Deep Litter in COLD Climates

[BantyChooks]

Hi all,
I'm curious if anyone has made deep litter work in cold climates. I have seen some posts about it not working and just contributing to frostbite due to the dampness. I am not talking about West Virginia or Maryland or Missouri cold here, I mean frozen compost piles and 2–3' of snow from November to April. Think Minnesota or Ontario-ish.
I've been wanting to try it but due to the cold weather I am rather reluctant to subscribe to the idea that it works well for any climate. Seems that because it's damp that it would freeze solid in winter just like everything else. Thoughts?

Thanks for reading.

 

[Folly's place]

I'm not in Minn., but it does get fairly cold here in southern Michigan. My coop is built on an old broken concrete foundation, and the run is on very broken concrete, with dirt coming through. I use the bagged shavings, and some hay from the nest boxes. It's fine! It gets replaced in fall and spring, and sometimes a bit around the waterer, if there's a spill (by me!).
I don't think that it develops as well as it would directly on dirt, but with good upper coop ventilation, excess dampness isn't a problem. If anything, it may be too dry to work, and I'm not adding water! My run is roofed, actually it's more of a coop addition.
I add some shavings occasionally too.
Mary

 

[Ridgerunner]

My thoughts. If poop is frozen it will not contribute to moisture in the coop until it thaws. Before it freezes yes but not after. The same thing will apply to moist litter.

For deep litter to work it has to have a certain amount of moisture for those bugs to process that stuff and turn it into compost. If it gets too wet it becomes unhealthy and will probably stink. If it is too dry those bugs can't live and reproduce. Technically what I do is not deep litter, I keep it too dry for the bugs to break it down.

When that stuff breaks down it will generate some heat. That's the way compost works. But if it ever freezes it stops breaking down and stops producing heat. I've worked in climates where the ground freezes in November and thaws in March though I don't face that here. I'd expect your litter will freeze at some point so the moisture in it won't cause a problem until it thaws. When it thaws would be your time of risk when you get a cold snap and that stuff is releasing moisture in the air. I'd also expect that if your coop has good ventilation that is a pretty low risk.

 

[BantyChooks]

My thoughts. If poop is frozen it will not contribute to moisture in the coop until it thaws. Before it freezes yes but not after. The same thing will apply to moist litter.

For deep litter to work it has to have a certain amount of moisture for those bugs to process that stuff and turn it into compost. If it gets too wet it becomes unhealthy and will probably stink. If it is too dry those bugs can't live and reproduce. Technically what I do is not deep litter, I keep it too dry for the bugs to break it down.

When that stuff breaks down it will generate some heat. That's the way compost works. But if it ever freezes it stops breaking down and stops producing heat. I've worked in climates where the ground freezes in November and thaws in March though I don't face that here. I'd expect your litter will freeze at some point so the moisture in it won't cause a problem until it thaws.

Thank you. When it freezes, wouldn't the poop 'laid' after start to build up and get pretty gross? I have had that issue when water bowls spilled into the shavings just before winter hit, and I don't fancy doing that again, lol. Felt like the floor was covered in ball bearings slash icy poop buildup. I'm not entirely sure how much moisture is actually in the average DL but I'm guessing it's rather like my run material which gets pretty solid.

When it thaws would be your time of risk when you get a cold snap and that stuff is releasing moisture in the air. I'd also expect that if your coop has good ventilation that is a pretty low risk.

That was exactly what my worry was. I have good ventilation so it shouldn't be an issue, then.

 

[BantyChooks]

I'm not in Minn., but it does get fairly cold here in southern Michigan. My coop is built on an old broken concrete foundation, and the run is on very broken concrete, with dirt coming through. I use the bagged shavings, and some hay from the nest boxes. It's fine! It gets replaced in fall and spring, and sometimes a bit around the waterer, if there's a spill (by me!).
I don't think that it develops as well as it would directly on dirt, but with good upper coop ventilation, excess dampness isn't a problem. If anything, it may be too dry to work, and I'm not adding water! My run is roofed, actually it's more of a coop addition.
I add some shavings occasionally too.
Mary

Thank you.

 

[Folly's place]

I do get piles of poop under the roosts, and sometimes shovel them out. However, they don't seem to be a problem either, except they are ugly! I'm not doing the daily 'scoop the poop' thing, so just turning it over very occasionally is fine.
Ventilation!
Mary

 

[BantyChooks]

I'm not doing the daily 'scoop the poop' thing

Me neither. I clean the coop out 2–4 times per year and that's it. 40 birds poop enough that trying to do the "poop tray" stuff small flock owners do would be a full-time job. Regular dry shavings have always served me well in winter but deep litter had enough glowing reviews I wondered about giving it a try.

 

[Ridgerunner]

When it freezes, wouldn't the poop 'laid' after start to build up and get pretty gross?

Well yes, if that bothers you to look at it. If you can you might want to remove a lot of that, especially under the roosts. That's where your risk will come from when it thaws. Maybe toss fresh dry litter over the rest to hide it if you don't want to look at it.

 

[BantyChooks]

Well yes, if that bothers you to look at it. If you can you might want to remove a lot of that, especially under the roosts. That's where your risk will come from when it thaws. Maybe toss fresh dry litter over the rest to hide it if you don't want to look at it.

I don't care what it looks like, but I do care about my coop turning into a poopy ice slick like it did when I kept ducks and water in the coop, lol. Isn't healthy for the birds.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

If you have good ventilation it should not matter if it is damp I would think. Like Woods coop wide open....

Gary