DEEP LITTER METHOD For Beginners! | EXTREMELY Low Maintenance Chicken Bedding!

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  • Опубликовано: 16 янв 2025

Комментарии • 104

  • @cathybeckwith4462
    @cathybeckwith4462 11 месяцев назад +18

    We use hemp in our coop, nesting pads in the nesting boxes, and mulch in the run. It has really worked great for us. If I think the hemp needs to be stirred up I just throw some scratch on the hemp and the birds will stir it up for us. Hemp is more expensive but it does not have the dust issues and it breaks down faster than any of the other products and I’ve never had any odor issues. Also I add herbs to the hemp. They help control pest and the chickens like to eat them.

    • @christopherortega2514
      @christopherortega2514 8 месяцев назад

      What kind of herbs did you add to the hemp bedding I use hemp as well I just got my first chicks do you till the top layer of the hemp at all when there's a lot of poop on top or just a little bit of the hemp over it

    • @cathybeckwith4462
      @cathybeckwith4462 8 месяцев назад +3

      @@christopherortega2514 , we stir the hemp around once a week once we have added all the hemp we are going to add. I’ve never had an odor problem either. We use calendula, thyme, rosemary, rose, mint, and a few others. I grow them myself so it depends on what is ready to harvest. The chickens eat some of it the rest makes the coop small

    • @StevenDavisPhoto
      @StevenDavisPhoto 3 месяца назад

      hemp is like 3x the price though of pine :( to do 2" of hemp in my 60 sq ft run and 18 sq ft coop, it would cost $180! :(

    • @cathybeckwith4462
      @cathybeckwith4462 2 месяца назад +2

      @@StevenDavisPhoto I only use hemp in the coop and pine in the run. The advantage to hemp in the coop is no dust and it compost in the coop. I use the deep litter method in my coop.

  • @tomiole
    @tomiole 4 дня назад

    Great presentation buddy

  • @ysamgreen
    @ysamgreen Год назад +13

    THIS IS SOOOOO HELPFUL!!! Just bought an old farm. The coop hadn't been used in 30years and is in disrepair. Aiming for chickens in the Spring. I think the deep litter method is best for us. Might I add, that your rapid fire delivery was great and too the point. I feel ready! Bring it little chickens. I want at least 10 and 2 of them will be Polish chickens named Cecil and Percy. THats all I know so far. THANK YOU!!!

    • @WhitepepperFarmshomestead
      @WhitepepperFarmshomestead  Год назад +4

      Happy to help! And I love that you’re already picking out names 😂, it’s perfect! Cecil and Percy will be happy chickens!
      Thank you! I’ve actually had feed back to slow down… but when I do those videos don’t get watched 😂. I’m naturally fast paced so I figured I’ll just lean into that haha!

  • @iwanttobelieve5970
    @iwanttobelieve5970 Год назад +11

    I had Chipdrop deliver and they gave me 20 yards of woodchips. 😳 I gave away some. Unfortunately most people only took a small amount and so I'm still trying to create a path to my backyard door. But I have bedding for at least four years which is what it took for me to get to the bottom of the last pile I got four years ago. But I didn't have chickens then.

    • @WhitepepperFarmshomestead
      @WhitepepperFarmshomestead  Год назад +3

      Holy cow! Yeah sometimes chip drop can drop a bit too much 😂! I’m lucky because my best friend is in the tree business so I get to pick and choose what I get!

    • @iwanttobelieve5970
      @iwanttobelieve5970 Год назад +1

      @@WhitepepperFarmshomestead Oh nice!!!

  • @alishal.176
    @alishal.176 4 месяца назад +1

    Great video! Answered all the questions I had and then some.

  • @rosenurse7687
    @rosenurse7687 22 дня назад

    Great information! Thank you!

  • @Storiesandsongswithmsjoy
    @Storiesandsongswithmsjoy 19 дней назад

    Thanks!

  • @MewMewAshy
    @MewMewAshy 3 месяца назад

    Amazing video, informative and straight to the point A+!

  • @sophiepoirier2944
    @sophiepoirier2944 3 месяца назад

    What an amazing video !!!!! Thanks so muc for sharing all of your knowledges in a very straight forward point! Very efficient and fun to listen too :D Can't wait to build my chicken coop now !!!!

  • @Truex561
    @Truex561 Год назад +6

    I started doing this and I added to the coop overtime. But they mainly poop where they roost. Should I rake that around throughout the coop and add more shaving’s or just add over where they poop?

