Deep Litter got wet from rain....do I have to start over?

[mamichi]

Hi all,

It rained before we finished with the roofing of the coop and now a lot of the pine shavings are soaked wet. Will it dry out eventually if I keep turning it? Or do I need to start over? (we had started the deep litter method)

We will definitely get the leaky roof taken care of this weekend!

TIA,
M

 

[crazyhen]

I would take it out. If it sours and molds it can cause the chicks to get sick , maybe you too. Jean

 

[CityChook]

Yeah, I'd take it out too. Luckily, shavings aren't too expensive.

 

[georgialee]

What about using some of the stall dry stuff you can get from TSC? There was a thread about it not too long ago.

 

[Schroeder]

I plan to take the windows out of my coop when the weather allows. (They're also covered with hardware cloth.) Undoubtedly, some rain will blow in and get the deep litter pine shavings wet. Will this be a problem?

 

[patandchickens]

Take out the soaked stuff, and either compost it, or put it in the run if it's compatible with your run footing, or spread it somewhere to dry out REALLY THOROUGHLY WITH SEVERAL TURNINGS (after which drying you can reuse it in the coop).

If coop litter just gets slightly wet on the surface from a brief rain blowing through part of a window, it is not usually a problem as long as you have lotsa ventilation. If some gets really soggy or you have humidity/ventilation problems to begin with, you can skim off the damp layer and treat as above -- blown-in rain doesn't normally wet things too far down into the litter.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[mom2chicksandpups]

I would definitely clean it out. My husband didn't clean one of his brooders out quickly enough after it rained it in a little. There were 7 chicks in it (about 4 weeks old) and all but one died, even after he moved them out completely.

 

[happyhensny]

Get the wet stuff out. Very nasty after it heats up, decomposes, GERMY & SMELLY. Much nicer for you and your birds to have dry bedding.

 

[mamichi]

Thanks everyone for responses. Unfortunately the real bad news here is that my husband finished the roof, but we've discovered with the heavy rain we've had recently that the water is entering underneath the coop! We built the coop on top of concrete slab that was originally a car port. This is really bad news, as we are going to have to build a raised floor in order to solve the problem. I say bad news b/c we're always short on time

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Would it be possible to roof over the remainder of the slab? Because, unless ground water is flooding up over the slab like a lake, that'd be another way to solve your problem. Just call it a roofed or part-roofed run.

Good luck and commiseration on your problem,

Pat