken litter .
Although this may fathom detrimental to your chickens ’ wellness , it ’s actually good .
Background
The deep - litter technique spring up in Ohio in the 1940s and was an significant development in fowl direction because it dramatically reduced poultry disease and the labor necessary to successfully keep chickens .
It introduced a sustainable method of managing chicken litter in the coop . Many flock possessor , in turn , adopted it .
However , as small tidy sum slow vanish from backyard , the practice was middling lost . Today , with the revitalization of backyard birds , it ’s being rediscovered .
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fundamentally , the estimate is that you bug out with a 6 - inch layer of pine grazing or other highly absorptive hit the hay material . befuddle in chicken scraping so your chickens aerate the shavings . Then , let nature compost the litter and chicken droppings in the chicken coop .
Just as with a garden compost pile , there are dark-brown “ pine shaving ” ( high C ) and green “ chicken dropping ” ( in high spirits atomic number 7 ) element that take to be managed . When the proportion of immature to brownish scram too large , extra pine shavings are append to the mix .
The compost bugger off deep over clip and eventually some should be remove . What does get remove makes great garden fertilizer.lunamarina/Shutterstock
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Benefits
Using the thick - litter management method includes some terrific benefits .
Why It Works
When materials high in nitrogen — such as expend crops or manure — are coalesce into a wad with materials in high spirits in carbon — such as pine shavings or ironic , mulched leaves — under the good precondition , microbes procreate chop-chop in the pile .
tot up moisture and oxygen make conditions favorable for decomposition . Microbes use the nitrogen as an energy generator to breakdown the mellow - C textile . And the end result is highly fertile compost .
In addition to compost , the byproducts of the rotting process let in vitamins K and B12 , health - enhance chemical compound and heat energy . fit in to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations , “ micro-organism thrive on the manure in bedding material and break it down . The microflora make increment factors , notably vitamin B12 and antibiotic substances , which help hold the point of pathogenic bacterium . Consequently , the growth rate and wellness are often superior in poultry put up on abstruse bedding . ”
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translate more : Keep these thing in mind when choose the right chicken hencoop for your menage .
Doing the Deep
To get the rich - bedding method acting crop in your coop , pop with a 6 - inch bed of a high - carbon copy bedding cloth — such as pine shavings or dry , mulched leaves — on the coop base . The finer the high - carbon copy fabric , the quicker it will start out compost . If the coop story is dirt , then a sufficient number of microbes and moisture should be available to start the vector decomposition operation as the chickens add their droppings .
If the henhouse floor is wooden or concrete , then it may be helpful to innovate some active compost ( adding the microbes ) to jump start the process . Moisture is necessary to induct the process too . But since chicken droppings are about 80 to 90 percentage water , it ’s seldom necessary to total water .
Note : If you do have a wooden chicken coop floor , it ’s a good estimate to surface it with something like a protective key ( e.g. , sparring urethane ) or insure it with vinyl radical floor before implement the deep bedding method acting . This will protect it from slow rot .
Aeration is Key
Oxygen ( or aeration ) is essential for chemical decomposition reaction , but the wimp will help aerate the bedding if you sprinkle dough into their bedding on a daily basis . The turn of chickens in the hencoop should be restrict to one chicken for every 3 to 5 hearty feet of coop blank space in order for them to be effectual aerators .
At one chicken for every 5 feet of coop quad , it ’s probable that the chickens will mostly handle aerating obligation . But at one chicken for every 3 metrical unit of cage space , the wimp - steward will belike need to facilitate turn the litter ( i.e. more chickens create more muck and work ) . you may easily accomplish this with a pitchfork or shovel , turn bedding when crusty “ caps ” form on the litter .
undecomposed henhouse breathing is essentialin any chicken coop . However , it ’s in particular important when using the deep - litter method .
Chicken muck give off ammonia water . As the proportion of chicken droppings to bedding material increases , theamount of atomic number 7 will eventually overpower the carbon copy in the mixture andstart generate ammonia(nitrogen + water = ammonium hydroxide ) .
Add more litter to the cage before this befall . But good ventilation is necessary to remove any ammonia before it harms the chickens ’ frail respiratory systems . It ’s also necessary to take any excess moisture in the coop .
Avoid DE
Some volaille - keeper add nutrient - course diatomaceous earth to their hencoop in an travail to prevent worms , lice or mites . However , that practice is not urge when using the cryptic - litter method acting .
Veterinarian Melissa Holahan , creator of Goat Melk Soaps and cobalt - proprietor ofChubb E Acres Farm , has been using the deep - litter method acting since 2010 .
“ It ’s a great mode to hold a clean-living cage and cut ammonia buildup with less labor , ” she says . “ One of the questions I get asked is whether to bring food - level DE to the bedding . DE is hazardous to health when inhaled and should not be used . If chicken owner are having takings with intragroup ( enteral worms ) or international parasite ( sucking louse or mites ) , they should consult their vet for recommendation on safe alternative treatments . ”
Read more : When it comes meter to clean , survey these 10 step for a spin’n’span coop .
Maintaining the Method
Once you have your bedding stuff in place , then it ’s just a topic of monitoring the bedding material and ensure that everything is working properly . The amount of bedding , volaille droppings , wet and aeration ask to be balanced to promote rotting .
The chicken will do much of the aeration work . But it ’s a serious idea to rick the bedding at least once per week and aver that breakdown is progress . The rate of decomposition in the coop will bet on :
Those that subsist in drier regions may need to moisten the litter to induce decomposition . In wetter regions , though , it may be necessary to sum up bedding material more oftentimes . If you ’re doing thing decent , you ’ll tardily see the litter release to compost .
The coop should n’t smell unsound and it should never smell like ammonia . If the coop sense like manure or ammonia , then impart more bedding textile and turn more often . Indy Edge / Shutterstock
Cleaning the Coop
Once the litter depth in the cage exceeds a foundation , some of the bedding is unremarkably removed .
Manychicken - keepers just clean out enough to yield the litter depth to about 6 inch . Others bump off all the litter and do a thorough coop cleaning . Typically , this occurs one to three time per twelvemonth in the spring , summer or fall .
Normally , keeper do n’t do a clean out during the winter because everyone want to maximise heat production and litter deepness ( for insulation ) . Just remember , if you absent all the bedding material for cleanup , you ’ll want to return about 6 inches of deep - litter back to the coop so that the decomposition process can continue .
There are many different options for managing chicken henhouse cleanliness . However , by using the system outlined above , chicken - keepers can save time and lying-in . In addition , the crybaby stay put healthy and the hencoop stays clean .
It ’s no wonder the deep bedding method is gaining popularity again !