    • @WhitepepperFarmshomestead
      @WhitepepperFarmshomestead  Год назад +3

      I don't know what the "right" answer is... but I have the same problem and I definitely just rake it out from time to time and add more bedding on top!

  • @samsheljesspunk
    @samsheljesspunk 2 месяца назад

    Thanks. Do you have to further compost it or can you put it directly on vegetable garden?

  • @deborc2705
    @deborc2705 4 месяца назад

    Very informative

  • @REDonFIRE
    @REDonFIRE Месяц назад

    Can I do this with sawdust?

  • @melaniemoultrie6676
    @melaniemoultrie6676 17 дней назад

    We are interested in this method, where can we purchase a coop with this method?

  • @juliewilson27
    @juliewilson27 2 месяца назад

    Can pine be mixed with hemp for deep litter?

  • @susantaylor8507
    @susantaylor8507 11 месяцев назад +1

    I know when i was using pine shaving my chickens were getting respiratory problems so im looking for some thing else to use

    • @lid6580
      @lid6580 5 месяцев назад

      Did they sneeze? My chickens are sneezing and I'm not sure if it's the bedding or something else.

  • @DiFish-z6n
    @DiFish-z6n 4 месяца назад

    I use sand (construction sand with a little pdz mixed in) works perfect.
    *Question: what’s the best flooring for the chicken run ???

  • @debkincaid2891
    @debkincaid2891 Год назад +2

    Good morning ~ Question: I'm new to raising chickens but so far, so good thanks to you lovely You Tube chicken folk sharing your experience and wisdom. I do the DLM in the coop, but what should I be doing in the run? So far, I've just periodically tossed some pine shavings on the ground but I've heard others say they scoop the poop--I guess with a kitty litter scoop? ---and then toss more shavings on the ground. I haven't encountered any issues--no odor, no flies--but is what I'm doing sufficient or should I scoop the poop in the run? Btw, I have 6 hens who should start their first laying experience in this coming month, in a 4 ft x 6 ft coop elevated 2 ft above ground, and a 6 ft x 12 ft run, just in case dimensions impact suggestion. Thanks! Oh: I put 2" thick layer of sand underneath the coop but just dirt is in the run.

    • @WhitepepperFarmshomestead
      @WhitepepperFarmshomestead  Год назад +1

      Great question!
      What we have done in our run is we just kind of add extra pine shavings or straw into the run whenever it all breaks down. We don’t scoop any out, BUT I will say we have never had issues with any odor, flies, etc. if we were seeing those issues I would for sure clean it out, but adding 6 inches or so of straw or mulch every month or two keeps it clean! Might not work for everyone but it does for us!

    • @cathybeckwith4462
      @cathybeckwith4462 11 месяцев назад +1

      We use mulch in ours. The chickens like to scratch around in it. We throw scratch and other stuff in so they have something to look for.

  • @nogames8982
    @nogames8982 Год назад +6

    Make your chickens work for you. I haven't watched your channel enough to know what your set up is exactly, but get an area inside the chicken run for a compost pile. Make it a big area because your chickens are not gonna let the pile form for very long. You will rake it in a pile and a couple days later it will be totally flat throw some grain on top let them dick around, etc. keep adding weeds, leaves, food, scraps, etc. to that area. Every once a while, rake it back up into a pile if you need to. They will very quickly and easily turn it into great compost. Then when you clean out your coop next, you start a new area. Then you distribute the maid compost from the old area everywhere you need it and after six months when you clean out the coop again, you'll have another pile of ready to go compost. It's never ending. And also makes for you having to supply list Chicken Feed when you give them all your garden and lawn and yard scraps that you can. And food scraps.

  • @adventurehippie0514
    @adventurehippie0514 4 месяца назад

    But does this work for cornish cross coops as well?

  • @susanneziebarth8379
    @susanneziebarth8379 2 месяца назад

    what size is your coop?

  • @StargazingDragon
    @StargazingDragon 3 месяца назад

    I was told not to use the fine shavings because of more dust but they dust bathe and kick dust on me all day. As long as they aren't sneezing or wheezing. That's so smart I didn't even think about how it would break down quicker. Someone told me they use the pine pellet, but I've used those as cat litter, and they seem hard for animals to walk on. Also, it's not really pleasant to dispose of. It clumps up like the really cheap gravel litter that's actually just clay dust. I might try the fine and see if it gets in their water more frequently. My chickens are wild. I'm gonna get them a hoop so we can take the show on the road lol. They burst from the coop every morning both feet skimming over the ground wings flapping like a cartoon.

