Best Litter?? Struggling after years

[fuzzi]

Our lawn is so large we don’t even bag it.
We live on 40 acres. Probably about 1-2acres of mowing we do the rest is deep woods.

Wow, big yard!

We have 1/3 acre. When our riding mower died about 3 years ago I replaced it with a power mower (push) with a bag. I have a huge compost pile of grass/weed/leaf clippings that has turned into humus. I've been raking the dry stuff off the top and using it as litter in my 16'x8'x6'h hoop coop. So far it's working well, and the hens LOVE scratching through the debris.

 

[HeathenHavenHomestead]

Wow, big yard!

We have 1/3 acre. When our riding mower died about 3 years ago I replaced it with a power mower (push) with a bag. I have a huge compost pile of grass/weed/leaf clippings that has turned into humus. I've been raking the dry stuff off the top and using it as litter in my 16'x8'x6'h hoop coop. So far it's working well, and the hens LOVE scratching through the debris.

I really wish gumballs from maple trees would be great but those things do not break down and we have a million in the yard. We did fence off an area of our yard for the above ground pool maybe I can get a push mower and do that area. i Guess something is better then nothing

 

[fuzzi]

I really wish gumballs from maple trees would be great but those things do not break down and we have a million in the yard. We did fence off an area of our yard for the above ground pool maybe I can get a push mower and do that area. i Guess something is better then nothing

We have gumballs, too, the bane of the South!

I think it was @3KillerBs who said they do break down in the deep litter method.

 

[HeathenHavenHomestead]

We have gumballs, too, the bane of the South!

I think it was @3KillerBs who said they do break down in the deep litter method.

Omggggg if they do break down I have an endless supply I’d love to throw in there instead of all the piles I make to burn them. Fire seems to be the only way with them unless they do break down in the coop! I literally could probably just use gumballs to line the floors and up to 6” depth

 

[HeathenHavenHomestead]

I swear my ankles are tested every day with the gumballs! Just waiting to break one

 

[fuzzi]

I swear my ankles are tested every day with the gumballs! Just waiting to break one

My dog doesn't want to be walked in the backyard, and I think it's because those balls hurt her paws (she's elderly and arthritic).

I throw the gumballs in my burn pile, but there are so many this year!

 

[3KillerBs]

We have gumballs, too, the bane of the South!

I think it was @3KillerBs who said they do break down in the deep litter method.

Eventually the deep litter and the nitrogen power of the chicken manure will do the job -- even on live oak leaves and pinecones (adding some garden lime to improve the pH helps).

 

[3KillerBs]

Are you doing deep litter, the moist, actively-composting method that is best used over a dirt floor, or deep bedding, the dry, non-composting method where you have to build the compost pile after you clean out the coop and let it work there?

My article on the latter: Using Deep Bedding in a Small Coop

 

[Percheron chick]

Shoot some pictures of the inside of the coop.
Look into services like Chip Drop who will deliver loads of wood chips for free ( or a nice tip). County and city yards often hand out mulch this time of year. Might find a tree service on CL who needs a place to dump. What's the protein level of their diet? You shouldn't be having odor issues that fast. Do you have drainage issues? Mud? How about vents down low to draw air over the poop to dry it out faster and vent through the roof?

 

[NewChickenmama06]

I am having the exact same issue in my coop. We did the deep fill method over the winter months. I tried to spot clean here and there, but still have poopy eggs and my girls refused to use nesting boxes and lay on the floor in a corner of the coop. My coop is a converted 10X16 shed and we have the same issue as you were with the perch at night. We even added a low perch and they refuse to use it so adding poop boxes wouldn't work. I was going to use sand, but my husband poo pooed (no pun intended lol) the idea because of weight and us needing to change it once a year. To heavy for us to move. I need ideas too as to what to use for litter after the big Spring coop clean out. Got some from this thread. Leaves, grass clippings and wood chips? Do they just go on the coop floor? How do you clean it? Sorry, only been a chicken mama for 4 years and still have much to learn about the coop thing.