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You can give a chicken anything you'd eat and they will choose to eat it or not...if they eat it, it's fine for them to eat.

I'd say both of these are contributing. I didn't get good composting either until I moved away from using so much pine shavings...wood takes a long time to decompose. When I started using leaves and other yard debris and mixing in green stuff from weeding the garden, canning waste, the...

What are you using for bedding and how much moisture is in your litter pack?

I agree....doing the chickens no favor by heating the coop. They carry their home on their backs, much like a sheep does, so all they need is a place out of the worst of the wind for winter time living.

I'd cease and desist on the DE....every time your chickens scratch through that bedding they are kicking up a cloud of what is equal to tiny glass slivers for them to breath. DE is pretty unnecessary in deep litter and it actually slows down the composting action, though what you are describing...

Nope, not too many. If I lived where you live, that would not be the size of ventilation I'd opt for.....I'd have whole walls of open air situations. Actually, I live where it gets teens below in the winter and I STILL have whole walls of ventilation going on, though in the winter months I...

Y'all grow corn in TX? Corn stalks and husks make for great additions to litter. Any trees in a local town? Those folks often sit bags of leaves out at the curb for the trash and even grass clippings. Grass clippings are nice to add when it's really dry in the coop and run. Weeds....woody...

That would probably be your best bet....no poop tray and roosting that is much higher than your nesting boxes. Blocking nests becomes a pain, especially when they are all laying and you need to get out there early to let them into the boxes. Going out each night and evicting them from the nest...

Since I stopped using pine shavings I've not had any freezing in my DL, even when it was subzero for many days in a row. When I was still using the shavings my DL would freeze in areas where the shavings were clumped. I usually know to add more leaves when I see them getting thin around the...

Dumped 4 large bags of leaves in the coop today...it was time. Gave them a rotted pumpkin as well...they gulped those seeds down like crazy and had the shell about picked clean before I could even get my chores done. What is left, if anything, will be buried under the litter and be eaten by...

Awwww, don't that just burn ya? How in the world did all those leaves get through your wire? Time to place a guard around the bottom, I'm thinking...even strips of plain old plastic will do in a pinch and until you get something more permanent. Look around while you drive the countryside...

Tiny amounts...got to think of those things as such tiny amounts that it makes no difference at all. Now, if you were dumping large quantities of fruit that had been sprayed with this or that into your compost or coop, it may just build up or affect things down the road. My chickens usually...

Would love to know how you go along with it! My chickens free range all the time, so most of my manure is deposited at night as well and I covet every single dropping! I know...weird...while most are trying to figure out how to get RID of chicken poop, I'm trying to save all I can to mix...

I've thought of that, even been encouraged muchly to do so, but have little inclination. Thank you for the compliment! The heat and humidity from the composting material can cause problems for the flock if not redirected out of the coop. When humidity settles on combs and wattles of the...

Good ventilation is ventilation that provides for constant movement of air in the coop, no matter what season...air that moves isn't exactly a breeze or draft, but just fresh air intake and stale air outtake opportunities. Cold is not a problem, but humidity is and stale air is. Chickens are...

Thanks for starting it, it has guided many people to trying deep litter and many with great success! I know I struggle to keep good moisture in my coop DL, even with a soil floor and being at the base of a hill, so I value moisture in a coop more than many might do. I have to intentionally...

I tend to think the dampness of her/his concrete will be a bonus, as most concrete floored coops struggle to have enough moisture to encourage decomposition of the materials. One needs moisture and certain molds for composting and this coop sounds ideal for it...it's much like having one with a...

If you've got some rich soil or compost to jump start your litter, that's a nice place to start. I'd avoid the shavings...they take forever to compost, especially in a coop setting. I'd stick with leaves and other easily composted materials and layer them in slowly as you have a small space...

I've never heard that and I doubt the accuracy of that, as when my coop is completely open air it's still festooned with funnel spider's webs. Yes, I'd open up all the ventilation you possibly can at all levels...the thing about ventilation is it's better to have it and not need it than to...

We are really stressing extra ventilation with this DL on this thread, so they should be getting it...if they don't, they aren't listening. I live where it's wet too, but I intentionally let it into my coop just to get the benefit of it. With the right ventilation, that's not a problem and...