Chicken Bedding: Deep Litter Method
Do you want an easier way to help keep clean chicken runs? Add carbon litter to create the deep litter method for chicken manure management.
Clean. That really is a relative word. My runs are rarely ever “clean”, but adding carbon to the chicken runs helps neutralize the negative affects of the chicken and duck manure.
This is commonly called the Deep Litter Method for managing chicken manure. The deep litter method is a simple and effective way to manage chicken manure and bedding in a poultry farm. This method involves allowing the chickens to live on a deep bed of litter, such as straw, sawdust, or wood shavings, which absorbs their manure and keeps the birds clean and comfortable.
One of the biggest benefits of the deep litter method is that it allows for natural decomposition of the manure and bedding. As the chickens move around and scratch in the litter, they mix the manure with the bedding, creating a compost-like environment. Over time, the litter will break down and transform into a rich fertilizer, which can be used to improve the fertility of the farm’s fields.
Add Carbon For Chicken Feed
In time you will notice a lot of worms and other great critters attracted to the rich environment that the carbon and chicken manure nitrogen makes. The chickens attract the worms and insects, the chickens eat the worms, they manure and scratch in the carbon bedding thus attracting more worms. It’s a beautiful cycle
Another benefit of the deep litter method is that it helps to control the odor and fly population on the farm. The litter absorb and break down the manure, reducing the amount of odor that is produced. Additionally, the deep litter can also provide a habitat for beneficial insects, such as beetles and mites, which feed on fly larvae, helping to keep the fly population in check.
Add Carbon For Future Compost
Nothing beats the carbon and manure that gets scratched over and over by a chicken for compost. It really is gold. Sometimes this can be taken from the chicken run to the garden depending how long it got worked over in the run. Often I will take it to a pile and process it for a few weeks in a hot compost pile before putting it on the garden, just in case. Fresh chicken manure will be too high in Nitrogen, or too “hot”, and it will burn plants. The extra step of putting the bedding through a hot pile for a few weeks just makes it extra safe.
Dangers of the Deep Litter Method in Coops
I had to modify this post right away because initially I was saying “add carbon to coops”. What I really meant was “add carbon to chicken runs”. Inside my coops I use sand.
Read this beautifully written article by The Chicken Chick about using the deep litter method in the coops. http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/10/the-deep-litter-method-of-waste.html
What kind of carbon do you add to the Chicken Runs?
I pretty much use whatever I have on hand. In the Fall the leaves are fantastic! However they break down quickly so you will have to add more soon. Wood mulch is very good and will easily last three or four months. If you have access to hay or straw that works fine too (in the run, not the coop floor where it might not be ventilated enough). The hay is nice because there are lots of seeds in it that the chickens like to eat.
The deep litter method also has the added benefit of being relatively low maintenance. The litter only need to be changed or replenished periodically, and the farm’s staff can easily turn the litter to help speed up the decomposition process.
Overall, the deep litter method is a simple and effective way to manage chicken manure and bedding on a poultry farm. By using this method, farmers can improve the fertility of their fields, control odor and fly populations, and reduce the amount of maintenance required.
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