Hello,
I know this is an old post but I hope someone sees it and responds. I've been doing a deep litter method for years in my chicken run; I've never liked the packed down dirt look of a run, and my hens lay great all year long. I put oak and maple leaves, pine needles, pine shavings, leftovers we won't eat, compost materials and grass clippings in there. From time to time I buy bales of straw to do a nice cover over everything. This has been the case for nearly 5 years. This year, however, I noticed loads of worms in the run. I'm talking L.O.A.D.S. I thought they were baby earthworms at first, but they are all about an inch or so long and rather thin, and one end looks orangish/brownish like a maggot. If I go in with a garden fork and start digging out I can be in what seems to be more worm than earth...but the earthy material is great, seems like perfect compost. I'm just wondering what kind of worms these are and should I be worried? It is kind of sick looking and the first time I saw the worms, I put diatomaceous earth on them b/c they were all next to my coop. This latest spot is far from the coop and so I'm realizing this is part of the entire run now. I'd love any advice. I've never been keen on worm composting b/c worms are disgusting, but for now I've put a lot of this on top of my leaf pile which is to help cover my potatoes this summer as they grow. Thanks for any input.