5-6 inches bedding?!

[adeechickluv]

I've read that you need 5-6 inches of bedding which I think is absolutely crazy. Is this true? How often do you need to replace it?

 

[momma's chickens]

I have about two inches of bedding in my coop and they shove it all to one side and I rake and straighten it out every other day. I have dropping boards so I only change my bedding three times a year.

 

[tammyd57]

I use 12" of bedding (straw) on a dirt floor coop and only change it out once a year, as compost ready for my garden. I add straw every month or so to keep it nice and deep. The chickens keep it turned over every day because I throw in a handful of scratch and one of BOSS for them to search through the straw to find. Keeps em busy and entertained. (and I don't have to turn it over myself

)

 

[SunnyDawn]

This is called the "deep litter method" and usually starts wth about 3" of bedding and grows to 6 or 8" depending on when you get around to finally cleaning out the coop. I use this method and add to the litter monthly (or as needed) and then clean it out once every 6 months. It is not necessary to use this method. Most folks use a lot less bedding and just clean their coop a lot more often. Use whatever method you are comfortable with.

 

[patandchickens]

There are all sorts of different ways to manage bedding.

Some people put in only a little bit and clean all of it out frequently.

Other people put in more and clean it less often (in combination with things like droppings boards, good ventilation, and relatively low chicken population).

I am firmly in the latter camp -- I believe I have done a 75% cleanout of my 7x20 sussex pen *once* in the past two years, plus occasional spot cleaning and adding fresh bedding as needed, and it is in excellent shape.

But, it does not suit everyone's situation.

Aside from labor and material costs, the only two disadvantages I can think of, of using only 2" of bedding, are that a) bare spots form easily, with the result that poo gets stomped onto the floor and needs to be scraped off when you clean; and b) I wouldn't do it in a very cold-climate winter, as they benefit from the extra floor insulation and being able to snuggle down into the litter on really cold days.

Really it does not matter what you do as long as it works for YOU

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[teach1rusl]

I'm kind of like momma...use maybe 2-3 inches of bedding, but it gets shoved to the perimeters with their scratching around. I use the dropping boards as well, so I only spot clean the bedding. Since warm weather has hit, my spot cleaning means picking up a few peices of poop over a few week period. In winter time however, I spot clean daily (besides scraping my poop boards), because they're inside a LOT more. In winter, I replace a little litter once per week to make up for the spot cleaning removal. I will only do a full bedding change twice per year...early spring and late fall.

 

[adeechickluv]

ok, so don't change it every week.

Poop boards ... still not getting this. Could you PLEASE post pictures of yours and explain how it works?

 

[sattoritx]

I'll let someone else post pics of a poop board.. we are not going that route and with our rather mild winters here in Texas we opted for putting in a poop pit instead. Basically a poop pit is a hole in the floor with hardware wire over it, the pit is strategically placed (like the boards) to be under the roosts (poles for the birds to sleep and poop on).
Our poop pit will have a sliding panel under the coop to close out the drafts in our 2 weeks of winter.

I have heard of the 6" of liter and like another poster wrote it is for the deep litter method (DLM) starting with only 2-3 " and working up to 6-10" this would only need to be cleaned out twice a year. A friend of mine uses sand inside her coop and in her runs, and uses a cat scoop to clean the coop and a shovel to clean the runs. Not sure if she mixes DE in it though.

 

[adeechickluv]

I've heard of the deep litter method before. Before I go to read about it ... is it really complicated? Is it worth it?

 

[Qi Chicken]

If there is not a picture of a poop board here pm me. Essentially it is a board that rests underneath the roosts where they spend most of their time sleeping and pooping. It slides out usually for scraping and is covered with linoleum or something so it is easy to clean. This picture thing gets me. Especially when tired.

Ok, there is no picture. Sorry about that. If you want one pm me!