Who deep-litters?

ATM I only semi deep litter as my stable is fully rubber-matted so I take out the wet a couple of times per week. At previous yard I only had mats at the front so deep littered fully. If you manage it properly it's a great way to bed - thicker, more solid, warmer and cheaper in the long run. There's no reason for a deep litter bed to be dirty or smelly if looked after correctly. In fact at the last yard, my deep litter beds were the cleanest beds there.
 
fburton said:
What's the maximum allowable / recommended thickness?
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I don't think there is one, is there? Obviously if it's getting so high the horse can't get in and out the door safely or it's head is becoming in danger of hitting the roof it's got far too deep. :D
 
I have used deep litter for years, I don't use shavings because of the problems disposing of them, and I find straw smells, so these days I use chopped rape straw or hemp/flax, both of which work well. It doesn't work so well if you have horses standing in in the day as well as at night, it never gets chance to air, but I have some old day boxes for that.
The trick is to keep adding bedding, even if it doesn't look as though you need it, until you get to a stage where the base is compacted, and from then on you only need deal with the top layer, skipping out poo and levelling off where it has been moved as they get up.
I actually don't ever clean mine out totally - that compacted base layer is too valuable IMO, and once it has got to that stage any pee soon dries out and doesn't cause problems. The base layers are about 2"-3" thick in mine.
In the summer it gradually gets reduced a bit as I skip out after they have been in for the farrier etc, and next winter I will still have the makings of a good base layer, which is comfortable for them to lie down on. I do have one very old mare who is IR and wees a lot, I have a heat lamp in her box during the day to dry it out so I don't have to remove the base layer. I use 1/4 of a bale of chopped rape straw each, so economically it works well too. HTH
 
The two winters I did it I found once it gets compacted at about 4 inches it doesn't seem to get deeper quickly. I haven't left it longer but removed an old deep bed with a layer you describe JillA when I moved here that was left in one barn. It was like compacted peat and dry as a bone.
 
Wood pellets is fantastic for deep littering. Great if you've got a bad back as it's very quick just to pick up the poos and tidy the bed. It's a very stable surface so the bed stays in place and it doesn't smell. I had mine down for about 6 months but have just changed it to straw pellets as you don't wet them. I have thick mats underneath and there were fine when my OH dug the bed up to remove it. My friend has had hers down for a couple of years now i think and is only just contemplating removing it as it's getting too thick.
 
I'm not offended by the "straw smells" comments...

But why do people think any other bedding smells any less. The wole basis of a firm bed is the compaction of urine within the fibres of whatever material you use... I bet you when you come to dig, it all smells the same :D
 
tallyho! said:
I'm not offended by the "straw smells" comments...

But why do people think any other bedding smells any less. The wole basis of a firm bed is the compaction of urine within the fibres of whatever material you use... I bet you when you come to dig, it all smells the same :D
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No it doesn't, some seem to absorb the smell but straw seems to react with the urine to smell far worse. I do have a thin straw day bed in one of hte day boxes and it is much more whiffy than the rape straw, which I think has moore pith (no puns!!) in the centre to absorb moisture and also smell.
 
We use rape straw for the cattle and can't say I have noticed any difference. I know what you mean about the pith.
 
I do, just started at the beginning of the year and they are on straw.

I take about about 1/2 bale from each stable per day, and am only needing to top up (a thin clean layer to make it look nice) every 2-3 days.
 
Have always been bit against deep littering. Not really sure why mainly things others have said really....tut tut i know!... but since we have had snow i thought i would give semi deep littering a go to save mutiple trips to muck heap and to keep pony warmer. And can honestly say im converted!!! Its been great. His stable is just on earth so i was a tad worried it would get muddy ect. So to start i put 2 bales straw in. squashed down alot no banks. Then i have been taking the poos out each day basicly. so half a barrow a day if that. and after ten days i have taken the worst of the wet out. when i went to do this i had to first take off a layer of clean compacted straw to get to the wet underneath. Then i took 2 barrows to clean out and started again. main reason for doind this is i wanted to know what was underneath ect. next time i think i will leave longer.
oh and forgot to say i was adding some new straw everyday and squashing down.
 
Offthewall said:
I have the thick mats, paid a fortune for them and still disgusting :( honestly spent a fortune on this horse for bedding!

So better off with shavings? I have been told that its better to put down a layer of sawdust then pop other bedding on top but wondering as to the efficiency and dust levels? Horse was out 24/7 but due to wet ground they are in overnight from 7pm to 6am and people are just amazed at how disgusting my stable and horse smells :o I tried the ammonia powder when I used paper and woodpellets but didn't make a difference really.
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I have a very dirty mare...in a 14 x 13 stable I have put down very thick mats ie think playground protection ones I think bout 2 inch deep...I put a sprinkling of shavings in one corner(her wee corner) and I take out all in morn...tbh one barrow full and quicker than both of my others on straw beds...yes she has dirty legs and rugs but quick brush off and shes good to go..and when I say dirty I mean poo everywhere including her water bucket, also makes stable very warm and as they fit so close together they drain really well .. just a thought but seen some of the rubber horse matting and I would still need lots of bedding with those...maybe contact council or companies who de-assemble play grounds I got mine lots cheaper than very thin rubber matting :)
 
Go for it. I've gone back to it after being on rubber mats and shavings. Put shavings on the base then cover with straw. Poo pick everyday, top up with straw e everyday. Only disturb it if the wet starts to appear at the top. Love it, quick, dry, solid, warm, cheap...
 
I have mine on deep litter at the moment. I have put them on it because i was spending too much on straw as 3 of them are mucky and 2 of them share a stable so that stable is disgusting in a morning. I used a layer of wood pellets to start the base and then i use straw on top. I remove the droppings every day and any loose wet and then add clean on top. I now have a good deep solid base in all the stables and they don't smell and all the horses are happy to lay down so they can't mind being on deep litter. The good thing is when they lay down the bedding doesn't move and leave them laying on a concrete floor.
 
Thanks very much everyone, I took delivery today of a pallet containing 4 bales of sawdust and 16 bales of shavings. I've given 2/3 of the stable to the bed as the haybox is in the front corner and water etc next to it. Full stable is rubber matting so I couldn't remove and store so just popped everything down on top.

I put the 4bales of sawdust down then put 4 bales of shavings ontop. The bed looks huge but I'm sure it will no be as fluffy tomorrow :o

I have an old large tubtrug and bought a pair of marigolds so will poopick that ways as if I take a fork in with me ill not be able to help myself :o

How many bales will I add ontop each day? I was thinking half a bale every two days? Or should it be a bale?
 
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