  • @StevenDavisPhoto
    @StevenDavisPhoto 3 месяца назад

    Hemp works better (absorbs 3x more moisture), but it's also super expensive. Gonna use pine.

  • @dyazkiprit
    @dyazkiprit 7 месяцев назад

    can i use dry leaves and rice peel?

  • @AprilDawnKJV
    @AprilDawnKJV 9 месяцев назад

    Does this work if 2 ND goats live in my chicken coop too?? I only have 4 chickens and 2 goats and In a barn/shed

  • @natecus4926
    @natecus4926 7 месяцев назад

    We use straw, and we throw all our chicken scraps, yard waste, and occasionally scratch grains on it, it ends up making great mulch to throw around plants. The straw gets chopped up and broken down from the chickens digging around in.

  • @revelationawake
    @revelationawake Год назад +1

    How do you keep the bedding from falling out of the coop either through the walk-in door or through the chicken entrance??

    • @WhitepepperFarmshomestead
      @WhitepepperFarmshomestead  Год назад +2

      The chicken door is about 12 inches off the ground so the bedding is good there and then at the man door I put a shelf that was supposed to go on the wall right there on the ground so it gives a good 8” or so barrier. I think I show that in this video somewhere!

    • @revelationawake
      @revelationawake Год назад

      Thanks so much! I will put a barrier then.

  • @nicoleb8059
    @nicoleb8059 6 месяцев назад

    @whitepepperfarms we just got out new chickens finally! Planned to do DLM with the hemp we put in there. However I mixed some diatomaceous earth in there. “The chicken lady” said not to do this, but she also doesn’t use this method. Did I ruin it by putting in DE in there? Also, you don’t mention aerating, but she said you need to do that a lot? Any advice would be awesome or tag me in a video. Thank you so much!

  • @WonderboyWDE
    @WonderboyWDE Год назад

    Looks like you have food and water inside your coop. I’d heard not to do that due to moisture and pests. Any tips or tricks to keep it all clean and reduce pests concerns?

  • @tracy3364
    @tracy3364 11 месяцев назад

    I'm not sure about straw and hay I was told even before you buy it it can have mould and the spore are dangerous for chickens and can course respetory problems....is this true?

  • @colettevanderkin3881
    @colettevanderkin3881 8 месяцев назад

    How many bags 5.5 ft3, of Fine Premium pine shavings do you start with 8 X 8 shed? Just starting coop

  • @cwmoriarty
    @cwmoriarty 11 месяцев назад

    Can you do this in an uncovered/semicovered coop? Rain is really impacting bedding I have in their run.

    • @jimmylarge1148
      @jimmylarge1148 11 месяцев назад

      U don’t have a coop with a roof for them?

  • @user-lb6ho1qp4j
    @user-lb6ho1qp4j Год назад

    What kind of respirator should be used?

    • @jimmylarge1148
      @jimmylarge1148 11 месяцев назад +4

      At least an n95. Way more useful in this case than imaginary diseases! 😂😂

  • @madamemarsh
    @madamemarsh 4 месяца назад

    We bought 4 bags of the chunkier pine shavings and now I’m thinking that we should have gotten the fine. Will it just take longer to break down? We only used 2 of 4 bags so the other 2 are unopened in an outside closet

  • @deliahdykes7824
    @deliahdykes7824 Год назад +1

    have you tried hemp since you did this video

    • @WhitepepperFarmshomestead
      @WhitepepperFarmshomestead  Год назад

      For bedding? I have not! Tell me more though, I’m interested!

    • @deliahdykes7824
      @deliahdykes7824 Год назад +3

      @@WhitepepperFarmshomestead carolina coops promotes it and has lots of videos. So far I really like it. Had chicks since Feb. have not had a problem with smell etc, or bugs. Took some out just to get a compost started. I have 10 Jersey Giants (one is a rooster) They have just started laying. I live in middle GA. Still learning as I go. So far I really like this for bedding. But does cost a little more up front, I sprinkle in a little more every few weeks.

    • @WhitepepperFarmshomestead
      @WhitepepperFarmshomestead  Год назад +1

      @deliahdykes7824 hemp has so many good uses, I can absolutely see it working for a good bedding. I’m going to look more into that for sure! Hey, we have a jersey giant! She’s my favorite!

    • @vamountainman2512
      @vamountainman2512 Год назад

      @@deliahdykes7824 only down side I could imagine is cost, but if it becomes a common option and more companies incorporate it into their lineup of products, it could become more reasonably priced in time.

