I don't know if the OP is still around reading this thread, but I thought I would add some thoughts to a number of good posts earlier in the thread...
I live in northern Minnesota, about 90 mins to the Candian border. My coop is 7X13 feet. I use dry deep bedding in the coop, cleaning it out twice a year, once in the spring after the temps get into the 50F's or 60F's, and then again in late fall before the snow falls.
Deep litter is actually an active composting system. It requires moisture. I don't want moisture in my coop in the winter months. Everything freezes solid in my coop in the winter, so composting deep litter would not work for me.
Dry deep bedding is a lot like deep litter, except that you keep most of the bedding dry as possible. In the fall, I start with maybe 3 inches of dry bedding in the coop. Once or twice a month, I will add more dry bedding to the coop. Most of the new bedding goes over the litter underneath the roosts to cover the frozen chicken poo. The rest of the coop does not get soiled much, so it takes very little extra litter to keep it clean.
I don't do poo boards at all. I find that the chicken poo in my coop freezes hard as a rock, is almost impossible to get out, and does not smell at all until springtime temps hit that 60F or better when I clean everything out. Just keep covering the frozen poo all winter, once or twice a month, and you will not have a problem.
I could probably get by with just cleaning out the coop litter once a year, in the spring, but I toss all my coop litter into the run twice a year to compost in place. Then I use that chicken run compost for my gardens. My chicken run compost is much, much better than the bagged compost I used to buy. Plus, I know exactly what organic materials are in my chicken run compost.
I would agree with that. But I prefer the dry deep bedding which keeps the moisture down in the frozen coop in the winter months. If you live in the north country, moisture in the winter coop can cause frostbite. The chickens can keep themselves warm in dry cold temps. Just make sure you have good ventilation and keep things as dry as possible.
Pretty much my schedule, except that I use dry deep bedding.
Although I use dry deep bedding, not moist active deep litter, I encourage my chickens to scratch the coop litter as much as possible. Most of the poo is directly under the roosts, but any other poo on the surface of the coop deep bedding will work its way down to the bottom when the chickens scratch the bedding. If I see an area that needs a bit more attention, I'll just toss some chicken scratch in that spot and the chickens will "clean" it up in no time with their scratching and pecking for the chicken scratch.
In the winter months, the poo freezes and does not smell. But I don't like to see poo sitting on top of my coop litter. So, I add a thin fresh layer of litter about twice a month under the roosts, and maybe only once a month for the rest of the coop.
Using dry deep bedding, adding fresh litter maybe once or twice every month in the wintertime, I only clean out my coop litter twice a year. In the spring when the temps get warm, then in the late fall before the snow falls. I want to start the winter with fresh coop litter.
I have used all kinds of materials for my chicken coop litter, including free wood chips, dried grass, leaves, and now my favorite litter is just shredded paper that I make at home. Notice all my bedding choices are free to me. They all are compostable when I toss the litter into the chicken run.
It's OK to mix and match coop litter as well. The chickens don't mind if you have some wood chips, grass, or leaves all mixed together.
The last 2 years I have used paper shreds exclusively. Fresh paper shreds are lighter in weight, dust free, have no smell, and will compost faster than most other bedding litter I have used when I finally toss out the old litter into the chicken run. What better way to treat all those paid bills and junk mail than to let the chickens poo all over them! Works for me.
