I love the deep litter method! What is the deep litter method, you ask? It is a way of turning old chicken litter into Deep Litter Method For Chickensdeep, rich compost.

It controls odors, keeps bad bacteria at bay (while using the good bacteria), and even heats the chicken coop slightly. All while lessening your work load with your chickens. Talk about a win-win!

Let’s talk about it more to see if the deep litter method is right for your chickens.

 

Basics of deep litter

The deep litter method (DLM) is just as it sounds – deep – from about 8 to 12 inches. Really deep litter should only be used in the winter time, since the break-down of the materials adds about 10 degrees of heat. Although I use the deep litter method year-round, it’s fairly thin throughout the summer. Coops using the deep litter method properly don’t stink, at all!

The deep litter method focuses on using carbon-based material (the pine shavings that is the base for your chicken litter), and nitrogen-based material (the manure and urine from the chickens). These are the essential items for regular compost, and the DLM effectively helps break these down into rich compost.

pine shavings for the deep litter method

Benefits of deep litter

The deep litter method has some very valuable benefits:

 

Easy compost

Chicken manure is too “hot” to use on gardens alone, unless it is aged and composted. By using the deep litter method throughout the winter, the manure is aged and breaks down with the bedding. In the spring it is almost ready to add to your garden soil. You can just do a quick hot composting and have it ready to go.

Keep in mind, that a good ratio of browns to greens in compost is 30:1. If you’ve had the deep litter in with your chickens for about 6 months (as recommended), you should have about that. So it should be a fabulous base to start your own compost.

 

Less work

The deep litter method is the “lazy way” of raising chickens. You only have to clean out the coop once in the spring, and maybe once in the fall. About once a week, I use a pitchfork or a rake and turn over the litter.

If it smells at all or is too wet, I add more litter. The best bedding is pine shavings. I buy a bag of pine shavings from Tractor Supply Company about every two weeks. It’s only about $5/bag, so it is very economical. As a side note, cedar shavings should not be used, as it can be harmful to the chickens’ respiratory system.

 

Healthy chickens

While most people may think the deep litter method is unsanitary, it’s really not. If managed properly and kept dry, the deep litter method can actually result in healthier chickens.

I’m not an expert yet, so I’d like to share a great article on the deep litter method. You can check it out here. It goes really in-depth on the subject, with case studies on how it even makes your chickens healthier. He also talks about mixing hydrated lime into the bedding for moisture control.

 

Deep litter method in the chicken coop

 

Materials to use for deep litter

Pine shavings

Hands down, the best material for the deep litter method is pine shavings. Since pine shavings are small, they don’t clump together and become a mat. They are easily fluffed up with a pitchfork or a shovel.

 

Straw

Straw, since it is hollow, harbors lice and mites, and gets extremely heavy when wet. It can become a breeding ground for diseases and mold. And it tends to build-up with a heavy ammonia odor. Only use straw in a very dry area.

 

Hay

Hay can get very dusty and will also get very heavy when wet. Since it’s typically in longer pieces, it is a little harder to turn. And hay tends to hold in ammonia odor as well. Only use hay in a dry area.

 

Grass clippings

Dried grass clippings can be used in a pinch, but you will come across the same issues as hay. It will be dusty, and will mat and hold in moisture too much if it gets wet.

 

Dried leaves

Dried leaves can also be used, but they are best used in conjunction with one or more of the other materials. Leaves can tend to mat together, and can be difficult to turn. If you do use dried leaves, you may want to turn it more often to lessen the compaction.

 

Leaves in the deep litter method

 

Using the deep litter method

The best place to use the deep litter method is in the coop and nesting boxes. If you have a covered run that doesn’t get too wet, you can use it in there too. But if your run gets wet and muddy during the rainy months, you really shouldn’t use the deep litter method there.

Pine shavings will get too wet if in an open area to properly start the decomposition process. They will actually get pushed down into the soil and make it even more mucky. Plus, wet litter is a recipe for mold and disease to multiply.

Clean out twice a year

In the spring and in the fall, I suggest doing a thorough cleanup of your coop and run. If you have been using deep litter, remove it all and put it in a pile to compost. Disinfect the roost bars, and if possible, the whole coop, with a very diluted bleach solution. Allow the whole thing to air dry before letting your chickens back into the coop.

