Deep litter method and freezing temps

[GingerGremlin]

I'm in the Midwest and we just made it through a nasty blizzard but the Temps are still crazy low, it's -14 right now with a real feel of -29. I've been super worried about the girls but they seem to be hanging in there ok.

We use deep litter method and I heard it adds a little warmth in the winter but the bedding is frozen solid, does that mean it isn't working or I should do something different? I avoid heat lamps out of fear of fire or shock if we lose power which has happened with bad winter storms in the past.

Some of the girls are sleeping on the floor of the coop on the bedding instead of roosting, could that be a sign it's working and they are getting some warmth from it?

 

[NatJ]

We use deep litter method and I heard it adds a little warmth in the winter but the bedding is frozen solid, does that mean it isn't working or I should do something different? I avoid heat lamps out of fear of fire or shock if we lose power which has happened with bad winter storms in the past.

Some of the girls are sleeping on the floor of the coop on the bedding instead of roosting, could that be a sign it's working and they are getting some warmth from it?

I always get confused about whether "deep litter" is the one that is moist and actively composting, or whether it is the one that stays dry and does not compost in place.

The moist/composting one would add some warmth. When it freezes, it probably quits producing heat.

The dry one is not going to add any warmth.

Either kind will act as insulation, so sleeping on it might be a little warmer for the chickens. Think of sleeping in a bed, that gets warm as you lay there, as compared with a hammock that always lets cool air circulate under you. It will not be exactly the same, because chickens fluff up their feathers and usually stay warm quite well even on a roost up in the air, but I can see that sitting on the same patch of bedding might make a small difference, if their body heat warms that exact area.

Since some of them have changed where they sleep, you might want to check for drafts or wind near the the roost. Having a wind blow on them all night long would definitely make them colder, so they might move to a place with no wind. (Of course they might have moved for no reason that any person can figure out, because sometimes chickens just do odd things.)

 

[GingerGremlin]

I always get confused about whether "deep litter" is the one that is moist and actively composting, or whether it is the one that stays dry and does not compost in place.

The moist/composting one would add some warmth. When it freezes, it probably quits producing heat.

The dry one is not going to add any warmth.

Either kind will act as insulation, so sleeping on it might be a little warmer for the chickens. Think of sleeping in a bed, that gets warm as you lay there, as compared with a hammock that always lets cool air circulate under you. It will not be exactly the same, because chickens fluff up their feathers and usually stay warm quite well even on a roost up in the air, but I can see that sitting on the same patch of bedding might make a small difference, if their body heat warms that exact area.

Since some of them have changed where they sleep, you might want to check for drafts or wind near the the roost. Having a wind blow on them all night long would definitely make them colder, so they might move to a place with no wind. (Of course they might have moved for no reason that any person can figure out, because sometimes chickens just do odd things.)

I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets confused, that makes me feel way better! I looked over everything before the storm and thought I had everything tightened up but it won't hurt to look again, I only started to worry after some of the girls slowed down and a couple stayed under the coop instead of going in once it got dark, while I was putting them in for the night I noticed the girls sleeping on the bedding while our rooster and a few others were up on the roosts. Thank you!

 

[NatJ]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets confused, that makes me feel way better! I looked over everything before the storm and thought I had everything tightened up but it won't hurt to look again, I only started to worry after some of the girls slowed down and a couple stayed under the coop instead of going in once it got dark, while I was putting them in for the night I noticed the girls sleeping on the bedding while our rooster and a few others were up on the roosts. Thank you!

The difficult thing is that they still need plenty of ventilation, it just needs to be in places that do not blow on them while they are trying to sleep.

So you want it nice and tight in some places, but with openings placed where they will provide ventilation that doesn't blow on roosting chickens.

 

[GingerGremlin]

The difficult thing is that they still need plenty of ventilation, it just needs to be in places that do not blow on them while they are trying to sleep.

So you want it nice and tight in some places, but with openings placed where they will provide ventilation that doesn't blow on , we have the vents in the corners and are planning on adding more right above the roosts because we don't think we have enough but wanted to wait until after the blizzard, the vent is way at the top between the wall and the roof with a little bit of overhang from the roof outside to in theory to protect from the elements but when the wind gets crazy snow goes in literally every direction including up from the ground so I'm still trying to get creative with that issue. Thankfully it's pretty rare we have snow like this but I'm still trying to work that issue out.

 

[GingerGremlin]

Yeah ventilation has really tripped me up, our ventilation takes up most of the opposite wall of the chickens roosting area and all four corners of the coop, the wall kind of has an overhang towards outside of the coop covered by chicken wire and the roof hangs over a good amount to in theory protect from the elements. It works until we get the rare crazy blizzard with insane winds then we get snow blowing up between the roof and the coop and right inside. I want to add more ventilation above where they roost because I think it'll help keep moisture down but didn't want to before the storm to minimize snow in the coop.

 

[lagrange chicks]

Yeah ventilation has really tripped me up, our ventilation takes up most of the opposite wall of the chickens roosting area and all four corners of the coop, the wall kind of has an overhang towards outside of the coop covered by chicken wire and the roof hangs over a good amount to in theory protect from the elements. It works until we get the rare crazy blizzard with insane winds then we get snow blowing up between the roof and the coop and right inside. I want to add more ventilation above where they roost because I think it'll help keep moisture down but didn't want to before the storm to minimize snow in the coop.

I have the same problem, all my ventilation is at the top on all for walls. The vents on the sides are covered with plexi-glass with 11/4" spacers between the coop and the plexi-glass to still allow for ventilation but stopping the wind blowing directly in. We just went through the heavy snow and now the deep freeze with wind from 10 to 30 mph. Yesterday i looked through the chicken door and see feathers blowing around on the floor, all the vents are at least a foot over there heads when on the roost. So I have to come up with a plan that blocks the wind on the front and back but still allows for ventilation. As for deep bedding mine is frozen too and feel that doing deep bedding method needs to be composting in the fall to be working in the winter.

 

[GingerGremlin]

I have the same problem, all my ventilation is at the top on all for walls. The vents on the sides are covered with plexi-glass with 11/4" spacers between the coop and the plexi-glass to still allow for ventilation but stopping the wind blowing directly in. We just went through the heavy snow and now the deep freeze with wind from 10 to 30 mph. Yesterday i looked through the chicken door and see feathers blowing around on the floor, all the vents are at least a foot over there heads when on the roost. So I have to come up with a plan that blocks the wind on the front and back but still allows for ventilation. As for deep bedding mine is frozen too and feel that doing deep bedding method needs to be composting in the fall to be working in the winter.

Sounds like we have the same weather, my condolences!!

The composting in the fall to work in the winter makes perfect sense, I wonder if my setup isn't allowing the bedding to compost in the coop. Another thing to get creative with, thank you for the input!!

 

[aart]

stayed under the coop

Deep Litter won't compost in a raised coop.
..and the moisture composting requires is not good in a cold climate.
Dry and out of the wind is the best preventative for cold weather..

It works until we get the rare crazy blizzard with insane winds then we get snow blowing up between the roof and the coop and right inside

I've had the same problem, had to install some baffles.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/ventilation-baffling.75434/

 

[GingerGremlin]

Deep Litter won't compost in a raised coop.
..and the moisture composting requires is not good in a cold climate.
Dry and out of the wind is the best preventative for cold weather..


I've had the same problem, had to install some baffles.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/ventilation-baffling.75434/

I had never even considered the coop being raised would make a difference... duh.. thank you!!! I'll be looking into these baffles asap!