Ducks!

[baymule]

@ninnymary I have made my DH turn the truck around and go back to get leaves! I think I embarrassed him to start with, but he doesn't care anymore. He's a good sport. I love leaves in the coop and run-they are free, leaves are full of nutrients, they absorb poop and make lovely compost.

The house next door is vacant, so I stack 'em up over there. hahaha!

 

[ninnymary]

Baymule, over here people don't leave them in bags by the street. But there are streets with lots of leaves where cars aren't parked. I'm always tempted to rake them up myself but I don't have a place to store them. Neither do my neighbors.

Mary

 

[thistlebloom]

Mary, if you contacted a few gardening businesses I bet they'd give you leaves.
Then you just need to rent a little storage unit to store them in!

 

[baymule]

@ninnymary just collect them in the fall and pile them deep in the coop and run. Dig out in the spring or summer and replace with grass clippings or whatever you normally use.

 

[ninnymary]

Oh Baymule, I didn't know I could do that! Thanks for the idea. Even though the coop and run is enclosed, I hope they don't kick them out too far. Right now the coop and run has sand for better drainage. It's getting low and I was thinking of adding some more. Is this ok? In an effort to keep flies down, I still have my compost bins. I feel better putting all veggies scraps in there. Do you throw EVERYTHING in your coop? If so, do you have a fly problem?

thistle, I don't mind raking the leaves myself. There are plenty of them in the streets. It's just the storage that is a problem. I'm gonna think real hard to see if I know anyone who has a strip on the side of their house that they are not using and is not quite so visible.

Mary

 

[baymule]

@ninnymary yes, I throw everything in the run. Both coop and run are dirt floored, which makes it easier to keep. it is raining right now and I just ran out in the rain to dig out the trench around the coop and run. We are on a slope, just enough to run rainwater into the coop and run. The run is a foot deep in leaf compost, so that keeps them out of the mud. The coop has islands because the girls dig pits, so if the trench is breached, the coop gets wet. I just throw more leaves or pine shavings in there.

I throw in corn shucks, cobs, pea hulls, kitchen scraps, garden leftovers, grass clippings, practically anything. What they don't eat, they scratch to pieces and poo all over it and make me dark, crumbly compost.

Flies? Yes there are flies, but not terrible. MUCH worse with the ducks, glad they are in the freezer. If you rake your coop and run on a regular basis to scoop the poop, then you won't like my method. If you have better things to do than rake poo every day, then you will like the deep litter method. And the chickens love all the interesting scraps and garden stuff.

 

[ninnymary]

Bay, are you saying that I can get rid of my compost bin because everything goes into the coop floor? I guess everything is eaten sort of right away? For example, if I throw in banana peelings, I won't have flies sitting on those because the hens will eat it right away?

I scrape the coop vinyle floor every morning but I don't scrape the dirt floor. I just pick picks poops if I see them there.

I'm kinda scared to try your method.

Mary

 

[ninnymary]

Hey baymule, can you send me a picture?

Mary

 

[canesisters]

Mary, there are several threads on BYC about the deep litter method. I believe there is even an article there that goes into it in depth. I have a little bit of a mixed method. Inside the coop I have a crushed gravel floor that is covered in shavings. The girls have done a good job of mixing the shavings into the stonedust and it stays dry as a bone in there. I have a poop shelf under the roost that gets cleaned whenever I walk in and go 'Whooo! Time to clean that stinky shelf!"
Outside I dump all the leaves/grass clippings I can get my hands on and any kitchen scraps that I think the girls might want. I either don't have enough stuff or my pen is too big for it to really work like 'deep litter'. They tear into anything I toss in there - but in a few days it's gone - back to dirt floor. They eat what they want, scratch around in the rest but it seems that they just tear it to bits till it's just part of the floor. The only time I have any noticable smell is when we've had a lot of rain and there's lots of wet poo laying around. Then I toss some dry shavings/sawdust out to dry things up.

oops....

... sorry Bay

 

[ninnymary]

Cane, I guess I have a poop shelf also. Inside my coop there is an enclosed area where the hens roost. Below is the vinyl floor that I scrape everyday.

My concern is that they will eat everything and it goes back to dirt floor and not compost like yours. My smell is down to a minimum since the coop has a roof and doesn't get too wet. It's also backed against a corner surrounded by bamboo so it stays pretty dry. There small enclosed run is the one that is open and when wet I do smell it.

I've read about the deep litter method on byc but I always thought it was for totally enclosed coops.

Mary