After the coop cleanup, I usually rake up the run as well, even though I don’t use shavings there. My run is just dirt. I’m planning on trying sand at some point, since our run gets pretty mucky.

I like to put down a light layer of barn lime in the coop after cleaning and before putting down my litter. This will help deter bugs, and absorb excess moisture and ammonia.

Put a generous amount of pine shavings in the coop. It should be 8-12 inches deep (you can use less for the summer months). You will probably need several bags of pine shavings. If this is cost-prohibitive for you, you may be able to check with a mill or cabinet shop to get their shavings and sawdust. Or you can check into Chip Drop.

 

Weekly maintenance

Once a week or so, go into the coop and turn over the pine shavings. This will mix the manure into the shavings, which in turn starts the decomposition process.

If you don’t even want to take the few minutes once a week to turn the deep litter, you can throw some scratch in the coop and let the chickens go after it. They will turn it themselves!

 

 

Have you ever used the deep litter method? Please let me know in the comments if you have any other labor-saving tricks!


If you’re just starting on your backyard chicken journey, you might want to check out our e-book, Raising Chickens For a Natural, Self-Sufficient Lifestyle. It has all the information you need to start raising happy, healthy chickens! And at almost 70 pages, it’s a steal at only $3.99. Go check it out!

Raising chickens for a natural, self-sufficient lifestyle


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This post may be shared on Family Homesteading and Off The Grid Blog HopSimple Homestead Blog HopFarm Fresh Tuesday, and Old Paths to New Homesteading & Self-Reliant Living.

 

 

Shawna

25 Comments

  1. For the reason that the admin of this website is working, no doubt very shortly it will be well-known, due to its quality contents.

    1. Thank you, I appreciate that!

  2. Loved the post keep it up!

    1. Thank you, glad you liked it!

  3. I’m confused, you talk about not using straw and then using it. I’ve read lots of articles about this method and straw is not recommended.

    1. You’re absolutely right, Sarah. Straw is definitely not a good choice for deep litter. It doesn’t absorb anything and just gets slippery and nasty. I talked about using straw because that’s what I tried first, but have since found that pine shavings are definitely the way to go! Thank you for bringing this up – I have edited the post accordingly.

  4. We use the same method for our chickens. Works great

    1. It is great, isn’t it, Candy? I think of it as the “lazy” way of raising chickens!

    2. I hate to refer to it as the lazy way of raising chickens how about the “I don’t want to spend too much time outside in the winter cleaning the coop” method!?

      1. I love it! Great way of changing the perspective!

  5. Hi Shawna,
    When I was growing up many years ago we had chickens on our farm but things we done so differently then. Your idea sounds very good to me but since I haven’t been around chickens coops in years. We always used straw but again that was many years ago. I found your article very interested.

    1. Thanks, Marla! I’m sure things are different now. I didn’t have chickens when I was young, just got around to getting them a couple years ago. Such a learning curve!

  6. We have used the deep litter method during our winters, and it does work great! Although we used pine shavings, I had thought about using straw when I run out of shavings. Thanks to this, I won’t be using it! Great post, Shawna!

    1. Thank you, Julie! I thought straw would work in a pinch, but it just doesn’t.

  7. Yes, I think pine shavings would be much better than straw for the deep litter method. I have straw and it didn’t work out, as you mentioned it doesn’t absorb the moisture.

    Thanks for sharing the information!

    1. Thanks Lisa! I love using pine shavings. They give a nice fresh scent to the coop as well!

  8. Does this work with hay? I get more compacted mud and poop with Hay and the chickens but if there s a better method to not having to clean the coop all by myself every two weeks I am down for this.

    1. Hay works ok, it smells nice too, but if it gets too wet you’ll have issues with mold. But lots of people use straw or hay in the coop!

  9. Thank you for sharing, fantastic blog…

    1. Thanks, I appreciate that!

  10. This is what we do up here in Alaska. It works best with our longer winters.
    Thankfully we have a lumber mill here locally we can obtain pine shavings from. They work great.
    Tamara
    bellsofthenorthhomestead.com

    1. Hi Tamara,
      I couldn’t even imagine living with Alaska’s super long winters! Glad to hear the deep litter method works well there. I wish I had a free source for pine shavings!

  11. I think this information was amazing. Thank you. Will be following.

    1. Thanks Betty, glad you found it valuable!

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