Deep bedding vs Deep Litter?

[efowl24]

Can someone help me understand the difference between these a little better? I've been using coffee grounds for my bedding and I'm just not loving it as much as I initially was. The grounds don't provide enough traction for my chickens when the jump off the roosting bars, and they seem to slip around on it. That, and I have found random spots of a dusty mold almost every time I clean it. And its $$$. So, I am wanting to switch to something else. I am looking at adding pine chips instead, and maybe just keeping the coffee on the poop shelves to easily scoop. Would wood chips even work on the poop shelves, since they don't have that big of a lip to get it 4-6 inches deep? It is my current understanding that Deep litter is more of a compost situation that the chickens turn under when they naturally scratch, where as deep bedding is literally just a thick layer of bedding. My coop floor is plywood that I covered with linoleum. Some sources say this is not suitable for deep litter, and a dirt floor is needed for deep litter (i.e. compost). Since the weather is going to get colder soon, I thought one of these would provide them with a bit more insulation for cold weather. How often is either one cleaned? Are they cleaned the same? Adding a 4-6 inch layer of shavings and adding when smelly? Are they actually different, or more or less the same?

Can anyone help me understand these a bit more, and which one would work best for me?

 

[thecatumbrella]

I think you have the right idea, or at least that's how I understand the difference. I do have a couple recommendations. PDZ works really, really well in a poop shelf. I use just a thin layer in my Omlet droppings tray, and it keeps things dry and odor-free as long as I scoop daily. Easy to find in store as well.

For extra floor insulation, I really like hemp. It dries out poop even better than sand IMO, but is lightweight and lower dust. It is expensive, which is probably a barrier for some, but it lasts way longer than traditional pine shavings.

 

[Ted Brown]

Ditto on the use of PDZ, cleaned frequently out to a compost heap.

Along with the drop boards & PDZ I use pine shavings for deep bedding in the coop. I change it once per year whether it needs it or not.

No mess, no smell, no flies. Lots of dust.

 

[ChickyCh00k]

Are they actually different, or more or less the same?

This is a great post by @Ridgerunner who explains the differences in detail.

Post in thread 'Deep Litter' https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/deep-litter.1549684/post-26181478