    • @HelloHoustons
      @HelloHoustons Год назад +3

      If you have a large coop hemp is completely infeasible. I looked in to and for our size of coop, 2 inches deep, the upfront cost was upwards $500

  • @dearmeecha1310
    @dearmeecha1310 Год назад +1

    Why is it not ok to mix the shavings? I’m new to raising chickens and I saw some people who said to mix your shavings. I live in a really cold mountain climate with lots of snow so I was thinking if I mixed it up it wouldn’t create as much moisture? But really I have no idea if I should just leave it and let it layer as you suggested. I only have 5 chickens. Thanks!

    • @WhitepepperFarmshomestead
      @WhitepepperFarmshomestead  Год назад +1

      Walking into work at the moment but I will reply to this at some point today! I won’t forget about you!

    • @dearmeecha1310
      @dearmeecha1310 Год назад +1

      @@WhitepepperFarmshomestead thank you so much! 🙏

    • @WhitepepperFarmshomestead
      @WhitepepperFarmshomestead  Год назад +2

      Okay so I don’t mix the shavings, but the birds honestly do a pretty good job of mixing it up themselves. I don’t foresee much of a difference with mixing and not mixing as far as it functioning as it should. There might be a SLIGHT increase in how fast things break down if you mix, but for me it wouldn’t be enough to go in there and mix it.
      My birds mess their bedding up so quickly that they could probably mix it faster than I ever could 😂

  • @_Shine_The_Light
    @_Shine_The_Light 6 месяцев назад

    How many chickens do you have?

  • @samfrancisco8095
    @samfrancisco8095 Год назад +2

    I use grass clipping. Its free

    • @WhitepepperFarmshomestead
      @WhitepepperFarmshomestead  Год назад

      Yes it is! As long as they are dry they work well!

    • @jimmylarge1148
      @jimmylarge1148 11 месяцев назад

      Yeah don’t fill your coop with wet grass they will get sick from all the moisture.

  • @butterylight
    @butterylight 8 месяцев назад

    I'm confused, can I do this deep litter method in the chicken run? Debating between something like this and sand.

  • @carlyzel
    @carlyzel Год назад

    Do the chickens never lay eggs in the shavings?

    • @WhitepepperFarmshomestead
      @WhitepepperFarmshomestead  Год назад +1

      Here and there they will but they kind of.. make their own little nest when they do so they are easy to find. As long as you have a good nesting box they normally lay in that though!

    • @jeanierussell201
      @jeanierussell201 7 месяцев назад

      Ours did until we put a blue plastic egg in their nesting box. We took it out and they went back to laying under the roost which is messy. We put the blue egg back in the nesting box and they went back to laying there. Who knew!

  • @ttano1117
    @ttano1117 Год назад +1

    Quick question, What does method work with a cement floor? Will you repurpose a shit that had a cement floor, I would like to try this method if it would work but I don't know if it will need the access of worms and natural microbes from soil below.
    EDIT: I asked too early, now realize you have a plastic solid floor haha

    • @WhitepepperFarmshomestead
      @WhitepepperFarmshomestead  Год назад +1

      😂😂😂 directly on the ground works best but having a floor is fine too! When you do clean everything out, leave a couple inches of bedding still on the floor. This will jump start the new bedding you put in!

    • @ttano1117
      @ttano1117 Год назад +1

      @WhitepepperFarms Awesome man. Glad I found your channel. Gunna be binging some videos this week. First year with chickens, did you ever try a water heater?

    • @WhitepepperFarmshomestead
      @WhitepepperFarmshomestead  Год назад +1

      @ttano1117 awesome!!
      We didn’t, but this is the year we start 😂. I can’t go out there every day like I have the last few years

  • @azmike1
    @azmike1 Год назад +9

    Ok fine. I use sand . I simply use a scooper and sift the poop up daily into a bucket. Clean. Pure. Useable. No flies. No stink. No dust! No kidding!

    • @WhitepepperFarmshomestead
      @WhitepepperFarmshomestead  Год назад

      That’s definitely a good way to go! I’ve seen a lot of people going that route!

    • @debraBBB123
      @debraBBB123 Год назад +1

      And the same in your chicken run? And to what depth, roughly is best?

    • @WhitepepperFarmshomestead
      @WhitepepperFarmshomestead  Год назад +1

      @debrabeard-bader416 in the chicken run I do it, but it doesn’t stay dry in there as easily so it works a little differently and honestly not quite as well. But it does do a good job of keeping any smell down. A lot of people call it a “carbon diaper”. If it starts to stink you add a ton of carbon on top.
      My chickens also like to kick all their bedding out of the coop so it sometimes gets difficult for it to get too deep in there 😂. There’s been times that I will put about 8-12 inches of straw or wood shavings in the run at one time and they love it. Straw is easier inside the run (for me) because it doesn’t soak up a ton of moisture so the moisture drains down to the bottom of it.
      So.. long story short I kind of do the same thing in the run it’s just harder to manage due to the moisture 😂

    • @azmike1
      @azmike1 Год назад

      @@WhitepepperFarmshomestead I am in high country AZ. It's drier here. I have sand in the run and in the coop. Poop seems to just dry up in the run during the day although I seldom pick it up there. Nature handles it. But the coop is as clean as a whistle. Not unlike cleaning a kitty litter box daily. I also use a "coop freshener" powderish sand containing natural substances. Works great! Thank you for responding!!

    • @azmike1
      @azmike1 Год назад +1

      @@debraBBB123 I am in high country AZ. It's drier here. I have sand in the run and in the coop. Poop seems to just dry up in the run during the day although I seldom pick it up there. Nature handles it. But the coop is as clean as a whistle. Not unlike cleaning a kitty litter box daily. I also use a "coop freshener" powderish sand containing natural substances. Works great! Thank you for responding!!

  • @abseiduk
    @abseiduk Год назад +3

    I thought pine shavings were bad for chickens?

    • @beefandpork
      @beefandpork Год назад +1

      If the people need to wear a respirator in there, it’s not good for the chickens scratching around in there every day.

    • @abseiduk
      @abseiduk Год назад

      @@beefandpork I'm new to this back yard chicken raising, and keep coming across conflicting advice on this issue, I don't want to harm the chicken and then find out through trial and error.

    • @ursusarctoshorribilis5079
      @ursusarctoshorribilis5079 8 месяцев назад +1

      You may be thinking of cedar. Pine is fine.

    • @ddnadler
      @ddnadler 11 дней назад

      @@abseidukI have six chickens, and I do this in there area where they sleep at night and lay eggs. Mine is not as dusty as his so I would say mine is wetter than his is and it does not smell, and there is no dust. also my chickens don’t hang out there in the day. They have a dedicated run that is next to that area that is protected from wind and rain as well as a larger area that they can go out to as well that they do all of the pecking around.

  • @lorrainejohnson6731
    @lorrainejohnson6731 4 месяца назад

    It seems to me that the dust from the shavings would not be good for the chicken's health over time. Especially since they are so close to the ground and would breathe it all the time.

  • @samsheljesspunk
    @samsheljesspunk 2 месяца назад

    Oh ok! I should’ve kept watching the video. Compost it first 👍

  • @srinutamire2976
    @srinutamire2976 11 месяцев назад

    What if only put cement concrete floor and wash it daily with water? Is it bad?

  • @barbjarvi6543
    @barbjarvi6543 Год назад +1

    Hi

  • @66REDD66
    @66REDD66 Год назад +1

    I’m just so confused no matter how many videos I watch. We’ve had 10 young chickens for about 3 months now and we use Bedmax dust free pine shavings at the moment in their run and in their nesting house and it’s never clean but we’re seriously considering using sand all over. We just don’t know what to do. 😮

  • @gorgenhakan
    @gorgenhakan Год назад +1

    You're doing it wrong.
    You have to moisturize the deep litter in your coop. Otherwise you get dust and no micro organism activity. Don't make it wet only moisturize every now and then.

    • @susantaylor8507
      @susantaylor8507 11 месяцев назад +1

      Your chickens house floor should never be wet

  • @bartwfielder
    @bartwfielder Год назад +1

    2 minute video shoved into 8 minutes

  • @MuhammadAbbas-mq5ty
    @MuhammadAbbas-mq5ty Месяц назад

    Mites insects and breathing problems is the only thing you will get from this method im sure people can takeout 10 mins once a week to sweep out a coop and add new, if you can't ask the question am i too busy to keep chickens?

  • @WonderboyWDE
    @WonderboyWDE Год назад +1

    Looks like you have food and water inside your coop. I’d heard not to do that due to moisture and pests. Any tips or tricks to keep it all clean and reduce pests concerns?

  • @WonderboyWDE
    @WonderboyWDE Год назад +1

    Looks like you have food and water inside your coop. I’d heard not to do that due to moisture and pests. Any tips or tricks to keep it all clean and reduce pests concerns?

    • @boontang84
      @boontang84 Год назад

      I do just for the winter but take them out when it starts warming up again